TODAY IN WEST SEATTLE-AREA HISTORY – SEATTLE’S FIRST CIRCUS, AUG 24, 1869
On August 24, 1869, the Great Eastern and Royal European Circus, the first circus to visit Seattle, performs in Pioneer Square in front of approximately 400 people.
A reporter named Maxwell of the Weekly Intelligencer called the performances “the most tame and insipid ever witnessed” (Pacific Tribune). Maxwell’s objectivity may have been affected by the fact that he had to pay to see the show. Olympia publisher Thomas Prosch speculated that attendance might have doubled, had Maxwell been given a free ticket.
Sources:“Didn’t Get A Ticket,” Pacific Tribune (Olympia), September 4, 1869, p. 2.
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