diff --git a/examples/specs/interactive_brush.vl.json b/examples/specs/interactive_brush.vl.json
index 04246ebaf6..80b3e08007 100644
--- a/examples/specs/interactive_brush.vl.json
+++ b/examples/specs/interactive_brush.vl.json
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
   "data": {"url": "data/cars.json"},
   "selection": {
     "brush": {
-      "type": "interval"
+      "type": "interval",
+      "init": {"x": [55, 160], "y": [13, 37]}
     }
   },
   "mark": "point",
diff --git a/src/compile/selection/interval.ts b/src/compile/selection/interval.ts
index 6aa56e1e2c..29a8febe7b 100644
--- a/src/compile/selection/interval.ts
+++ b/src/compile/selection/interval.ts
@@ -39,14 +39,14 @@ const interval: SelectionCompiler = {
       });
     }
 
-    for (const p of selCmpt.project) {
+    selCmpt.project.forEach((p, i) => {
       const channel = p.channel;
       if (channel !== X && channel !== Y) {
         warn('Interval selections only support x and y encoding channels.');
-        continue;
+        return;
       }
 
-      const cs = channelSignals(model, selCmpt, channel);
+      const cs = channelSignals(model, selCmpt, channel, i);
       const dname = channelSignalName(selCmpt, channel, 'data');
       const vname = channelSignalName(selCmpt, channel, 'visual');
       const scaleStr = stringValue(model.scaleName(channel));
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ const interval: SelectionCompiler = {
           `(${toNum}invert(${scaleStr}, ${vname})[0] === ${toNum}${dname}[0] && ` +
           `${toNum}invert(${scaleStr}, ${vname})[1] === ${toNum}${dname}[1]))`
       });
-    }
+    });
 
     // Proxy scale reactions to ensure that an infinite loop doesn't occur
     // when an interval selection filter touches the scale.
@@ -77,15 +77,20 @@ const interval: SelectionCompiler = {
     // Only add an interval to the store if it has valid data extents. Data extents
     // are set to null if pixel extents are equal to account for intervals over
     // ordinal/nominal domains which, when inverted, will still produce a valid datum.
+    const init = selCmpt.init;
+    const update = `unit: ${unitName(model)}, fields: ${fieldsSg}, values`;
     return signals.concat({
       name: name + TUPLE,
+      ...(init
+        ? {
+            update: `{${update}: ${JSON.stringify(init)}}`,
+            react: false
+          }
+        : {}),
       on: [
         {
           events: dataSignals.map(t => ({signal: t})),
-          update:
-            dataSignals.join(' && ') +
-            ` ? {unit: ${unitName(model)}, fields: ${fieldsSg}, ` +
-            `values: [${dataSignals.join(', ')}]} : null`
+          update: dataSignals.join(' && ') + ` ? {${update}: [${dataSignals}]} : null`
         }
       ]
     });
@@ -177,17 +182,19 @@ export default interval;
 /**
  * Returns the visual and data signals for an interval selection.
  */
-function channelSignals(model: UnitModel, selCmpt: SelectionComponent, channel: 'x' | 'y'): any {
+function channelSignals(model: UnitModel, selCmpt: SelectionComponent, channel: 'x' | 'y', idx: number): any {
   const vname = channelSignalName(selCmpt, channel, 'visual');
   const dname = channelSignalName(selCmpt, channel, 'data');
+  const init = selCmpt.init && (selCmpt.init[idx] as number[] | string[]);
   const hasScales = scales.has(selCmpt);
-  const scaleName = model.scaleName(channel);
-  const scaleStr = stringValue(scaleName);
+  const scaleName = stringValue(model.scaleName(channel));
   const scale = model.getScaleComponent(channel);
   const scaleType = scale ? scale.get('type') : undefined;
   const size = model.getSizeSignalRef(channel === X ? 'width' : 'height').signal;
   const coord = `${channel}(unit)`;
 
+  const scaleStr = (arr: string[]) => '[' + arr.map(s => `scale(${scaleName}, ${s})`) + ']';
+
   const on = events(selCmpt, (def: any[], evt: VgEventStream) => {
     return def.concat(
       {events: evt.between[0], update: `[${coord}, ${coord}]`}, // Brush Start
@@ -201,9 +208,7 @@ function channelSignals(model: UnitModel, selCmpt: SelectionComponent, channel:
   on.push({
     events: {signal: selCmpt.name + SCALE_TRIGGER},
     update:
-      hasContinuousDomain(scaleType) && !isBinScale(scaleType)
-        ? `[scale(${scaleStr}, ${dname}[0]), scale(${scaleStr}, ${dname}[1])]`
-        : `[0, 0]`
+      hasContinuousDomain(scaleType) && !isBinScale(scaleType) ? scaleStr([`${dname}[0]`, `${dname}[1]`]) : `[0, 0]`
   });
 
   return hasScales
@@ -211,12 +216,23 @@ function channelSignals(model: UnitModel, selCmpt: SelectionComponent, channel:
     : [
         {
           name: vname,
-          value: [],
+          ...(init
+            ? {
+                update: scaleStr([init[0], init[init.length - 1]].map(x => JSON.stringify(x))),
+                react: false
+              }
+            : {value: []}),
           on: on
         },
         {
           name: dname,
-          on: [{events: {signal: vname}, update: `${vname}[0] === ${vname}[1] ? null : invert(${scaleStr}, ${vname})`}]
+          ...(init ? {value: init} : {}),
+          on: [
+            {
+              events: {signal: vname},
+              update: `${vname}[0] === ${vname}[1] ? null : invert(${scaleName}, ${vname})`
+            }
+          ]
         }
       ];
 }
diff --git a/src/compile/selection/multi.ts b/src/compile/selection/multi.ts
index 7486da129a..a82f966a83 100644
--- a/src/compile/selection/multi.ts
+++ b/src/compile/selection/multi.ts
@@ -28,16 +28,20 @@ export function signals(model: UnitModel, selCmpt: SelectionComponent) {
   // for constant null states but varying toggles (e.g., shift-click in
   // whitespace followed by a click in whitespace; the store should only
   // be cleared on the second click).
+  const update = `unit: ${unitName(model)}, fields: ${fieldsSg}, values`;
   return [
     {
       name: name + TUPLE,
-      update: init ? `{unit: ${unitName(model)}, fields: ${fieldsSg}, values: ${JSON.stringify(selCmpt.init)}}` : '',
+      ...(init
+        ? {
+            update: `{${update}: ${JSON.stringify(init)}}`,
+            react: false
+          }
+        : {value: []}),
       on: [
         {
           events: selCmpt.events,
-          update:
-            `datum && item().mark.marktype !== 'group' ? ` +
-            `{unit: ${unitName(model)}, fields: ${fieldsSg}, values: [${values}]} : null`,
+          update: `datum && item().mark.marktype !== 'group' ? {${update}: [${values}]} : null`,
           force: true
         }
       ]
diff --git a/src/compile/selection/selection.ts b/src/compile/selection/selection.ts
index dbcd3d55da..8aa76aed76 100644
--- a/src/compile/selection/selection.ts
+++ b/src/compile/selection/selection.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ export const VL_SELECTION_RESOLVE = 'vlSelectionResolve';
 export interface SelectionComponent {
   name: string;
   type: SelectionType;
-  init?: (number | string)[];
+  init?: (number | string | number[] | string[])[];
   events: VgEventStream;
   // predicate?: string;
   bind?: 'scales' | VgBinding | Dict<VgBinding>;
diff --git a/src/selection.ts b/src/selection.ts
index 202d782358..1a5577eb82 100644
--- a/src/selection.ts
+++ b/src/selection.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export interface BaseSelectionDef {
    * When set to `none`, empty selections contain no data values.
    */
   empty?: 'all' | 'none';
-  init?: {[key: string]: number | string};
+  init?: {[key: string]: number | string | number[] | string[]};
 }
 
 export interface SingleSelectionConfig extends BaseSelectionDef {