The Library Ball that Defined 1889 Seattle
High society gathers at the First Regiment Armory to fund the Yesler Library, marking a glittering return to the social calendar after the solemnity of Lent.
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 armory of the First Regiment presented a brilliant scene on Thursday evening, on the occasion of the ball for the benefit of the Yesler library fund. The untiring efforts of the ladies who planned and arranged the affair were crowned with such success that the ball may be ranked among the events of the season. The hall was appropriately draped with bunting and festooned with the national colors. At a little booth in one corner of the dancing hall, ices were dispensed, and card tables were prepared in one of the officers' rooms for the benefit of the gentlemen who enjoyed a rubber at whist better than the Terpsichorean exercise. The dancers did not commence to arrive before 10 o'clock; but when the grand march struck up half an hour later, the hall presented an animated appearance. The evolutions were performed to the splendid music of Vaughn's Orchestra. Commencing with the lancers, an excellent programme of dances kept the happy throng delightfully engaged until an early hour in the morning, when the merry-makers departed with reluctance from so enchanting a scene.
“The hall was appropriately draped with bunting and festooned with the national colors.”
In 1889, Seattle’s elite rallied to fund a public library through an elaborate gala at the local armory. Today, while public funding models have shifted, the spirit of using high-profile community events to secure civic infrastructure remains a familiar cornerstone of Seattle’s philanthropic identity.
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