• 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

135 results for: Government and Public Services

Share:
Image of Fire hose nozzle, ca. 1910-1920

Fire hose nozzle, ca. 1910-1920

This Bresnan Distributor nozzle, named after its inventor, a New York Fire Department battalion chief, was used mainly to fight fires under the wharves. The Paul Nels Carlson Company donated this fire hose nozzle and they may have discovered it buried in the ground during their construction of various buildings in Seattle, including the Olympic Hotel and Fifth Avenue Theater.
ID Number:1976.6213.4
Date:Circa 1910-1920
Image of Ship's bell from the ferry CHIPPEWA, ca. 1905

Ship's bell from the ferry CHIPPEWA, ca. 1905

The CHIPPEWA was the oldest ferry in Washington State's fleet. Built in 1900 in Ohio and sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1907, the CHIPPEWA travelled around the tip of South America to reach Seattle. The ferry was in operation from 1907 to 1964, carrying passengers and later cars all around Puget Sound including Seattle, Victoria, and Bellingham.
ID Number:1976.6295.1
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Life preserver ring from ferry San Mateo, ca. 1947-1969

Life preserver ring from ferry San Mateo, ca. 1947-1969

The S.S. San Mateo, part of the Evergreen fleet of ferries, operated on several different runs throughout the Puget Sound during its service.
ID Number:1976.6295.2
Date:Circa 1947-1969
Image of Color photograph of the ferry Hyak in Puget Sound, reprinted by Forest and Whitmire Photography, ca. 1970

Color photograph of the ferry Hyak in Puget Sound, reprinted by Forest and Whitmire Photography, ca. 1970

The MV Hyak Super-class ferry was built in 1966 at a San Diego shipyard and began service in July 1967. It would ferry passengers from Seattle to Bremerton and from Anacortes to the San Juan Islands. Hyak is chinook jargon for "speedy."
ID Number:1976.6295.18
Date:Circa 1970
Image of Operator's seat from Seattle cable car, early 1900s

Operator's seat from Seattle cable car, early 1900s

Seattle had its first cable car line in 1887 that went from Pioneer Square to Leschi Park via Yesler Way and Jackson Street. More lines were built around the city and, by 1892, there were 48 miles of streetcar track and 22 miles of cable railways. As a result of debt and the growing auto industry, the streetcar system was…
ID Number:1976.6387
Date:Circa 1900-1940
Image of Seattle Fire Department badge no. 66, ca. 1900

Seattle Fire Department badge no. 66, ca. 1900

Fire response and rescue Seattle was originally a volunteer-driven organization overseen by the City of Seattle. As a result of the disastrous Great Seattle Fire in June 1889, the Seattle Fire Department was officially established later that year as a paid professional department.
ID Number:1978.6700.9
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Pin,

Pin, "Foreman, Seattle Fire Dept," ca. 1900

Fire response and rescue Seattle was originally a volunteer-driven organization overseen by the City of Seattle. As a result of the disastrous Great Seattle Fire in June 1889, the Seattle Fire Department was officially established later that year as a paid professional department.
ID Number:1978.6700.12
Date:Circa 1900
Image of City of Seattle traffic signal, ca. 1950

City of Seattle traffic signal, ca. 1950

Removed from an unknown intersection in the city of Seattle, this type of traffic signal was first introduced after World War II. It is a pedestrian walk signal with a red "WAIT" light on top, and a green "WALK" light on the bottom.
ID Number:1979.6818
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Swagger stick or pointer, ca. 1900

Swagger stick or pointer, ca. 1900

Swagger sticks are short staffs or canes and were once carried by uniformed persons of authority, specifically in the Marines. This stick has the City of Seattle crest and the words "Seattle Washington Enterprise."
ID Number:1979.6847.2
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Post Office sign from Hooverville in Seattle, ca. 1930

Post Office sign from Hooverville in Seattle, ca. 1930

During the hard times of the late 1920s and 1930s, many unemployed and homeless people settled just west of where Seattle's stadiums now stand. The men, and several women, built ramshackle houses out of scrap material, set up a post office, and elected their own mayor. The area was nicknamed "Hooverville" by people who blamed President Herbert Hoover for causing…
ID Number:1980.7029.1
Date:Circa 1930
Previous 1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 14 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