File:Arlington Hotel decorated for visit of Henry Villard, Seattle, 1883 (MOHAI 1797).jpg

English:

The original Arlington Hotel was located at the southeast corner of First Avenue South and Main Streets. This photo was taken at the time of Henry Villard's visit to Seattle in September 1883. The paintings were done by an artist named Piper and depict The Past, Alki and Present, with banners for Washington, Vermont, Canada and Illinois. Henry Villard was the President of the Northern pacific Railroad.

Handwritten on mount: Arlington Hotel - dec. for Pres. Harrison. 1891. This information incorrect.

• Subjects (LCTGM): Hotels--Washington (State)--Seattle; Festive decorations--Washington (State)--Seattle; Flags--American--Washington (State)--Seattle

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The metadata at https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/1797 is captioned as "Arlington Hotel decorated for visit of Henry Villard, Seattle, 1883". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer for September 15, 1883 describes the decoration of the hotel for his visit and, in particular, a parade to honor him on that day: "In the center of the building hangs a large American flag. The balcony extending across the front of the hotel is studded with shields, each one representing one of the states of our Union. A large electric light is placed in the portico over the main entrance. … The front of the building is hung in festoons and signal flags." That corresponds somewhat, but not perfectly, to what we see here: no mention of the "Past" and "Present" pictures, and the "large electric light" is not readily seen here. Among the decoration on the hotel are, indeed, eight shields but they look an awful lot like copies of the logo of the Union Pacific Railroad, whereas Villard was president of the Northern Pacific, not the Union Pacific. So it is not totally clear whether this image is actually taken at the time of Villard's visit.

Further notes in the metadata say, "Handwritten on mount: Arlington Hotel - dec. for Pres. Harrison. 1891. This information incorrect." Indeed, it has to be incorrect because by that time Arlington House had burned in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.