When the Beatles became honorary Washingtonians

August 25, 2016

Ringo Starr fishes from his hotel room window as other Beatles watch during their stay at the Edgewater Inn on Seattle's waterfront. (Photo courtesy Seattle P-I)

For Northwest baby-boomers, this might be a tough pill to swallow. It was 50 years ago tonight that the Beatles played their final concert in Seattle.

The Fab Four appeared at the old Seattle Center Coliseum for two shows on Aug. 25, 1966. One was in the afternoon, the other in the evening. Check out this HistoryLink.org story for more details. What caught our eye about this article about the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life (in Seattle)” is that it mentioned former Secretary of State Lud Kramer:

“Afterward, the Beatles were presented with a certificate signed by Washington Secretary of State Lud Kramer, making them honorary state citizens. They returned to their dressing room and prepared for the first of two concerts.”

We never realized former Secretary Kramer was so cool, so hip, so fab! Thanks to the State Archives for bringing this to our attention, including the AP story in The Seattle Times (right) that came out two months before the Beatles' last Seattle shows. A few days after the Seattle stop, the Beatles played at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, the final time they played live on stage. After that, they began “the studio years.”

Beatle John Lennon with proclamation declaring he's an "Honorary Washington Citizen." (Photo courtesy of Associated Press)

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