Seattle Pride

The first Gay Pride Week in Seattle took place in June 1974 with celebrations including a picnic, street dance, performances, and roller skating at the top of the Volunteer Park Water Tower. The week also saw the official opening of the Gay Community Center on Capitol Hill, which offered a library, job and housing notices, food and clothing donations, and a 24-hour hotline.

As Pride Week quickly grew larger and more popular, organizers began planning to hold Seattle’s first Gay Pride Parade in 1977. According to the Seattle Pride website, that first parade ran along First Avenue from Occidental Square to Westlake Park and was attended by more than 2,000 people.

Mayor Wes Uhlman chose to commemorate the parade with another historic first, issuing a proclamation in June 1977 officially declaring Gay Pride Week in the City of Seattle. In the proclamation, Uhlman urged “all citizens to recognize and support the efforts of our city to make this community one which truly does treat all its citizens with a fair and equal hand.”

A copy of the proclamation is archived with Mayor Uhlman’s records, as are the many letters sent to the mayor’s office from those who were both against and in favor of his decision. Uhlman’s replies to each side emphasized that the proclamation was a matter of human and civil rights. In letters to supporters he wrote, “For me, it is a simple explanation – human rights are absolute.”  He continued, “I urge you to do all you can to educate and enlighten the rest of our community on this very important matter, for it will be only through this process that we can hope to erase the myths and stereotypes which have existed for far too long.”

Be sure to check out our virtual collection celebrating the history of Seattle Pride, where you’ll find additional city proclamations, photos of past parades and events, and other records of LGTBQ+ life in Seattle from the 1970s to the 2010s.

Happy Pride Month, Seattle!