The Great Seattle Fire of 1889: Historical Photos that depict the Destruction and Aftermaths

On the afternoon of June 6, 1889, a small accident in a woodworking shop set off the most destructive fire in Seattle’s history. John Back, an assistant to cabinetmaker Victor Clairmont, was heating glue over a gasoline flame at a shop on Front Street — now First Avenue — and Madison Avenue. At around 2:15 p.m., the glue boiled over and caught fire. Wood chips and turpentine soaked into the floor fed the flames instantly. Back threw water on it, but that only thinned the burning liquid and spread it further across the shop floor. Within minutes, the fire was beyond anyone’s control.

Seattle had enjoyed an unusually dry spring that year. Temperatures stayed in the 70s for weeks, and very little rain had fallen. Those conditions left timber-framed buildings bone dry. The city’s streets were packed tightly with wooden structures, and once the fire left the shop, it moved fast. By 2:45 p.m., the fire department had arrived and evacuated the immediate area, but thick smoke had already made it nearly impossible to fight the fire directly.

The fire jumped to the Dietz & Mayer Liquor Store, which exploded. It then tore through the Crystal Palace Saloon and the Opera House Saloon. Alcohol-fueled flames consumed the entire block between Madison and Marion Streets in a matter of minutes. The fire was no longer just a building fire — it had become a street-wide inferno.

Fighting the fire proved nearly impossible because of Seattle’s water system. The Spring Hill Water Company supplied the city, but the infrastructure was badly underprepared for a fire of this scale. Hydrants were spread thin, and the pipes supplying them were hollowed-out logs — some of which caught fire themselves. As more hoses were connected to fight the blaze, water pressure dropped sharply until the hoses stopped working altogether. Firefighters tried pumping water from Elliott Bay onto the Commercial Mill, but the tide was out, and the hoses weren’t long enough to reach the fire side of the building. Crowds, frustrated and panicked, began harassing the firefighters as the situation deteriorated.

Wind pushed the fire in multiple directions at once. The Commercial Mill, the Colman Building, and the Opera House all caught fire in rapid succession. Mayor Robert Moran took command from acting Fire Chief Murphy — the actual Fire Chief, Collins, was away at a firefighting convention in San Francisco at the time. Moran ordered the Colman Block demolished with explosives to create a firebreak, but the fire jumped past it and spread up the wharf and along Second Avenue. From there, it reached Trinity Church, then crossed the street to the three-story Courthouse.

Several buildings were saved through individual acts of quick thinking. Lawrence Booth climbed to the roof of the Courthouse and poured buckets of water down its sides when hoses could only reach the first floor due to low pressure. His actions saved both the building and the public records stored inside. Jacob Levy’s house and the Boston Block were also preserved because of Booth’s efforts. Henry Yesler’s house survived because someone covered the structure with wet blankets before the fire could reach it.

By the morning of June 7, the fire had burned through 25 city blocks. The entire downtown business district was gone, along with four piers and several railroad terminals. The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Depot and Machine Shop, built in 1876, was among the structures completely destroyed.

Property losses were estimated at over $8 million, and that figure did not include damage to water systems, electrical infrastructure, or personal losses. Total losses reached as high as $20 million. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, and 5,000 men lost their jobs overnight. During the cleanup, more than one million rodents were killed. One casualty was recorded — James Goin, a young boy — though no reliable records confirming his death have been found.

The ruins stretched across the heart of the city. Landmarks that had defined Seattle’s commercial identity were reduced to ash and scorched brick. The Dexter Horton & Co. bank, the Merchants National Bank, the Peoples Savings Bank, and the Yesler-Leary Building were all destroyed. Photographs taken in the days following the fire show block after block of collapsed walls, twisted metal, and bare chimneys standing against the sky.

The city wasted no time responding. By 11 a.m. on June 7 — less than 24 hours after the fire started — 600 businessmen gathered to plan the recovery. Two hundred special deputies were sworn in during two weeks of martial law to prevent looting. Relief came from across the country. Tacoma, long a rival city to Seattle, collected $20,000 and sent a relief committee to help. The city’s armory was converted into a dining hall to feed displaced residents. Supplies ordered from San Francisco before the fire arrived by June 18, and relief bureaus closed as early as June 20 because tent restaurants had already opened and were serving the community.

The National Guard was deployed throughout the burned district to maintain order and protect what remained. Photographs from the period show guardsmen stationed among the ruins of banks and commercial buildings, including the Dexter Horton & Co. bank at 1st Avenue South and Washington Street. Arrests for looting were made, with guards leading offenders through the rubble-strewn streets.

Reconstruction began almost immediately. Within a month, more than 100 businesses were operating out of tents across the burned district. Most owners chose to rebuild on the same lots rather than relocate. New city rules banned wood construction in the burned zone and required brick buildings. The city also took the opportunity to address Seattle’s hilly, uneven terrain by raising street levels — up to 22 feet in some areas. Within one year of the fire, 465 new buildings had been completed, and the business district was largely rebuilt.

The population of Seattle grew rapidly during the reconstruction period, pushed further by Washington’s admission as a U.S. state in November 1889. Seattle became the largest city in the new state. The fire that destroyed its commercial core in a single afternoon ultimately forced the city to rebuild on a stronger, more durable foundation — in brick, on raised streets, with a redesigned water system.