Come Out Seattle
Preserving the Places and Stories That Built Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Community
OutSpoken: The Voices of Come Out Seattle
Explore a collection of articles and videos that showcase the dynamic history of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community. Archived news, articles, and images working together to preserve and promote the vibrant history of LGBTQ+ spaces in Seattle.
Keep the past alive through these shared memories, ensuring that our history continues to be honored and celebrated.
20 years after the Pride parade left Broadway, here’s a look at this year’s celebrations on Capitol Hill: Trans Pride, Dyke March, PrideFest street festival, and more.
By CHS Staff
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Twenty years ago, Seattle’s core celebration of its queer communities — the annual Pride parade — moved off Capitol Hill.
In 2026, the neighborhood will still swell with Pride as it celebrates around its rainbow crosswalks and everlasting core of gay bars and dance clubs.
“When Pride Marched on the Hill”: Come Out Seattle Reveals Its Pride Archive
By Madison Jones, Managing Editor
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Nathan Benedict and husband Steve Nyman have been part of Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ community for over four decades. They are both owners of Union on Capitol Hill, founded in 2018; before that, they owned Thumpers from 1985 to 2006.
The two men started Come Out Seattle as a historical preservation project to collect photographs and information on local Queer history. Its Pride Archive is a digitized collection of photographs taken during Seattle’s Pride marches and rallies from 1986 to 1992.
My First Pride Experience
By Steve Nyman
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
My first Seattle Pride experience was the first unofficial parade in 1977.
I came out while living on Hood Canal in the mid-1970s. My first boyfriend, who was also a Gay virgin, and I didn’t think there were many other “guys into guys” in our area. One night, his therapist took us on a tour of Gay Seattle. First stop” The Mocambo at Second and Yesler. I was astonished at how many guys were there!
Picture: Melody Jones at Seattle Gay Pride 1977
Come Out Seattle: Preserving LGBTQ+ History One Story at a Time
Volume 52 Issue 16
Seattle Gay News Highlights the Preservation Efforts of Come Out Seattle's Gay Bar History Project
Authors Steve Nyman and Nathan Benedict of Seattle Gay News provide an in-depth look at Come Out Seattle's efforts to archive the history of Seattle's LGBTQ+ bars. Their Seattle Gay Bar History Project collects stories and images from iconic spaces like The Mocambo, Double Header, and The Silver Slipper.
The article underscores the importance of preserving these stories to ensure the community’s vibrant history is celebrated and remembered for future generations
Seattle's LGBTQ+ bars in 1974: Out on the Town
by Steve Nyman & Nathan Benedict, Special to the SGN - Friday June 14, 2024
Garden of Allah 1946-1956 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, SOC7421
