The Casino (Seattle)

Defunct LGBT club in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Casino

Madame Peabody's Dancing Academy for Young Ladies
The Dance

Address| 172 S. Washington Street
Location| Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates| 47°36′04″N 122°19′56″W﻿ / ﻿47.6011°N 122.3321°W﻿ / 47.6011; -122.3321
Operator| John and Margaret Delevitti
Opened| 1930

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 Sr. in 1930[1] and managed by his in-laws John and Margaret Delevitti[4][5] in the basement of the building where The Double Header would be located in 1934.[2][6]

## History

[edit]

> [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[7]

The Casino was a venue occupying the space of the former People's Theater, which had been in operation from 1890 to 1904.[8] The club was run by John and Margaret Delevitti,[4] a heterosexual couple that cared for gays in the city.[7] The club was known as one of the places most welcoming of gays on the West Coast,[4] and became popular with drag queens.[6]

At the time, it was not widely allowed for men to dance together, [4] but they were allowed to do so at The Casino, because the establishment paid off local policemen.[4] 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.[9]

In the mid-1950s, The Casino was converted into a diner.[10] 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".[11]

## Legacy

[edit]

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.[12] She experienced The Casino when it was a diner, but still as an important meeting place for marginalized communities.[10] The exhibit was displayed at the Frye Art Museum.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Chrystie Hill (April 12, 2003), "Queer History in Seattle, Part 1: to 1967", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink
2. ^ 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 June 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
3. ^ a b Jones, Sam (June 27, 2019). "Seattle's Gay Bar Scene Is Changing—and That's a Good Thing". Seattle Met. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
4. ^ a b c d e Greg Lange (May 28, 1999). "Casino Pool Room, one of the earliest Seattle establishments for gays, opens in 1930". HistoryLink.org. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
5. ^ Freitas, Richard (2017). “The Land at Our Feet”: Preserving Pioneer Square’s Queer Landscape (PDF) (Master of Landscape Architecture thesis). Seattle, Washington: Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
6. ^ a b Kery Murakami (June 22, 2007), "No longer at the center of Seattle's gay scene, bar still serving outsiders", Seattle P-I, archived from the original on December 15, 2019, retrieved December 13, 2019
7. ^ a b Gorman-Murray, Andrew; Hopkins, Peter (May 6, 2016). Masculinities and Place. Routledge. p. 305\. ISBN 9781317100003. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
8. ^ "Seattle Historical Sites". seattle.gov. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
9. ^ Julian Barr. "Pioneer Square and the Making of Queer Seattle: A Story Map". ArcGIS. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
10. ^ a b Christy Carley (August 9, 2017). "Storme Webber's Stories of Survival". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
11. ^ Atkins, Gary (2011). Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging. University of Washington Press. pp. 91, 391. ISBN 978-0295800998. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
12. ^ Emily Pothast (October 11, 2017). "The Indigenous Family That Found Refuge in an Old Seattle Gay Bar". theStranger.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
13. ^ Amber Cortes (October 12, 2017). "Culture News: Two Pioneer Square Artists Win Award, TWIST Begins, And Seattle's Supergroup Who Is She?". theStranger. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.

## Further reading

[edit]

* LGBTQ portal

* Lange, Greg (May 28, 1999). "Casino Pool Room, one of the earliest Seattle establishments for gays, opens in 1930". HistoryLink.org. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
* Gary Atkins (2011). Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295800998.
* Pioneer Square and the Making of Queer Seattle: A Story Map
* The Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project. "Queen City Comes Out: Exploring Seattle's Lesbian and Gay History". OutHistory.org. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

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