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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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45 results for: Lake Union

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Image of Seattle Fire Department bell, 1890

Seattle Fire Department bell, 1890

This 5,000-pound bell hung in Seattle’s first professional fire department headquarters at Columbia Street and Seventh Avenue. After a great fire destroyed 100 acres of the city’s business district and waterfront in 1889, Seattle organized its first professional fire department. Josiah Collins, who was chief of the volunteer fire department at the time, commissioned this bell as a gift to…
ID Number:1952.551
Date:1890
Image of Colorized photograph of Boeing B-1 mail plane on Lake Union, 1919

Colorized photograph of Boeing B-1 mail plane on Lake Union, 1919

The B-1 was the first aircraft designed and assembled entirely by the Boeing Airplane Company for commercial rather than military purposes. The hull was made using laminated wood veneer, and the wings were framed with Washington-grown spruce. Eddie Hubbard is best known as the pilot who inaugurated international airmail service between Seattle, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia. Beginning in 1920,…
ID Number:1953.345.b.2
Date:1919
Image of Plaster figure of

Plaster figure of "Umbrella Man," ca. 1909-1932

This caricature represents a famous local figure, Robert W. Patton, a Civil War pensioner who lived on Lake Union and was given the nickname "Umbrella Man" for the umbrella hat he invented and wore around town, ca. 1909-1932.
ID Number:1957.1229.3
Date:Circa 1909-1932
Image of Oil painting of an Indigenous camp on Lake Union by Emily Inez Denny, 1886

Oil painting of an Indigenous camp on Lake Union by Emily Inez Denny, 1886

The daughter of one of Seattle’s founding families, Emily Inez Denny (1853 – 1918) was both a painter and writer. Greatly influenced by seeing the drawings of Sarah Willoughby as a student at the Washington Territorial University, she took on painting as a life-long pursuit. In her 1909 book, “Blazing the Way,” Denny writes of an imagined scene from 1851:…
ID Number:1959.1791.2
Date:1886
Image of Life preserver ring from sailing vessel Fantome, ca. 1930s-1950s

Life preserver ring from sailing vessel Fantome, ca. 1930s-1950s

The schooner Fantome was built in 1927 and was moored in Portage Bay from the late 1930s until the 1950s. She changed ownership many times, belonging to the Guiness family during most of her time in Seattle.
ID Number:1961.2489.6
Date:Circa 1930-1950
Image of Oil painting,

Oil painting, "Engine Room," part of "Men Who Work the Ships" mural by Kenneth Callahan, 1936

Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted…
ID Number:1963.3128.3
Date:1936
Image of Laceleaf Japanese maple tree, ca. 1864

Laceleaf Japanese maple tree, ca. 1864

This tree was one of five maples imported from Japan for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held on the grounds of the University of Washington in 1909. The Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm designed the grounds with a mix of plants native to the once forested location and ornamentals for the formal gardens. Julius J. Bonnell, the fair’s official florist, dedicated the…
ID Number:1964.3248
Date:Circa 1864
Image of Souvenir flag of schooner WAWONA, ca. 1940-1960

Souvenir flag of schooner WAWONA, ca. 1940-1960

The Wawona, built in 1897, was an iconic logging schooner for the Pacific Northwest until 1947. Northwest Seaport, a local maritime organization, became the caretaker of the Wawona in 1965. In 2009, the Wawona was dismantled and the parts distributed to other non-profit organizations. MOHAI received several parts for use in the construction and display of exhibits, including a massive…
ID Number:1966.3951.4
Date:Circa 1940-1960
Image of Oil painting of Lake Union and Mt. Rainier, ca. 1880-1900

Oil painting of Lake Union and Mt. Rainier, ca. 1880-1900

The artist, only known as Mr. Edwards, lived at the north end of Lake Union in the mid to late nineteenth century.
ID Number:1969.4635.3
Date:1880-1900
Image of Bench from the MV Crosline ferry, ca. 1925-1950

Bench from the MV Crosline ferry, ca. 1925-1950

The MV Crosline was a 65-car motor ferry, built in 1925 by Marine Construction Company in Seattle, for the Crosby Direct Line Ferry Company. It ran the Alki-Manchester Ferry route on Puget Sound until 1942, when it was purchased and transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia. After World War II, the ferry was purchased by the Washington State Highway Department fo…
ID Number:1969.4652
Date:Circa 1925-1950
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Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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