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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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393 results for: Central Area

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Image of Century 21 Exposition poster, Seattle, April 21 - October 21, 1962
Poster

Century 21 Exposition poster, Seattle, April 21 - October 21, 1962

The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21 to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. The exposition's displays and attractions were centered around themes of science and technology, but included showcases for a variety of world cultures. The fair commission several area artists to promote the fair in guidebooks,…
ID Number:1987.59.21
Date:1962
Image of Clara B. White and two children on porch of house, Seattle, circa 1975
Photograph

Clara B. White and two children on porch of house, Seattle, circa 1975

Clara B. White owned and lived in the duplex at 729-731 22nd Avenue in the Central District of Seattle. She was a seamstress and was one of the first African-American women to own property in Seattle. The education wing at the First African Metodist Episcopal Church is named after her, as she was a Sunday School teacher there for 60…
ID Number:2000.30.2
Date:Circa 1975
Image of Emil Schanno standing on bridge near Alki Point, Seattle, 1890
Photograph

Emil Schanno standing on bridge near Alki Point, Seattle, 1890

Emil Sabastian Schanno (1872-1936) was born in The Dalles, Oregon, to Charles Francis Schanno (1833-1889), a brewer born in France, and Emma Hannah (Bartlett) Schanno (1848-1894). In 1904 in Walla Walla Emil married Alice May (Cameron) Schanno (1869-1952); by 1910 they were living near Alki Point in West Seattle, where they operated one of the area's first restaurants, at 2758…
ID Number:2000.52.21
Date:1890
Image of Bishop John Hurst Adams discussing education, Seattle, November 19, 1987
Photograph

Bishop John Hurst Adams discussing education, Seattle, November 19, 1987

Rev. Dr. John Hurst Adams (1927-2018) was the pastor at Seattle’s First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church from 1962 to 1968 and a leader in the city’s civil rights struggle. He chaired the Central Area Civil Rights Committee, made up of the heads of the local civil rights organizations Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), NAACP, and Seattle Urban League. The…
ID Number:2000.107.002.26.01
Date:1987
Image of Ernestine Anderson at home in Seattle, January 31, 1984
Photograph

Ernestine Anderson at home in Seattle, January 31, 1984

Ernestine Anderson (1928-2016) was an internationally renowned American jazz and blues singer. Her connection to Seattle began when her family moved to the city 1944, and she was discovered by band leader "Bumps" Blackwell, who hired her as a singer for his Junior Band. Anderson's first show was at the Washington Social Club on East Madison Street. The band (which…
ID Number:2000.107.007.24.03
Date:1984
Image of Doug Barnett discussing new play, Seattle, April 5, 1970
Photograph

Doug Barnett discussing new play, Seattle, April 5, 1970

Black Arts/West was Seattle’s first black theatre and functioned as a three component program: theatre, dance, and an art gallery displaying the work of local and national artists. Evolving out of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Black Arts/West was founded by Douglas Q. Barnett (1931-) in 1969. As a division of the Central Area Motivation Program, an anti-poverty…
ID Number:2000.107.014.21.01
Date:1970
Image of Powell Barnett accepting Jackson Street Community Council Man of the Year award, Seattle, April 1964
Photograph

Powell Barnett accepting Jackson Street Community Council Man of the Year award, Seattle, April 1964

Powell S. Barnett (1883-1971) was a Seattle-based musician, baseball player, civil rights activist, and African American community leader. Born in Indiana, Barnett moved with his family to Roslyn, Washington, in 1889. His father, an ex-slave, was one of many black miners recruited to work in Washington coal mines. As a teenager, Powell also worked in the Roslyn coal mines, and…
ID Number:2000.107.014.21.02
Date:1964
Image of Panel at Allied Arts Congress meeting, December 4, 1966
Photograph

Panel at Allied Arts Congress meeting, December 4, 1966

In 1966, Allied Arts of Seattle President Norman Johnson issued a challenge to members of the organization and to the larger arts community to expand the scope of community involvement in the arts. A panel was convened for the December 1966 Allied Arts meeting, to discuss the need for outreach to Seattle’s Black and Indigenous communities, particularly in the city’s…
ID Number:2000.107.014.25.02
Date:1966
Image of Black Panthers protesting on steps of Capitol building, Olympia, February 28, 1969
Photograph

Black Panthers protesting on steps of Capitol building, Olympia, February 28, 1969

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense established its Seattle chapter in the spring of 1968, after Aaron Dixon, Elmer Dixon, Anthony Ware, Gary Owens and several other future Panthers attended a memorial service in San Francisco for 17 year-old Bobby Hutton, who had been killed in a shootout with local police. While in Oakland, the Seattle youth met BPP…
ID Number:2000.107.022.21.02
Date:1969
Image of Sandbag fortification at Black Panther headquarters, Seattle, 1971
Photograph

Sandbag fortification at Black Panther headquarters, Seattle, 1971

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense established its Seattle chapter in the spring of 1968, after Aaron Dixon, Elmer Dixon, Anthony Ware, Gary Owens and several other future Panthers attended a memorial service in San Francisco for 17 year-old Bobby Hutton, who had been killed in a shootout with local police. While in Oakland, the Seattle youth met BPP…
ID Number:2000.107.022.21.03
Date:1971
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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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