File:Arlington House, September 1883 (SEATTLE 428).jpg

English: Decorated for North Pacific Railroad president Henry Villard on the occasion of the completion of the railroad. On verso of image: Arlington Hotel Sept. 1883. Main and Commercial. Paintings by Pifer

• Subjects (LCTGM): Decorations--Wahsington (State)--Seattle
• Subjects (LCSH): Arlington House (Seattle, Wash.); Hotels--Washington (State)--Seattle

---

The metadata at https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/428 captions this as "Decorated for North Pacific Railroad president Henry Villard…". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer for September 15, 1883 describes the decoration of the hotel for his visit and, in particular, a parade to honor him on that day: "In the center of the building hangs a large American flag. The balcony extending across the front of the hotel is studded with shields, each one representing one of the states of our Union. A large electric light is placed in the portico over the main entrance. … The front of the building is hung in festoons and signal flags." That corresponds somewhat, but not perfectly, to what we see here: no mention of the "Past" and "Present" pictures, and the "large electric light" is not readily seen here. Among the decoration on the hotel are, indeed, eight shields but they look an awful lot like copies of the logo of the Union Pacific Railroad, whereas Villard was president of the Northern Pacific, not the Union Pacific. So it is not totally clear whether this image is actually taken at the time of Villard's visit.