A Parent Asks What Olympia Is Paying to Police Its New Variety Theater
A letter to the editor complains that a new theater below the “dead line” is drawing drunken loggers, running a bar, and selling private boxes—and asks what the city gets for its license and police protection.
Editor Tribune:
How much does it cost the city of Olympia for police protection at the new variety theater just opened at the foot of Main street, below what is called “the dead line,” and how much license is the concern paying to the city? With a bar in full blast, a number of box workers in the “private boxes” and loggers and workingmen stupidly drunk or hilariously excited while full of vile liquor, it would appear that this new business venture is an awful pitfall to the young men of our city.
A Parent.
“it would appear that this new business venture is an awful pitfall to the young men of our city.”
The “dead line” was Olympia’s informal vice boundary, and this letter shows residents already asking who pays for policing nightlife and whether license fees cover the social cost. Those questions still echo in debates over bars, venues, and downtown policing.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.