Police vs. Proprietors: The First Dance Hall Bust
A Seattle dance hall proprietor is arrested after defying a new ordinance aimed at regulating local nightlife.
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 first arrest under the new dance hall ordinance was made last night at 9 o'clock. James Munroe, the proprietor of the dance hall under Clancy's saloon, at the corner of South Third and Washington streets, disregarded the warning given him by Chief of Police Wulard and opened his place last evening as usual. Though the hall was packed with the element who usually patronizes such resorts, few were found who were willing to dance; all were afraid of the workings of the new ordinance. At 10 o'clock Detective Cudihee put in his appearance, and finding the place open and several dancers on the floor, he arrested Munroe. At police headquarters Munroe dashed $20 in gold and bills and wanted to know how much his bail would amount to, and when told that he would only have to put up $10 to insure his appearance in court today he looked very much disappointed. He intends to test the ordinance, and avers that it will not stand.
“He intends to test the ordinance, and avers that it will not stand.”
This 1895 confrontation over Seattle's nightlife regulation echoes the city's long history of balancing public morality and private business. The struggle to control 'dance halls' and the 'rough' crowds they drew mirrors contemporary debates over nightlife oversight and urban space in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Pioneer Square.
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