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185 stories matching decor
- The Day Newport Showed Off: Fourth of July, 1909
A rain-threatened holiday still drew crowds for an industrial parade, patriotic speeches, baseball, log-rolling and a dance—without a single arrest.
- A City Turns Out for Its Dead: Seattle's Memorial Day, 1895
Three hundred and five veterans, three militia companies, high-school cadets and a twelve-foot column of flowers marched Front Street and filled the Seattle Theater — while the Board of Health kept the schoolchildren from singing.
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- The Stone Capitol Olympia Was Promised
Architect Ernest Flagg says the foundation is finished and bids are about to go out for a fireproof statehouse—one built to last, if the legislature will pay for it.
- Seattle’s Fourth of July: A City Adorned in Light and Iron
As the nation celebrates its birthday, Seattle’s business leaders have transformed downtown into a spectacle of gas jets, electric lamps, and iron arches, proving that the young city is ready for its moment on the national stage.
- Memorial Day 1896: A Governor, a Nativist Oration, and Thirty Graves in the Rain
Seattle's Civil War remembrance became a stage for anxiety over unemployed marchers and foreign-born workers, while veterans decorated Lake View Cemetery under a steady downpour.
- A Monitor, a Greased Pig, and a City on Fire for the Fourth
Seattle's 1895 Fourth of July committee promised a naval sham battle, fireworks over the water, yacht and canoe races, and two days of frontier sports.
- Spokane Prepares to Welcome the Northern Pacific’s Last-Spike Excursion
In September 1883, Spokane Falls planned arches, speeches and a day of civic pageantry to greet President Henry Villard and the railroad party opening the transcontinental line.
- The Day Seattle Swallowed 10,000 Strangers: The Great Fourth of July Flood
In 1888, the Territory of Washington threw its biggest-ever Independence Day celebration. Steamers arrived loaded with visitors until the streets were so packed that police could barely move. Here is how Seattle hosted a crowd that nearly burst its seams.
- The Day Tacoma Painted Itself Blue, White and Yellow
A mile-long parade, camels, a captive elk and a senator's electric button opened the Interstate Fair in a burst of Northwest boosterism.
- Farewell to the Old University: Seattle's Alumni Gather One Last Time in the Original U.W. Buildings
Nearly two hundred graduates, regents and old students filled the University of Washington's original downtown rooms for a farewell banquet, portraits of the founders, and a toast to the classes that would carry the school to its new campus.
- The City of Destiny Lights Up for the Fair
Tacoma plans a massive electrical display of double arches across Pacific Avenue to welcome visitors for the upcoming A.-V.-P. fair.
- The Women Who Packed Washington Into a World's Fair
At the Olympia Hotel, local women joined two state commissioners to plan wood carvings, wildflowers, art and industry for Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition.
- The Feathered Truce: How Seattle High School Girls Promised to Save Birds
In a rare moment of progressive activism in 1900, students at Livingston Avenue High School pledged to stop decorating their hats with the plumage of songbirds, responding to a plea from a local ornithology advocate.
- Seattle’s Fourth of July Gets a Cash Injection: $5,000 for Fireworks, $300 for the Parade
As crowds from across Puget Sound descend on the city, the Fourth of July Committee has slashed its budget estimates to fund a 'big' celebration, appealing to residents for immediate donations to cover the shortfall.
- Three Thousand Boosters Eat, Cheer, and Rebrand Tacoma
One night in February 1909: 3,000 boosters packed the armory, picked a new city slogan — 'You'll Like Tacoma' — and got sermons on land, liquor, and who should own the tide flats.
- The Grand Arrival of Henry Villard
A spectacular, Homeric welcome for the railroad builder that transformed the streets of Seattle into a forest-themed parade route.
- Seattle’s ‘Palace of Trade’: 10,000 Crowd the Rialto’s Opening Night
A Boston-backed department store at Second and Madison threw open four floors of retail spectacle, declaring Seattle had arrived on the Pacific Coast.
- A City Turned Out to Bury George Heilbron
In 1895, Seattle’s governor, mayor, judges, businessmen and laborers filled the First Unitarian Church for the funeral of a civic leader who had helped build the young city.
- A Floral Welcome for the Papal Delegate
Thousands of roses decorated the Tacoma Hotel for the visiting representative of Pope Leo XIII, sparking a debate over Seattle’s 'modest' standing.
- The Bunko Men, the Norwegian Sisters, and the Saloonkeeper's Revenge
A shell-game gang swindles two Norwegian sisters out of $300 on the Seattle waterfront; Frank Hart is convicted in three minutes, then a saloonkeeper assaults one of his accusers outside court.
- The Decoration of the Fallen in 1884
Thousands gathered in the university grove to honor the Civil War dead and reflect on the changing definition of loyalty in a young, healing nation.
- Spokane Dressed for a Railroad King—and Waited Until Midnight
Spokane Falls spent a week building arches and hanging evergreens for Henry Villard's Northern Pacific excursion, but delayed trains turned the grand reception into a series of after-dark whistle-stops—and Ulysses S. Grant drew the crowd that the railroad had promised.
- The Fraternal Grudge Match at Robbins Park
Everett’s Moose and Elks lodges squared off in a Decoration Day showdown that proved more competitive than any of the fans expected.
- Labor Unions March Through Tacoma
Striking displays of organization and craft pride defined the industrial parade as unions from Tacoma and Seattle joined forces.
Also about this, in other words
- The Gift of an Elegant Era
Tacoma club women receive a historic windfall as the W.R. Rust family donates the entire contents of their mansion for a new clubhouse.
- A Cultural Tableau in Fremont
Lake Union Lodge members stage an elaborate Japanese-themed wedding and fan drill to celebrate local community spirit.
- An Invitation to a Celestial Feast
An 1877 dispatch offers a rare, albeit patronizing, glimpse into the intricate social etiquette and lavish dining culture of Seattle’s Chinese mercantile class.
- 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 Price of Elegance in 1883
A look at the luxury fabrics and household goods enticing early Seattleites at the Golden Rule Bazaar.
- The Vanity Trap: Seattle’s 1876 Warning on Materialism
While the city scrambled to build its future, one observer warned that an 'aristocracy of display' was hollowing out the pioneer soul.
- A Grand Dedication at Codding Hall
The entire valley converged on White Bluffs to christen the town’s first modern amusement venue with a night of dancing and patriotic fervor.
- The Con Artist's Tearful Pitch
A traveler uses a tragic tale of fire and loss to test the hospitality of a Seattle resident.