Fast Fact


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.