Fast Fact
- Jonathan Shipley — December 1, 2010
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Did you know that the Thomas Edison invention the Kinetoscope had an early demonstration in
Seattle on the corner of 2nd and James?
It’s true! On December 13, 1894, in a storefront on the Occidental Block, Seattleites got to view the machine that would bring motion-picture technology to everyone. What did Seattleites view that winter day? That detail has been lost in the mists of time, despite colorful ads in the Seattle Post-intelligencer: “Edison’s Latest Wonder!...The most Mysterious and Marvelous invention of the Nineteenth Century!” •
Illustration by Regina Volpi Baerwalde for City Arts.

