The early Seattle era came to a stunning halt with the Great Seattle Fire of June 6 , 1889 . It burned 29 city blocks , destroying most of the central business district ; no one , however , perished in the flames , and the city quickly rebounded from the destruction . Thanks in part to credit arranged by Jacob Furth ( as well as , according to Speidel , brothel-owner Lou Graham ) , Seattle rebuilt from the ashes with astounding rapidity . A new zoning code resulted in a downtown of brick and stone buildings , rather than wood . In the single year after the fire , the city grew from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants , largely because of the enormous number of construction jobs suddenly created
Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
History of Seattle before 1900