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204 results for: Railroads

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Image of Seattle Electric Company ticket, Seattle, 1903
Ephemera

Seattle Electric Company ticket, Seattle, 1903

In 1898 the Seattle Electric Company was granted a contract to consolidate the city's 22 separate streetcar lines and private street railways. The SEC was an arm of the national Stone & Webster utility cartel, which also controlled the city's electrical grid and operated the Puget Sound Electric Railway (PSE), an interurban line linking Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett. Due to…
ID Number:1953.641.1b
Date:1903
Image of Puget Sound Electric Railway time table, 1904
Ephemera

Puget Sound Electric Railway time table, 1904

The Puget Sound Electric Railway was an interurban railway that ran for 36 miles between downtown Tacoma and Pioneer Square in Seattle, where it interchanged with other interurbans in the area. The railroad ran from 1902-1928, when Highway 99 was opened to accommodate the rise in popularity of automobiles over trains and streetcars. Most of the rails were pulled up…
ID Number:1953.677.1
Date:1904
Image of James J. Hill seated in automobile, Seattle, circa 1909
Photograph

James J. Hill seated in automobile, Seattle, circa 1909

Canadian-American railroad executive James Jerome Hill (1838-1916), nicknamed the "Empire Builder," was perhaps more significant to the framing of the empire of the Pacific Northwest than any other individual. He built the Great Northern Railroad and also controlled the Northern Pacific and Burlington railroads. Mr. Hill's decisions about rail routes and station stops had the power to turn fledging communities…
ID Number:1956.1029.1
Date:Circa 1909
Image of Bird's-eye view of Seattle, 1879
Cartographic material

Bird's-eye view of Seattle, 1879

Eli Sheldon Glover (1845-1909) was an inventor and artist who was active in San Francisco, Chicago and Tacoma. Many of his works are perspective maps, and he traveled throughout the west drawing "birds-eye" views of newly developed cities. This image of Seattle was drawn by Mr. Glover in 1879, and is the second-earliest overview map of the city known to…
ID Number:1957.1281.10
Date:1879
Image of Orion Denny and John Pritchard outside Denny Clay Mine, Taylor, circa 1895
Photograph

Orion Denny and John Pritchard outside Denny Clay Mine, Taylor, circa 1895

The Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company was founded in 1892 by Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899) when he bought out predecessor company Puget Sound Fire Clay Company. Clay's popularity over wood as a building material grew substantially after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889. Raw material was extracted with hydraulic mining equipment from heavy glacial clay deposits in Taylor, Washington (near…
ID Number:1962.2540.5
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co., circa 1917
Photograph

Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co., circa 1917

Lumber was one of the Puget Sound's main exports in the 1890s. In 1899, 200,000 board feet of milled lumber left Seattle every day by rail or ship for the eastern United States and various Pacific ports. Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company began operations in 1917. The company, starting with some houses and a mill store, built a small community atop…
ID Number:1966.3827.2
Date:Circa 1917
Image of Two men with train backdrop at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909
Postcard

Two men with train backdrop at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909

This souvenir postcard from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition shows two men posing within a train backdrop. Such souvenirs photographs, depicting subjects against various backgrounds, were popular among fairgoers at the AYPE. Text on sign on train: Exposition Special A.Y.P Through Train Spokane to SeattleText on sign on train: North Coast Limited
ID Number:1966.4058.6
Date:1909
Image of Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition promotional postcard, Seattle, circa 1909
Postcard

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition promotional postcard, Seattle, circa 1909

Promotional photograph for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, with illustrations connecting Seattle to Alaska (including with an Alaska Native totem pole), which encourages people to arrive by steamship and railroad. Caption on image: Hello Bill! Meet me on the Pay Streak at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition - June 1st - Oct 16th - Seattle U.S.A. 1909.Postcard Number: 1853
ID Number:1966.4058.8
Date:Circa 1909
Image of Horace C. Henry home, Seattle, circa 1920
Photograph

Horace C. Henry home, Seattle, circa 1920

One of Seattle's early residents, Horace Chapin Henry (1844-1928) was a businessperson who made a fortune with building contractor Henry Balch when they formed Henry and Balch, a construction company that won many contracts for railroads and roads throughout the United States. Work brought Henry to Seattle in late 1891, and he began to make investments in local businesses, later…
ID Number:1967.4235.6
Date:Circa 1920
Image of Horace and Susan Henry home, Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

Horace and Susan Henry home, Seattle, circa 1900

One of Seattle's early residents, Horace Chapin Henry (1844-1928) was a businessperson who made a fortune with building contractor Henry Balch when they formed Henry and Balch, a construction company that won many contracts for railroads and roads throughout the United States. Work brought Henry to Seattle in late 1891, and he began to make investments in local businesses, later…
ID Number:1967.4235.14a
Date:Circa 1900
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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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