Japanese float in Golden Potlatch parade at 2nd Ave. and Madison St., ca. July 1911

• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Edward H. Mitchell (San Francisco, Calif.) 1911
• Subjects: Potlatch > Washington (State) > Seattle; Festivals > Washington (State) > Seattle; Central business districts > Washington (State) > Seattle; Parades > Washington (State) > Seattle; Parade floats; Streets > Washington (State) > Seattle; Horse-drawn vehicles; Horses; Carriages and carts; Buildings > Washington (State) > Seattle; Office buildings > Washington (State) > Seattle; Bank buildings > Washington (State) > Seattle; American Bank Building (Seattle; Wash.); Empire Building (Seattle; Leary Building (Seattle; Second Avenue (Seattle; Madison Street (Seattle; Parasols; Japanese > Washington (State) > Seattle; Seattle. Potlatch; Elliott; Elliott Bay; Indian; Pacific; Tyee; Yukon; Alaska
• Online Access: http://cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/u?/p16118coll3,1606

The American Bank Building (also known as the Empire Building) appears at the right with the Leary Building behind it. Description of the Golden Potlatch festival: "The success of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition encouraged local boosters to plan another ambitious event to showcase the city. The Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Advertising Club and the Press Club decided to create a civic celebration loosely modeled on the Northwest coastal Indian tribes' potlatch, a ceremony of friendship and sharing. Seattle held its first Potlatch in 1911, but the Golden Potlatch of 1912 was a far greater festival, meant to attract visitors from far and near.The summer carnival was both a cynical exploitation and a madcap spectacle. The Potlatch shamelessly looted the heritage of Pacific Northwest Indian people. The Golden Potlatch began with the arrival of the 'Hyas Tyee' -- or Big Chief -- in his great war canoe, visiting the city from his home in the far north. The Tillikums of Elttaes (Seattle spelled backward) paraded the streets in white suits, their hats draped in battery-powered lights, gladhanding any visitors who came their way. Bright-eyed members of the Press and Ad clubs, as well as the Chamber, slathered themselves in greasepaint, donned Chilkat blankets and pretended to be 'tyees' and 'shamans.' But the Golden Potlatch volunteers also offered a week of entertainment free to anyone in the city. Every day there was a different parade downtown -- of the fraternal orders, the labor unions, the soldiers and sailors, or Seattle's children. Daredevils flew 'hydroplanes' over Elliott Bay, and warships from the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored in the harbor." ("'Seattle Spirit' soars on hype." Sharon Boswell and Lorraine McConaghy, Seattle Times, March 10, 1996. http://seattletimes.com/special/centennial/march/golden_potlatch.html )