A Midnight Mystery at the Tacoma Opera House
A man is discovered near death with a broken neck in front of the theater, leaving police with nothing but a frantic, garbled message.
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.
Rudolph Kipke, of 1517 South K street, is tonight hovering between life and death at the Tacoma General Hospital after being found with a broken neck. He is in a precarious condition, though the physicians hope to save him. The man was found on the ground in front of the Tacoma Opera House at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon. A paper was held in his hand and telephoned to the police, who sent the ambulance to take him to the hospital.
“Rudolph Kipke... is tonight hovering between life and death at the Tacoma General Hospital after being found with a broken neck.”
Tacoma's historic theater district remains a vibrant, bustling center of activity today, though thankfully with fewer mysterious midnight assaults. The incident echoes the persistent, often violent, street-level dangers that continue to emerge in the shadows of high-density city life.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.