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 Seattle Daily Press pictured here was published four days after the fire, and includes the headline: "Seattle Again, Confidence Universally Prevails Among Us, Efforts at Business Being Resumed, Mightily Projects for the of the Queen City."

The Seattle Press was begun in 1886 by merging two smaller papers, the Call and the Chronicle. The Press was published as the Daily Press from Monday-Saturday, and the Weekly Press on Sundays. As the city's only Associated Press affiliate, the Press survived the Great Fire, only to be combined in 1891 with its evening competitor, the Times, briefly becoming the Press-Times. In 1896 long-time owner Alden J. Blethen bought the paper and dropped Press from the name, thus establishing the Seattle Times, which continues to serve the city as of 2019.

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