The Curtain Falls on the Olympic
A Tacoma theater is left in the dark after the manager fails to pay a utility bill, marking the end of a disastrous business experiment.
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 lights at the Olympic theater in Tacoma were cut off by the Tacoma Light and Water Company just before a scheduled performance of 'Pygmalion and Galatea.' Manager Wilson reported owing $83 on a February bill, though the company claimed a higher debt. Wilson stated he had already lost $30,000 on the theater since its opening in December, which he attributed to a lack of public appreciation for the high-quality, 'respectable' productions he attempted to stage. The venture had been fraught with bad luck, including being opened during a snowstorm and facing legal entanglements with local liquor dealers.
“Citizens have not shown appreciation of the class of productions brought out, which were a character suitable for drawing attendance from the most respectable classes.”
The collapse of the Olympic theater mirrors the perennial struggle of local independent venues in Seattle and Tacoma to balance artistic programming with crushing overhead costs and the fickleness of local patronage. Like Wilson, many modern venue owners find themselves battling utilities and debt when trying to cultivate a niche audience in a tough economic climate.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.