ABSTRACT
A close correspondence to historic land ownership and division illustrates the fundamental social logic of this land use arrangement. During most of the first half of the century, lot patterns were fluid as individual landowners speculated in the sparsely settled land at the outer fringe of the region’s few cities. Parcels were subdivided, aggregated, and resubdivided in new patterns of paper plats that legally established streets, lots, and blocks, but were often never developed and had little actual impact on the land. By the 1920s, average lots size ranged from 10 to 30 acres in the three areas, certainly large by urban standards, but small considering that substantial development did not occur until decades later. In contrast, very large, section-sized lots owned by railroad and lumber companies, cities, King County, or Washington State were located just outside of the areas later developed with apartments and stores.
