A Grand Welcome for Seattle's Visitors
When an excursion party arrived in Seattle in 1885, they were treated to a citywide illumination and a clam bake at Port Blakely, sparking a fierce local rivalry over the naming of Mount Rainier.
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.
On Monday, June 15th, our party arrived at the Northern Pacific terminal at Kalama. We proceeded through the forest, which is in such quantity as to supply the whole world. At 5 p.m., we reached the head of Hood Canal and, after a ride of two and one-half hours, we reached the largest city on Puget Sound. When some miles distant, we beheld the entire city illuminated to honor our coming, with the words 'Welcome' plainly etched in jets of flames. On our arrival, we were met by the citizens of Seattle, who escorted us to their best hotels. Next morning, we were escorted around the city to see its progress. When we offered to pay our hotel bills, they would not accept our money. On our departure, we were joined by hundreds of Seattle's best people. In an hour, we were landed at Port Blakely, where we were introduced to the guests with roast clams, salt chowder, and an abundance of cheer. Seattle, a city of 12,000 inhabitants, reflects evidence of wealth, has a beautiful location, and a harbor unexcelled. Our party arrived at Tacoma about dark, intending to take in Tacoma on our returning trip. Midway down the sound, we were met by a committee of residents and officers of the city of Seattle. On rounding the point and turning into Elliott Bay, about midnight, a splendid sight burst upon the tired and sleepy excursionists. The city, gently rising from the terraced shores of the bay, like a section of a monster amphitheater, was all ablaze with light. The city had been illuminated to honor the arriving excursionists. As the steamer went out over the still waters of the bay, there came back from the shores, like an answering echo, cheers and music.
“The city, gently rising from the terraced shores of the bay, like a section of a monster amphitheater, was all ablaze with light.”
This 1885 account of a lavish, civic-funded welcome for visitors mirrors the city's modern-day efforts to court major tech conventions and tourism. Yet, the underlying tension—the fierce, regional 'stolen mountain' debate between Seattle and Tacoma—reveals that the intense civic pride and rivalry that defines the Puget Sound region has been present since the city's infancy.
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