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The Casino (Seattle)

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Coordinates: 47°36′04″N 122°19′56″W / 47.6011°N 122.3321°W / 47.6011; -122.3321
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The Casino
Madame Peabody's Dancing Academy for Young Ladies
The Dance
Map
Address172 S. Washington Street
LocationSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°36′04″N 122°19′56″W / 47.6011°N 122.3321°W / 47.6011; -122.3321
OperatorJohn and Margaret Delevitti
Opened1930

The Casino (nicknamed "Madame Peabody's Dancing Academy for Young Ladies"[1] and "The Dance") was a gay and lesbian dance club, café, pool hall, and card room located in Pioneer Square in Seattle.[2][3] It was opened by Joseph Bellotti in 1930[1] in the basement of the building where The Double Header was located.[2][4] It was known as one of the places most welcoming of gays on the West Coast.

History

[The owners of The Casino] John and Margaret wouldn't let anyone mess with the queens. A queen was anyone who was gay and didn't try to hide it. They protected us and we loved them for that. ... The Casino was the only place on the West Coast that was open and free for gay people.

–Velma, 1966[5]

The Casino was a venue occupying the space of the former People's Theater, which had been in operation from 1890 to 1904.[6] The club was run by John and Margaret Delevitti,[7] a heterosexual couple that cared for gays in the city.[5] The club was known as one of the places most welcoming of gays on the West Coast,[7] and became popular with drag queens.[4]

At the time, it was not widely allowed for men to dance together, [7] but they were allowed to do so at The Casino, because the establishment paid off local policemen.[7] This fact made the establishment popular, via an underground network of information about nightlife for gays and lesbians,[2] and caused it to be known as something of a speakeasy.[3] Prior to the legalization of dancing of same-sex couples, same-sex contact at The Casino was primarily through conversations and stealthy eye contact via the bar's mirrors.[8]

In the mid-1950s, The Casino was converted into a diner.[9] It was named in a 1966 investigative article in The Seattle Times as one of the bars which attracted a gay clientele; the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board had added The Casino to a list of 14 bars "under investigation for homosexual activity", but for unspecified reasons recommended that it be "dropped from observation".[10]

Legacy

Interdisciplinary artist Storme Webber created a 2017 museum exhibition called Casino: A Palimpsest, based on her memories of visiting the establishment with her mother in the 1960s.[11] She experienced The Casino during its history as a diner, but still as an important meeting place for marginalized communities.[9] The exhibit was displayed at the Frye Art Museum.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project. "Queen City Comes Out: Exploring Seattle's Lesbian and Gay History". OutHistory.org. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Sam (27 June 2019). "Seattle's Gay Bar Scene Is Changing—and That's a Good Thing". Seattle Met. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Kery Murakami (22 June 2007), "No longer at the center of Seattle's gay scene, bar still serving outsiders", Seattle P-I, archived from the original on 15 December 2019, retrieved 13 December 2019
  4. ^ a b Gorman-Murray, Andrew; Hopkins, Peter (6 May 2016). Masculinities and Place. Routledge. p. 305. ISBN 9781317100003. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Seattle Historical Sites". seattle.gov. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Greg Lange (28 May 1999). "Casino Pool Room, one of the earliest Seattle establishments for gays, opens in 1930". HistoryLink.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ Julian Barr. "Pioneer Square and the Making of Queer Seattle: A Story Map". ArcGIS. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b Christy Carley (9 August 2017). "Storme Webber's Stories of Survival". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. ^ Atkins, Gary (2011). Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging. University of Washington Press. pp. 91, 391. ISBN 978-0295800998.
  10. ^ Emily Pothast (11 October 2017). "The Indigenous Family That Found Refuge in an Old Seattle Gay Bar". theStranger.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ^ Amber Cortes (12 October 2017). "Culture News: Two Pioneer Square Artists Win Award, TWIST Begins, And Seattle's Supergroup Who Is She?". theStranger. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.

Further reading

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