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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 6 |
29 stories matching ceiling
- The Great Escape Attempt at the King County Jail
A desperate dig through the ceiling of a Seattle jail cell ends with the sheriff turning fire hoses on the inmates to quell the chaos.
- The Night a Gilded Age Mansion Lit the Road to Its Own Party
In 1894, Horace and Susan Henry welcomed nearly 200 guests to their new showpiece house above Lake Union—then sent them home by special streetcar under a private line of electric lights.
- A Bullet Between Brothers
A shot fired from the darkness of a Yesler Avenue street at night narrowly missed two brothers standing in their upstairs home.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.
- The $40 Prize Burglary That Came Up Through the Floor
Someone broke into the basement of the Famous Clothing Co., bored a clean hole through the floor beneath a display window and pulled out the cash box without disturbing the storefront.
- The City’s Debt Ceiling Crisis of 1892
Facing a massive backlog of unpaid warrants and legal judgments, Seattle's city council puts a multi-million dollar bond package to a city-wide vote to stave off municipal insolvency.
- The Great Telephone Switchboard Fire
A tangled mess of high-voltage arc light wires sends fireworks cascading through the central telephone exchange, nearly incinerating the entire plant.
- A Night of Exchange at the Baptist Chinese Mission
A rare 1891 cultural exchange took place at the Baptist mission, featuring speeches and a feast that aimed to bridge racial divides through education.
- The Northwest Lumber Cartel Forms in Tacoma
Major mill owners from across the Puget Sound region organize to stabilize prices and set standard grades for timber.
- She Sued Him for $10,000—Then Married Him Before Trial
A long-running Woodinville breach-of-promise case collapsed when a minister, a widow and a reluctant bachelor slipped out of the courthouse and came back married.
- Gambler shot in Snohomish street row
A night patrolman fired on a man who attacked him with a rolling pin after a rowdy disturbance near the local saloon.
- The Struggle for a Proper Stage
A popular movement takes off to build Seattle its first dedicated grand opera house as performers complain about the city’s cramped, inadequate venues.
- Arson Attempt at Bellingham Bay Sun
A suspicious candle-in-oil setup is discovered in a Fairhaven newspaper office, raising questions about insurance fraud.
- John L. Sullivan's Seattle Takeover
When the world’s heavyweight champion brought his traveling theatrical troupe to town, the city went into a frenzy of gawking, impersonations, and mass hysteria.
- A Norwegian Teamster's Last Will: Despair, Disease, and a Sweetheart Left Behind
Fred Syvrud, a 36-year-old teamster, took his own life in a Seattle boarding house, leaving his property to a woman in Norway and blaming an incurable disease.
- The Cancer Doctor and the Constable
A self-styled German physician who promised to cure cancer is arrested in Seattle, charms his way through a bail hearing, then slips out of town by steamer.
- The Calkins Hotel Despoiled
A real estate trust claims tenants of an East Seattle hotel are gutting the building and flooding its rooms in a scorched-earth dispute over a lease.
- The Women Who Refused to Give Up Built a Home for Working Girls
After three incorporations, a lost treasury, and months of watching an unfinished roof, a band of Seattle women finally turned over the keys to their new Women's Home, a refuge for women 'out in the world for themselves.'
- The Grand Opening of the Seattle Theater
A glittering, capacity crowd inaugurates the city's premier venue, setting a new standard for Pacific Coast entertainment.
- A Massive New Iron Works to Rise at Elliott Bay
The Seattle Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company unveils ambitious plans for a large-scale foundry and manufacturing plant.
- The Jailbreak That Never Was: A Seattle Jail Security Crisis
When guards discovered tunneling and hidden tools in the city jail, the potential for a mass breakout triggered a city-wide security lockdown.
- A Fireproof Infirmary for the Poor
After city officials refused to participate in a joint facility, the county moves forward with plans for a specialized, fireproof hospital at the poor farm.
- The Seattle Athletic Club Moves Into Grand New Quarters
Members christen a four-story facility on Front Street featuring a massive swimming tank, a gym with a two-story ceiling, and a new official 'Seattle' yell.
- An Ellensburg Merchant's Stock Goes Up in Smoke
A mysterious blaze gutted E. K. Fugarty's mercantile store, destroying one of Central Washington's finest stocks and leaving a heavy, still-uncalculated loss.
- A touring tragedian tells Seattle's schoolgirls to put down 'Trilby' and read Shakespeare
Frederick Warde, in town to play Julius Caesar at the Seattle Theater, spends a Friday afternoon lecturing a packed house for the high school library — and is sent off with flowers and a standing ovation from the pupils.
Also about this, in other words
- A Daring Climb Above Second and Cherry
A Home Messenger Company lineman risks a terrifying ascent to repair a flagpole atop the New York building.
- Scaling the Courthouse Spire
After multiple failed attempts by laborers, a young man scales the courthouse roof to restore the Stars and Stripes to its rightful place.