• 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

171 results for: Mass Media

Share:
Image of J.P. Patches's jacket, 1960-2002

J.P. Patches's jacket, 1960-2002

This is one of several jackets that local entertainer Chris Wedes (1928-2012) wore as clown J. P. Patches on the KIRO-TV children’s program "The J.P. Patches Show" from 1958 to 1981. The live improv show was immensely popular in the Puget Sound area and southwestern British Columbia. J.P. Patches was the Mayor of the City Dump, so his costumes had…
ID Number:2003.35.2
Date:1960-2002
Image of J.P. Patches' marching bass drum, ca. 1970

J.P. Patches' marching bass drum, ca. 1970

Chris Wedes played fun-loving clown J.P. Patches twice a day on local television, reaching up to 100,000 kids. He often played a large bass drum featuring Farrell's Ice Cream as part of his show. Patches' 23-year run from 1958-1981 made it America's longest-running local children's program.
ID Number:2003.35.3
Date:Circa 1970
Image of J.P. Patches' drumstick for marching bass drum, ca. 1970

J.P. Patches' drumstick for marching bass drum, ca. 1970

Chris Wedes played fun-loving clown J.P. Patches twice a day on local television, reaching up to 100,000 kids. He often played a large bass drum featuring Farrell's Ice Cream as part of his show. Patches' 23-year run from 1958-1981 made it America's longest-running local children's program.
ID Number:2003.35.4
Date:Circa 1970
Image of Wooden nameplate, for J.P. Patches,

Wooden nameplate, for J.P. Patches, "Mayor Patches," ca. 1960-2002

Chris Wedes' playful clown character J.P. Patches, affectionately known as the "Mayor of the Dump", hosted one of America's longest-running local children's program from 1958-1981. This plaque was featured on his television show.
ID Number:2003.35.5
Date:Circa 1960-2002
Image of Brakeman Bill

Brakeman Bill "Big Mac" bib overalls, cap, and jacket, ca. 1955-1975

Brakeman Bill, featuring ex-DJ and sports announcer Bill McLain, was a popular weekday children's show on KTNT-TV (later KSTW-TV) in the Pacific Northwest market from 1955 to 1975. The television show was performed live and un-scripted; McLain dressed as a railroad brakeman, and drew pictures, ran elaborate model trains, showed cartoons, and interacted with puppet side-kick the Crazy Donkey, whose…
ID Number:2003.66.23REF.ONLINE
Date:Circa 1955-1975
Image of Prop television from TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, ca. 1993-1999

Prop television from TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, ca. 1993-1999

The TV show “Bill Nye the Science Guy” was filmed and produced in Seattle from 1993-1999. This prop television has a false blue cardboard screen that could be replaced in post-production with an image or a video (using the same principal as a green screen). Bill Nye moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer at Boeing and…
ID Number:2004.6.1
Date:Circa 1993-1999
Image of Chrome-plated sign for KRSC TV, first television station in Seattle, established in 1948

Chrome-plated sign for KRSC TV, first television station in Seattle, established in 1948

This sign appeared on the first television broadcast in Seattle on Thanksgiving Day in November, 1948, for a high school football game at Memorial Stadium.
ID Number:2005.47.1
Date:Circa 1948
Image of Post-Intelligencer (P-I) neon sign, 1927

Post-Intelligencer (P-I) neon sign, 1927

Featuring the famous insignia “P-I” and underneath, “Main 2000," this sign graced the old Post-Intelligencer building from 1927 to 1949. The newspaper was originally founded in 1863 as the weekly Seattle Gazette. The name changed to the Post-Intelligencer in 1881 when it was merged with the Seattle Post. The P-I had a long run as a printed daily newspaper until…
ID Number:2006.1.27
Date:1927
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 Watercolor study for the mural at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Eustace Ziegler, 1952

Watercolor study for the mural at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Eustace Ziegler, 1952

Eustace Paul Ziegler (1881 - 1969) was a noted Northwest artist known for his depictions of Alaskan and Pacific Northwest landscapes and industry. In 1924, Ziegler was commissioned to execute a number of large paintings for company offices in Seattle. He was a founder and the first president of the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters. He was one of…
ID Number:2008.61.1
Date:1952
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 18 Next

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