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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 22 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 19 |
| 1893 | 18 |
| 1894 | 25 |
| 1895 | 35 |
129 stories matching guest
- Midnight Fire at the Northern Hotel
A fire breaks out in the kitchen of the Northern Hotel, sending guests fleeing into the halls in their nightclothes.
- The Woman’s Club Banquet That Defined Olympia’s Elite
Six years after its founding, the city's most prominent ladies gathered for a 'horseshoe' dinner and silhouette presentation to celebrate their social influence.
- The Grand Pythian Ball at the Hotel Monte Cristo
Everett’s social calendar hit a peak in 1894 with a lavish ball hosted by the Knights of Pythias for hundreds of local guests.
- The Sleeping Thief of the Lake View
A lodging house guest thinks a quick snooze is the perfect cover for a crime.
- The Great Blaine Trousers Heist
A group of burglars target a local drug store owner’s home with a very specific, bumbling objective: stealing the guests' pants.
- The Deadly Cost of Ignoring Fire Safety
Tragedy strikes a Seattle boarding house as terrified residents leap from windows, exposing the city's lack of building safety regulations.
- The Hotel Opium Haul
A mysterious guest leaves behind two massive trunks at a Tacoma hotel, only for customs officials to raid the room and uncover hundreds of pounds of contraband.
- A Garden Wedding on Lake Steilacoom
Prominent Tacoma socialites Miss Ruby Shera and Mr. Thomas J. Handforth were wed under a canopy of oaks in an elaborate ceremony at the Tyler estate.
- Smallpox Scare in Seattle Hotels
Public health officers scramble to quarantine guests at the Alaska Hotel and St. Elmo after two smallpox cases emerge on Main Street.
- The Great Editorial Tug-of-War
When the National Editorial Association arrived in the Sound, Seattle and Tacoma engaged in a petty, comical, and highly public battle to 'kidnap' the visiting editors.
- A Night-Time Heist at the Ayrault
While the city debated the building of a new jail, a brazen robbery at a prominent lodging house left guests missing hundreds of dollars in jewelry and gold.
- Hotel Stine Reduced to Ashes in Walla Walla
A faulty fire response and a quick-moving blaze gutted a landmark hotel in the heart of downtown, leaving guests fleeing for safety.
- The Torchlight Parade for 'Prosperity'
Thousands of Seattle residents packed the streets and an armory in 1889 to cheer Republican candidates, a political display that felt more like a frantic race for jobs and survival.
- 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.
- The House-Warming That Defined a Block: Gilson’s Party on Eighth Street
In the summer of 1888, B.K. Gilson and his wife turned their new home at 1018 Eighth Street into the epicenter of Seattle society, blending tea, games, and valuable gifts in a ritual that cemented social status in the growing city.
- The Romantic Elopement at the Parker Ranch
When an overbearing father tried to marry his daughter off to a wealthy neighbor, a young suitor took matters into his own hands in a daring Thanksgiving escape.
- The Hotel Thief Who Slept Under the Same Roof He Robbed
Sat Sanguinetti begged the Rainier Hotel's manager for a place to sleep, then used a skeleton key to strip its guests of diamonds and gold — until a private watchman caught him red-handed.
- The Captain and the Bride of Puget Sound
A festive wedding at the corner of Ninth and Pine unites a prominent Seattle sea captain and a daughter of the Pacific Northwest.
- Vice Raid on Washington and Commercial
Police raid a well-known downtown lodging house, arresting the proprietress and several guests.
- The Unwelcome Guest in the Banana Crate
A Black Diamond baker discovers a live stowaway from the tropics in his pantry.
- A Night of Whist and Crokignole in 1889 Seattle
A surprise party for Miss Fannie McKay at her family home on Fourth and Yesler offers a glimpse into the parlor social life of early Seattle.
- Seattle Wined and Dined the Legislature to Sell the Ship Canal
In February 1893, city leaders invited every state lawmaker to Seattle at city expense—then walked them to the Lake Washington portage to argue for county bonds and a canal.
- The Banquet That Built Seattle's Legal Elite
In 1903, the city’s most powerful lawyers gathered at the Rainier Hotel to honor Judge Julius Stratton, cementing a social network that would shape Washington State's legal landscape for decades.
- The Breakfast Guest That Wouldn't Leave
A morning meal in rural Washington is interrupted by a massive bear, leading to a desperate struggle at the farmhouse window.
- Gambling Near the Throne
City hall's political elites are quietly sanctioning a new gambling house for the well-connected.