Tag Archives: Sunday Quote
…Opening Doors
In 1974, the The University of Washington Daily confirmed that something new was happening at Shelly’s. The first paragraph noted, “’Everyone is welcome,’ say the matchboxes from Shelly’s Leg, the gay discotheque that is Seattle’s hipper-than-hip place to let the good times roll. And when they say ‘everyone welcome,’ they mean everybody. Homosexuals, bisexuals, trisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, pansexuals, and even heterosexuals.” The dancers, the Daily said, had become a “sexual alphabet soup.”
“What draws straights into the gay world of Shelly’s is anybody’s guess. Some come because of the relaxed atmosphere, others because straights are less uptight these days, some are voyeurs who come to ‘look at the queers,’ and some just like the good music and the lack of a cover charge. Maybe some who are unsure of their sexual identity come to ‘check out the other side’”
It may have been the first time heterosexuals in Seattle acknowledged that there was something they actually enjoyed about the culture being created by the city’s newly decloaked gays and lesbians.
Shelly's Leg Sign is in MOHAI's Collection and was until recently on display.
Quoted from Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging by Gary L. Atkins. The quote describes the importance of Shelly’s Leg, a proudly open gay bar that existed in Seattle’s Pioneer Square from 1974 to 1977. The bar provided one of the first openly gay bars in Seattle that was also popular with a heterosexual audience. It is considered as the first discotheque in Seattle as well.
Gay Seattle is available in the Museum Gift Shop as well as on Amazon.
Shelly Bauman, founder and namesake of Shelly’s Leg died on November 18, 2010. A good account of her life is available here from the Seattle Gay News website.
…Flamboyant
Sunday Quote
He could be self-admittedly outrageous. At least, the Seattle Police thought so when they arrested him on several occasions for painting green stripes down Fifth Avenue on Saint Patrick’s Eve. On one occasion, after being released from jail, he went right out and painted shamrocks in the doorways of the 13 Coins. Continue reading »
…Magical Nights
Olympic Hotel, 1929
Sunday Quote
Four orchestras provided music. They were placed around the hotel so that each could be heard distinctly. William Hoffman, formerly of the San Francisco Symphony, was the hotel’s new concermaster; his orchestra was set up in the Palm Room.Max Fisher and his musicians played in the Spanish Ballroom, and Max Berliner’s band played outside the Italian Ballroom. Down in the Marine Room, guests danced to Eddie Harkness and his orchestra.
…A Fight Breaking Out
Sunday Quote
