A recently-released podcast offers a glimpse of the early days of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ scene during the middle part of the last century.
There was a casino that doubled as a dance hall for same-sex couples, a gay community center and the city’s first Pride parade in 1974, as remembered in the podcast by community organizer David Neth.
“That was a statement at the time to be out in a public space like this and, you know, be gay and be proud and have a sign that said that,” said Neth.
But this wasn’t Capitol Hill or the U District in Seattle; it was Pioneer Square.
“This is a place where many things started here in the city,” said podcast host Rosette Royale. “But then as cities grow and expand, people sort of moved out. And so there was, in a sense, a vacuum that kind of happened here in Pioneer Square, and so many people who were marginalized or disenfranchised, found opportunity here. And so that happened for many LGBTQ+, folks.”
Royale recently guided KNKX on a tour of Pioneer Square. We started our conversation at the former site of the Gay Community Center on Cherry Street, and worked our way over to Second Avenue South and South Washington Street near the big green Barney’s Jewelry & Loan sign.
“This is one of the few places that are still here, that are still visible if you were to go by and you would see this sign. You could see this awning right here, it says ‘casino dancing.’"
The 'casino' part comes from the card games enjoyed by Filipino immigrants here once upon a time.
“At night, they would move the tables to the side, and LGBTQ people used to be able to gather there to meet, then it eventually became a dance hall. So it's called the casino. But when people started dancing there, roughly probably in the '50s or so, people started calling it 'Madame Peabody School for Young Ladies', or 'Dancing Academy for Young Ladies.'"
There was also the Silver Slipper, 611 Tavern, the Doubleheader and South End Steam Baths where LGBTQ+ people gathered. As Royale documents in the podcast, establishments often had to pay police and the liquor board under the table to keep operating. But the places allowed patrons to be themselves without fear of persecution.
Interview Highlights
On how the LGBTQ+ scene evolved through decades in Pioneer Square before and after Stonewall.
“I was just speaking to this historian, Julian Barr and he was saying people often ask, like, ‘What's the Stonewall in Seattle?’ And you know, there isn't really a Stonewall, there wasn't really some sort of event like that that occurred. But when Stonewall did happen in 1969, in New York City, it, of course, was known by LGBTQ people across the country. And so it was five years after that in 1974, that people here decided to have their own first Pride event. And so in Occidental Park, right around here in Pioneer Square, they had a picnic during the day, they had cakes and cookies and things, you know, that was really nice. There are people who were shocked, you know, passersby didn't really know what was going on. And so, not only was it a place for people to gather for community, but it was also a place of political activism.”
On why Seattle’s LGBTQ+ scene became less concentrated in Pioneer Square
“Well, it started happening in late '70s, '80s. The city began to open up, people have found other places to live and Pride events happen, and then you have the opportunity to be queer, lesbian, gay, in more than just Pioneer Square. So people started to move out, new spaces started to open, people did start to go to Capitol Hill; there were lesbians gathering in the University District, so people started to spread out. And then things just moved and moved and moved. And then people no longer sought out Pioneer Square as a destination.”
On what he hopes people learn from the podcast
“Well, I hope that they take away that everything we see today isn't how it's always been. It's very easy to believe that, ‘Oh, it's just like this. It's always been like this.’ But no, there were so many other things that happened here before us. I would hope they would also think about just where they live now. Like, what does that mean about where you are now? What are some stories, what sort of history could have happened, who might have lived there?"
The Square One podcast is connected to HistoryLink, which also offers a self-guided walking tour featuring the LGBTQ+ history of Pioneer Square.
