259 results for: Innovation and Invention
Original sidewalk sign from first Starbucks shop once located at 2000 Western Avenue in Seattle, 1971
This hand-painted sidewalk sign advertised the first Starbucks coffee shop which opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 31, 1971, by three partners: Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegl. The first shop was located at 2000 Western Ave, before it was later moved to what is today considered to be the flagship store in Pike Place Market. This sign was…
ID Number:2009.47.1
Date:1971
Drinking glass with images of iconic smiley face, 1970s
The now-ubiquitous yellow smiley icon that graces this drinking glass was, according to one story, invented by David Stern, owner of an advertising agency based in Seattle.
ID Number:2009.91.3
Date:Circa 1970
Handblown glass sculpture, part of "Seaform" project, by Dale Chihuly, 1985
Local celebrity artist Dale Chihuly designed and inscribed this piece. Born in Tacoma in 1941, Chihuly opened the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle in 1971. He began his "Seaform" project in 1980 at Pilchuck. In 1990, he purchased the historic Pocock Building at Lake Union for use as a studio, hotshop, and archives, remaming it "The Boathouse."
ID Number:2009.96.1
Date:1985
Handblown glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, 1987
Local celebrity artist Dale Chihuly designed and inscribed this piece. Born in Tacoma in 1941, Chihuly opened the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle in 1971. He began his "Seaform" project in 1980 at Pilchuck. In 1990, he purchased the historic Pocock Building at Lake Union for use as a studio, hotshop, and archives, remaming it "The Boathouse."
ID Number:2009.96.2
Date:1987
Handblown glass sculpture, part of "Seaform" project, by Dale Chihuly, 1993
Local celebrity artist Dale Chihuly designed and inscribed this piece. Born in Tacoma in 1941, Chihuly opened the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle in 1971. He began his "Seaform" project in 1980 at Pilchuck. In 1990, he purchased the historic Pocock Building at Lake Union for use as a studio, hotshop, and archives, remaming it "The Boathouse."
ID Number:2009.96.3
Date:1993
Framed artwork, "Venetian Drawing" by Dale Chihuly, 1990
Internationally-known glass artist, Dale Chihuly (b.1941) was born in Tacoma, Washington, and studied interior design at the University of Washington where he was first introduced to glass. After returning from working in the Venetian glass industry, he incorporated the team approach to blowing glass, and established the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State in 1971. A car accident in the…
ID Number:2009.96.4
Date:1990
1923 Ford Model TT, UPS Delivery Truck, restored in 1995
In 1907, Seattle teens Jim Casey and Claude Ryan started a messenger service with $100 and a bike. Merging with a competitor, they switched to trucks and - in 1919 - expanded beyond Seattle to Oakland, becoming the United Parcel Service (UPS). Those first trucks are long gone, but this vintage Ford Model T restored by expert Ron Ferguson shows…
ID Number:2009.UPStruck
Date:1923
Hanging sign for The Wet Whisker, ca. 1971
To help fund his education in optometry, Jim Stewart opened his first store, the Wet Whisker, in 1968 in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington. In the summer of 1969, he purchased his first 12-pound Royal Roaster from a peanut vendor on the beach in Southern California. By the end of the second summer, Jim had roasted and sold nearly 500…
ID Number:2010.1.99
Date:Circa 1971
Set of two Boeing commercial airplane models: A720 and A707 Intercontinental N714PA, ca. 1960
Now one of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing was incorporated in Seattle in 1916 by William Boeing. These models are examples of Boeing's early jet airliners. The 707 was launched in 1957 and the 720 was launched in 1959.
ID Number:2010.1.269
Date:Circa 1960
Boeing-made vanity dresser with mirror, ca. 1918
After WWI, airplane orders from the military dried up, and there was a glut of airplanes on the market. Bill Boeing put his factory to work building furniture and wooden boats during the is period to stay in business. This piece was produced in their original factory during this time.
ID Number:2010.64.1
Date:Circa 1918