010: I checked off a new first for me this week. On Wednesday night, I attended an Open House for the City of Seattle discussing the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan. The plan is done every 20 years. They revise the plan after 10 years, that’s right now. The Plan becomes the Northstar for all decisions around housing, expansion, development and neighborhoods.

They have been hosting these Open House events in every district across the city to give residents a chance to speak with city planners and express their concerns. There’s a place online where you can also express your opinions, and I highly recommend you do. It’s really the only time and place where you can voice your opinons on housing in Seattle. If you think we need more (a lot more) housing, if you want to see more development on your block, or want to know if the city has plans to expand your part of town into an “Urban Center,” then nows your time.

People told me this was a good sized crowd in West Seattle. Which it probably was because this stuff is BORING! Maybe 100 people were there. I saw 400 people attended a community walk around Fremont this past week, so do with that as you will. It was my first time even knowing about it (Thank you to my friend Ace for informing me). It’s a lot to take in, but it’s one of the few times we have a chance to complain about the housing problem, and actually have our voices be heard and acted on.

Today’s newsletter focuses on arguably the most influential woman in Seattle’s history. But like many people of that time, their legend is often crafted by stories told throughout the years, and not necessarily concrete evidence.

— Conner Cayson

Madam Lou Graham (1857 - 1903)
^{Owner, Lou Graham’s Sporting House}

The Legend of Madam Lou Graham

During the 1989 Washington State Centennial, the City of Seattle, along with other business associations hung the plaque above in Pioneer Square. It became a permanent homage to a woman who put her stamp on this city in its early years. Madam Lou Graham was a city celebrity in the late 1800s. She was often mentioned in newspapers, and was seen with important city officials and prestigious families. She wore luxurious clothing, and diamonds. Lou Graham’s Sporting House was a bordello. It was the best one in town. Madam Lou owned the brick building in Pioneer Square. Her customers highlighted how her ladies could talk about the world, politics, and music. In the decade she lived in Seattle, she would become the wealthiest person in town, save the city and its businesses multiple times, and enshrine herself in Seattle lore forever. 

I first learned about Madam Lou when I moved to Seattle. I went with some family members to an underground tour in Pioneer Square. There are two underground tours in the neighborhood, Beneath the Streets, and Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. 

Beneath the Streets

When I’m asked about sightseeing in Seattle, I do recommend Beneath the Streets, specifically the AFTER HOURS: RED LIGHT DISTRICT TOUR. It’s at night and you need to be over 18 years old. It’s a little salacious, and possibly over exaggerated, but isn’t that what we are looking for on an after dark walking tour? The part I never forgot, and a significant difference between their daytime and nighttime tours, was how they talk about Madam Lou and her business. During the day, they call her business and team “seamstresses” (as reported on the census) and at night, the brothel business was described in the specific ways you might expect. 

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

Bill is known locally as a Seattle historian, and his name and business can’t be missed in Pioneer Square. He deserves credit for preserving the stories of the neighborhood and his business introduces Seattle history to thousands of visitors every year. Like most tourist attractions, his tour ends in his gift shop. Hoping to sell a few copies of his book “Sons of the Profits, Or, There's No Business Like Grow Business: The Seattle Story, 1851-1901.”

Who Was Lou Graham

Lou Graham was born in Germany in 1857. Her name was Dorothea Ohben. She arrived in Seattle in 1887 and bought her first property at 3rd and Washington in 1888. In 1889, The Great Seattle Fire burned down the building, but she was already profiting so well that within 18 months she had rebuilt and expanded the building. She ended up owning a dozen properties. In 1903, a new judge took office and outlawed brothels. I assume this destroyed her entire livelihood. She moved to San Francisco and died shortly after. 

In her time in Seattle, she was a big advocate for women’s rights, and the LGBTQ community. She employed and empowered people around her that would not get opportunities elsewhere.  She was an incredibly important and helpful figure in rebuilding the city after The Great Fire. She saved Puget National Bank with a large deposit during The Panic of 1893. She also was very generous and donated to people and causes.  Her most famous donation is labeled on the plaque we started with. Her brick building (now Union Gospel Mission) was donated to Seattle Public School and was their largest donation for nearly a century.

BUT Then I Found Out

I have told the story of Madam Lou countless times to visitors and friends when in Pioneer Square. About the incredible history of the woman who lifted this city up, who became the most wealthy person in town, and rebuilt Seattle with her “seamstress” business. 

While doing research for this newsletter, I started to see that the history of Madam Lou doesn’t come from many sources. This article from Seattle Met revealed more. Madam Lou was like the Kim Kardashian of her time. She was constantly written about in the newspapers. Everyone DID know who she was. But that’s about it. Turns out, a majority of the history of her life and businesses comes from Mr. Bill Spiedel and his books. The article says that most of his books aren’t sourced with actual evidence. And as the subheading of the article says “Is everything we know about one of Seattle’s most notorious historical figures true, or just the masterful storytelling of one garrulous newspaperman?”

She didn’t actually “donate” her building to Seattle Public Schools. After she passed away, since she didn’t have a will, and wasn’t a naturalized citizen, the courts ended up distributing her assets. 

Her cause of death is quoted by Speidel as syphilis. But this article casts doubt on that too. 

There’s not even a confirmed photograph of her.

There’s also the question of her origins of how she got here. Who she was before she got here. How she started her business. How she got enough money in a year to buy a building (as an immigrant nonetheless). Her story lacks many details, which might add to her legend. 

There’s no doubt that she did many of the things she did. Her businesses did support a large community in Pioneer Square, and she amassed wealth and gave those donations. Lou Graham deserves to be on Seattle’s “Mount Rushmore” of important figures. 

The reality of history is that so much of it comes from stories that have been told for generations. These stories slowly twist and turn, and become something new.  I’m sure every underground tour guide tells it a little differently. Then I take the story, and tell it my own way to friends, or write about it here. You might share it in your own way after this. Madam Lou’s history is mostly enshrined in these underground tours, a single plaque, the bar called Madam Lou’s in Belltown, and the personal stories we pass onto friend. It’s more than most of us will have. But no matter what, she’s a Seattle icon.

I would highly recommend giving her a google and diving in deeper to her story and the people she helped. She really was a badass.