City Council Moves to Shutter Saloon Dance Halls
Legislators pass a sweeping ordinance to ban dancing in liquor-serving establishments, effectively targeting local variety theaters and saloons.
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.
At the meeting of the house of delegates last night, an ordinance to prevent and punish the conducting, managing, carrying on or taking part in any dance in any saloon or place where intoxicating liquors are sold or disposed of, and imposing a penalty of from $10 to $100 for violations, was passed by a full vote. This ordinance was drawn up in pursuance of the resolution adopted by the house at the meeting Monday night, when the application for a license to hire musicians was presented by Clancy & Monroe. The ordinance granting permission to Clancy & Monroe to hire musicians was killed by a vote of 6 against, 2 for.
“An ordinance to prevent and punish the conducting, managing, carrying on or taking part in any dance in any saloon.”
This 1893 crackdown reflects a recurring theme in Seattle's history: the city's ongoing friction between its rough-and-tumble frontier nightlife and reformist impulses. Much like modern debates over noise ordinances and zoning for nightlife districts, this battle over 'dance halls' sought to regulate the social atmosphere of a rapidly professionalizing city.
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