The Seattle Idol: A Public Parade of Outrage
Citizens and the city council are at odds over the loud, disruptive street parades used to promote local theaters.
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.
From many sources the Post-Intelligencer hears approval of its brief comment yesterday upon the shameless public parades for the advertisement of the local theaters. The feeling seems general among respectable people that public decency is outraged by a wanton display made in the interest of places of amusement. Cannot the council do something to reform this abuse?
“The feeling seems general among respectable people that public decency is outraged by a wanton display made in the interest of places of amusement.”
Public space in downtown Seattle has always been a contested zone, from 1889 debates over parade noise to modern-day struggles over the use of city sidewalks for protest and commerce. While the 'theatrical parades' of the 19th century have vanished, the civic tension between business promotion and public order remains a hallmark of Seattle's evolving downtown identity.
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