• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

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.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

40 results for: Construction and Urban Planning

Share:
Image of Measuring tape used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

Measuring tape used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

James Casey Embree (1881-1940) was an early Seattle civil engineer. He was responsible for surveying various Seattle neighborhoods and, from 1906-1924, he worked on the Alaskan Engineering Commission that would provide railroads to parts of Alaska following the Gold Rush of 1897.
ID Number:2018.54.4
Date:Circa 1920-1939
Image of Triangular ruler used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

Triangular ruler used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

James Casey Embree (1881-1940) was an early Seattle civil engineer. He was responsible for surveying various Seattle neighborhoods and, from 1906-1924, he worked on the Alaskan Engineering Commission that would provide railroads to parts of Alaska following the Gold Rush of 1897.
ID Number:2018.54.5
Date:Circa 1920-1939
Image of Straight pins in holder used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

Straight pins in holder used by James Casey Embree, ca. 1903-1939

James Casey Embree (1881-1940) was an early Seattle civil engineer. He was responsible for surveying various Seattle neighborhoods and, from 1906-1924, he worked on the Alaskan Engineering Commission that would provide railroads to parts of Alaska following the Gold Rush of 1897.
ID Number:2018.54.6
Date:Circa 1920-1939
Image of Button pin,

Button pin, "I Dig Downtown Metro," ca. 1990

This button promotes the project to build the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), or Metro Bus Tunnel, which opened in 1990. Only buses used the tunnel until 2005 when light rail was added.
ID Number:2019.40.16
Date:Circa 1990
Image of Extra-long handled shovel, or

Extra-long handled shovel, or "spade," used for digging power pole holes, ca. 1910s-1940s

This type of long-handled shovel was used prior to electric augurs or hole digging machines. A crew of ten to twelve men would work together to dig power pole holes using a "spade, spoon, and bar," which consisted of a pointed shovel (spade), round shovel (spoon), and steel bar. These extra-long tools may have been used by predecessors of Joe…
ID Number:2019.68.1
Date:Circa 1910-1940
Image of Extra-long handled shovel, or

Extra-long handled shovel, or "spoon," used for digging power pole holes, ca. 1910s-1940s

This type of long-handled shovel was used prior to electric augurs or hole digging machines. A crew of ten to twelve men would work together to dig power pole holes using a "spade, spoon, and bar," which consisted of a pointed shovel (spade), round shovel (spoon), and steel bar. These extra-long tools may have been used by predecessors of Joe…
ID Number:2019.68.2
Date:Circa 1910-1940
Image of Long steel bar used for digging power pole holes, ca. 1910s-1940s

Long steel bar used for digging power pole holes, ca. 1910s-1940s

This steel bar was used along with shovels to dig power pole holes prior to electric augurs or hole digging machines. A crew of ten to twelve men would work together to dig power pole holes using a "spade, spoon, and bar," which consisted of a pointed shovel (spade), round shovel (spoon), and steel bar. These extra-long tools may have…
ID Number:2019.68.3
Date:Circa 1910-1940
Image of Two pieces of concrete rubble salvaged from the Seattle Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition in 2019

Two pieces of concrete rubble salvaged from the Seattle Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition in 2019

Considered seismically vulnerable, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a circa 1949 elevated freeway and stretch of State Route 99 that ran along the Seattle waterfront, was demolished in 2019 and replaced with a new, more tourist-friendly surface street and an underground tunnel. Concrete rubble from the demolition was collected by local organization Friends of Waterfront Seattle and given away free to…
ID Number:2019.Rubble
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Slope Indicator 200 and case, early inclinometer probe, 1960s

Slope Indicator 200 and case, early inclinometer probe, 1960s

The inclinometer is a tilt sensing device used to measure lateral displacement of earth or structures in various applications such as landslide monitoring, high-rise building pit excavations, bridge foundations, and more. The inclinometer was invented in the 1950s by Stanley D. Wilson, co-founder of the Slope Indicator Company (SINCO), which was established in Seattle in 1958. This device was used…
ID Number:2021.69.1
Date:Circa 1960
Image of Friends of the Monorail T-shirt, ca. 1997-2000

Friends of the Monorail T-shirt, ca. 1997-2000

Interest in expanding Seattle’s 1962 monorail line throughout the city gained momentum with signature-gathering petitions in 1994. The “Friends of the Monorail” were the main organizers and instigators of the campaign. In 1997, in spite of almost total opposition by the political establishment, city voters approved Initiative 41 for monorail expansion. Three years later voters approved an additional measure for…
ID Number:2023.Monorail.1
Date:1997-2000
Previous 1 2 3 4

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
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved