Seattle's Policemen's Ball was held annually from at least 1899 to benefit the Seattle Police Relief Association (also called the Policemen's Benevolent Association). The association used funds raised for the pensioning of police officers injured in the line of duty or for the funeral expenses of those who died while members of the force.
The photograph shown here was taken during the 1911 ball, which was held at the National Guard Armory. The Armory had just opened the year prior on Seattle's waterfront at Western Avenue and Lenora Street. The Seattle Times estimated the number of attendees at the ball to be 6,000, and together they raised $3,000. Seattle's population at the time was about 237,000 people.
SHS category: Seattle Police Department
Caption information source: "6.000 Guests Dance at Policemen's Ball," The Seattle Daily Times, February 22, 1911, p. 5.
ID Number: SHS7850
Date: 1911
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard: b&w ; 23.75 x 17.25 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
