The Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, was a significant turning point in the city's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes. The fire was accidentally started in a paint and woodwork shop at Madison Street and Front Street (now First Avenue) at 2:30 p.m., and over the course of the next 18 hours, swept a southward across 100 acres of Seattle's business district and waterfront. The fire left little standing in its wake, consuming buildings, docks, wooden sidewalks, and anything else combustible. Losses from the conflagration were estimated at $20 million.

The issue of The Post-Intelligencer pictured here was published six days after the fire, and includes the headline: "MAGIC CHANGES, Commerce Finds a New Home, A Long List of Projected Buildings, Searchers in the Ashes Find Human Bones." Despite their headquarters' destruction in the fire, the P-I staff was already operating out of temporary offices at the corner of Fourth and Columbia streets. Less than three months after the fire, the P-I moved into a new building, at Second Avenue and Cherry Street.

Seattle's longest-running newspaper, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is the descendant of the city's earliest newspaper, The Seattle Gazette. First published in 1863, the Gazette was renamed the Weekly Intelligencer in 1867, and became the Daily Intelligencer in 1876. The Daily Intelligencer and The Post (begun in 1878) merged in 1881, establishing The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The P-I continues to serve the city as of 2019, although since 2009 as an online-only publication.

Caption information source: https://www.Seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/the-great-Seattle-fire-of-1889
Caption information source: "Newspapers of Washington Territory," by Edmond S. Meany, The Washington Historical Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 3 (1923, July), pp. 186-200. Retrieved from https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/WHQ/article/view/6452/5526
Caption information source: "Seattle Post-Intelligencer (1863-2009)" by Cassandra Tate, HistoryLink.org Essay 8956.