The Dungeon Behind the Standard Theater: Inside Seattle’s Terrifying Jail
A reporter’s inspection of Marshal Hamilton’s holding cells reveals prisoners sleeping on straw in a damp basement, fed by a restaurant manager who claims their diet is 'wholesome' and identical to his paying customers'.
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.
Considerable has been said about the place in which Marshal Hamilton keeps the prisoners who are awaiting trial before the district court. Monday a reporter sought out United States Marshal Hamilton and with him visited the prison which is located in the Haney building, in the rear of the Standard Theater, on Washington street.
While en route for the prison the marshal explained that he had endeavored to secure Turner Hall as a prison, but had been unable to do so. He also sought to lease the upper floor of Davis' book store, on Front street, but met with failure there. It was only after a great deal of trouble that he secured the basement in which the prisoners are kept.
A descent of some fifteen feet brought the marshal and reporter to the door of the jail. Inside the open door were four cells. The room is 30 feet long by 15 feet wide. The prisoners were lying on blankets under which was straw and over all a blanket. A fire was burning dimly in the stove. The place is ventilated by opening the windows at the rear, but the prisoners complained of the cold and these were shut while the reporter was there. The only ventilation was through the door around which the guards stood.
The place was close but no more so than any apartment which contained 10 to 12 prisoners as four guards about the food, Mr. Hamilton said:
'The prisoners are fed twice a day in accordance with the rule that prevails at the Alcatraz Island penitentiary. From the 1st of October to the 1st of March, but two meals a day are served. From the 1st of March to the 1st of October three meals are given.'
If you wish to know something about the quality and quantity of the food served, go to the Standard Restaurant next door and ask the manager about it. The manager of the restaurant was seen and said: 'I give the prisoners beefsteak and mutton chops, fresh baker's bread, and I give them a half pound of meat each man at every meal, all the bread and potatoes they want. It is the same meat, coffee, bread and potatoes that I serve to my customers. The appearance varies only in the stews. All the food is of most wholesome quality.'
This 1890s account of Seattle’s jail conditions mirrors modern debates over pre-trial detention and prison overcrowding. Just as today, the gap between official assurances of 'wholesome' care and the grim reality of damp, cold cells remains a potent symbol of civic neglect.
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