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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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34 results for: Great Depression

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Image of Transportation token,

Transportation token, "Seattle Municipal Railway," 1920s-1930s

This token was exchanged for transportation fare. The municipal trolley service started in 1911 and ended in 1941.
ID Number:1998.51.15
Date:Circa 1920-1930
Image of Transportation token,

Transportation token, "Seattle and Rainier Valley RY. Co.," 1920s-1930s

This token was exchanged for transportation fare. Tokens such as these were commonly used in Seattle during the Depression Era.
ID Number:1998.51.16
Date:Circa 1920-1930
Image of Transportation token,

Transportation token, "Puget Sound International RY & PR. CO.," 1920s-1930s

This token was exchanged for transportation fare. Tokens such as these were commonly used in Washington during the Depression Era.
ID Number:1998.51.17
Date:Circa 1920-1930
Image of Transportation token,

Transportation token, "Pacific Gas and Electric Co.," 1920s-1930s

This token was exchanged for transportation fare. Tokens such as these were commonly used in Washington during the Depression Era.
ID Number:1998.51.18
Date:Circa 1920-1930
Image of Watchmaker's workbench and tools, ca. 1930

Watchmaker's workbench and tools, ca. 1930

This workbench belonged to Aaron Yormark. He served a seven-year apprenticeship in the watchmaking trade in Perm located in the Ural mountains of Russia. With the turmoil in Russia at the end of WWI, he left his parents and siblings for Siberia to avoid conscription in the army. He met and married Anna Yavorsky in Vladivostock and they fled to…
ID Number:2001.83.1
Date:Circa 1930
Image of Oil painting of an eastern Washington scene with large wheat stalks by Guy Anderson, ca. 1950

Oil painting of an eastern Washington scene with large wheat stalks by Guy Anderson, ca. 1950

Guy Anderson (1906-1998) grew up in Edmonds, Washington, and was a member of the Northwest School of artists. During the Great Depression, Anderson worked for the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project. He was fascinated by the natural landscape and Native American art, and he expressed his homosexuality throughout his work. Although he did not receive as much acclaim…
ID Number:2006.38.6
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Pocket mirror advertising Pacific Outfitting Co., ca. 1930s

Pocket mirror advertising Pacific Outfitting Co., ca. 1930s

The Pacific Outfitting Company was founded by a Polish immigrant in 1907 as a part of a larger chain. Pacific Outfitting opened a Seattle storefront at 422 Pike Street and survived the Great Depression by forming a monopoly on credit.
ID Number:2008.3.18.71
Date:Circa 1930
Image of National Recovery Administration (NRA) stud, 1934

National Recovery Administration (NRA) stud, 1934

The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a key part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal plan to alleviate the impact of the Great Depression. It was initiated in 1933 as a voluntary membership organization. The goal was to bring together industry, labor, and government to develop standards for prices, wages, and hours. Businesses that supported the NRA policies put the blue…
ID Number:2008.3.18.75
Date:1934
Image of Stained glass window for the Lake Union Hotel, ca. 1930

Stained glass window for the Lake Union Hotel, ca. 1930

The Lake Union Hotel opened in 1922 at 3517 1/2 Fremont Avenue in what was the heart of a Seattle working class neighborhood. The hotel occupied the second level of the building and was a boarding house in the Fremont neighborhood for men who worked along Lake Union. The hotel was in business up through 1980 when the name changed…
ID Number:2008.49.1
Date:Circa 1930
Image of Pen and ink drawing,

Pen and ink drawing, "In the Project Studio," by Hans Bok, 1939

Hans Bok (1914-1964) was born in Missouri and came to Seattle in 1938 where he was one of the youngest artists to work for the Federal Arts Project in this city. While at work, Bok often took out a pen and drew artists working in the project studios in the Alaska Building. This image features Fay Chong in the lower…
ID Number:2010.21.1
Date:1939
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