The Hard Times Ball
Seattle's elite staged an 'economical' dance party to navigate the financial strain of 1893.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The most fashionable event of the past week was the street car party given at Ranke's hall Friday evening. Although a full-dress function, it was a hard times subscription ball, the arrangement being that dancing should commence early and cease shortly before the last cars left the city. The object was to avoid the expense of carriages, and thus enable the young men who are working on diminished salaries to take part in the affair. All that was aimed at was most successfully accomplished, for which credit is due to Dr. W. J. Baird and Mr. George B. Kittinger, who were the principal movers in getting up the party. A large crowd of the principal personages in society came early, and the enjoyment was such that they quit reluctantly.
“Although a full-dress function, it was a hard times subscription ball... the object was to avoid the expense of carriages.”
In 1893, Seattle's elite faced the Panic of '93 by hosting 'hard times' parties to signal modesty, even as the city struggled with a severe depression. Today, the performative austerity of the 1890s echoes in modern Seattle, where the optics of wealth and social status remain deeply tied to the city's volatile economic shifts.
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