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284 stories matching guest
- 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 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 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 Chambermaid’s Lock: A Seattle Hotel Guest’s Brutal Mistake
When a wealthy Chicago businessman accidentally locked himself in his hotel room and then roughed up the maid who tried to help him, he found himself facing a $10,000 lawsuit for assault.
- 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.
- Midnight Panic at the St. Cloud
A spectacular five-story blaze in downtown Seattle forces guests to flee in their nightclothes, leaving a landmark hotel in ruins.
- The Navy Secretary Goes Down Into the Big Hole
Secretary of the Navy Herbert rides the lighthouse tender Manzanita across the Sound to inspect the giant new dry dock at Port Orchard, settles a bitter dispute over how deep to drive the pilings, and dances the night away at the Rainier.
- The Editors Came, Saw the Grapes, and Went Home to Boost Kennewick
For three days in September 1914 the young river town threw its Fourth Annual Grape Carnival, wined and dined the weekly editors of three counties, and sent them home to write love letters about cement sidewalks, shade trees and enormous bunches of grapes.
- Seattle's Big Bet on the Railroad Party
Seattle's boosters see a visit from Henry Villard's 600 Northern Pacific guests as the city's chance to impress Eastern capital—and they want a public reception ready.
- A Dog's Bark Saves Sleeping Guests as Usk Hotel Burns
A pre-dawn fire consumed a Usk hotel in 1908, forcing guests to flee with little more than what they wore—and leaving the landlord's watch and money behind.
- The Great Walla Walla Dental Scandal: Did the President Have False Teeth?
A local political feud erupts when the Ankeny organ accuses President Roosevelt of sporting dentures during a private dinner at Senator Ankeny's home.
- 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.
- Spokane's Date with Destiny: Welcoming the Northern Pacific Railroad
The completion of the transcontinental line brings Henry Villard and hundreds of guests to Spokane Falls, promising a new era of growth and connection.
- 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 Town That Wouldn't Sleep: Snohomish’s Fourth of July Overflow
When the steamers arrived with guests from Seattle and upriver, two hotels couldn't hold them all. The town celebrated with a reading by a woman, a poem by a local man, and a boat ride that nearly capsized on the Skagit.
- 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.
- A Five-Cent Lunchroom Where Men Are Barred
In the Shorey building, Mrs. Flora D. Brown runs a noonday refuge for Seattle’s shop and factory women, serving soup, coffee and a welcome for a few pennies—and keeping the men firmly outside.
- The Legislators Who Came to See a Ditch—and Left Believers
A steamboat tour of Smith Cove and Lake Union turns Eastern Washington lawmakers into ship-canal converts.
- 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.
- Seattle Braces for the T.P.S.C.V. Convention: A City of 150,000 Guests
As delegates from across the West begin to arrive, local committees scramble to house and feed a massive influx of visitors for the upcoming Temperance convention.
- 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 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 First Train Into Newport Changed Everything
On November 25, 1907, the Idaho Washington Northern inaugurated passenger and daily freight service, bringing railroad executives, Spokane promoters and a promise of growth to Newport.
- 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 Mysterious Death of Abe Gross
A 28-year-old Tacoma dry-goods partner was found shot through the mouth in his bed. His brother's grief, a coroner's open verdict, and a city's disbelief turned a private tragedy into a public mystery.
Also about this, in other words
- The Padded Guest List
A political movement to reform Seattle government gets caught red-handed inflating its support with the names of prominent citizens who never agreed to join.
- The Unwelcome Guest of Port Gamble
A small mill town's tranquility is disrupted by a mysterious, 'half-crazed' outsider offering unwanted critiques of local intellectual life.
- The Unwelcome Guest of Old Town
A Norwegian immigrant facing vagrancy charges finds himself sentenced to the street-sweeping squad.
- The Unwanted Guest of Providence Hospital
A 'harmless crank' in 1885 Seattle exposes the gaps in the city's social safety net.
- The Uninvited Guest at Gold Creek
A traveling family’s campsite becomes a crime scene when a visitor is caught red-handed—or rather, silk-handed—stealing from her hosts.
- The Uninvited Guest in a Photograph
A local photographer and a prominent couple are left baffled after an extra, unrecognizable figure appears in their portrait.
- The Sheriff’s Unwelcome Guest
An indebted Seattle businessman is arrested on a steamboat just as he was about to skip town for Whatcom.
- An Unexpected Guest at the Sheriff's Door
A South Tacoma deputy spent hours searching for a fugitive only to find him knocking on his own front door.