Great Seattle Fire | |
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Date(s) | June 6–7, 1889 2:45 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. |
Location | Seattle, Washington Territory |
Coordinates | 47°36′16″N 122°20′11″W / 47.60444°N 122.33639°W |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 1 |
Structures destroyed | 29 city blocks |
Damage | $20 million ($678 million in 2023 dollars) |
Ignition | |
Cause | Overheated glue pot |
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, during the same summer as the Great Spokane Fire and the Great Ellensburg Fire. Seattle quickly rebuilt using brick buildings that sat 20 feet (6.1 m) above the original street level. Its population swelled during reconstruction, becoming the largest city in the newly admitted state of Washington.