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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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14 results for: Temperance and Prohibition

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Image of Microphone used by Elise Olmstead in the very first broadcast in Seattle, ca. 1925

Microphone used by Elise Olmstead in the very first broadcast in Seattle, ca. 1925

Elise Olmstead, originally from England, was the second wife of Roy Olmstead, one of the most notorious bootleggers in King County during the Prohibition years of the 1920s. In October of 1924, the couple started a radio station called KFQX. There was a studio in the Smith Tower but mostly Elise did the broadcast from their Mt. Baker home. The…
ID Number:2007.1.154.1
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Beer bottle,

Beer bottle, "Alt Heidelberg Pale Beer," ca. 1935

In the late 1890s, Emil Kliese was head brewmaster for Tumwater-based Capital Brewing Company (later Olympia Brewing Company). In 1900, he left Capital to start Columbia Brewing Company in Tacoma. After Prohibition was repealed in 1932, Elmer E. Hemrich, with a group of Seattle investors, purchased the Tacoma brewery and established Columbia Breweries, Inc. from which this Alt Heidelberg Pale…
ID Number:2014.64.1
Date:Circa 1935
Image of Mechanical figure,

Mechanical figure, "Dr. Wise," an alcohol temperance display used by the Washington State Chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), 1920s

This mechanical display is related to the Prohibition efforts in Seattle and Washington State in the 1920s and later. Several versions of this mechanical figure was traveled around the country by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) to promote abstinence from alcohol, including after the repeal of Prohibition. Referred to as "Charlie" or "Dr. Wise," this particular display that was…
ID Number:2020.16.1
Date:Circa 1920
Image of Door from John

Door from John "Doc" Hamilton's speakeasy in Seattle, ca. 1920s

John Henry "Doc" Hamilton (1891-1942) moved from Mississippi to Seattle around 1914 at the age of 23. He served in WWI in the 92nd infantry division in France and returned to Seattle after the war ended. When the Prohibition Act took effect in 1920, Hamilton opened his first speakeasy in his home on E. Union Street. Seattle police shut it…
ID Number:2024.27.1
Date:Circa 1920-1930
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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.
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