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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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376 results for: Manufacturing

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Image of Ship knees produced by a planing machine at a Seattle shipyard , circa 1910
Photograph

Ship knees produced by a planing machine at a Seattle shipyard , circa 1910

The firm of Webster & Stevens was often hired to take pictures for Seattle businesses and industries. In this case, their client was the Stetson-Ross Machine Works. In this photo, taken around 1910, a Stetson-Ross planing machine is smoothing ship knees for wooden ships. Ship knees were braces made from the bases of tree trunks and used to connect and…
ID Number:1983.10.5961
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Great Western Iron and Steel Company,  Kirkland, circa 1892
Photograph

Great Western Iron and Steel Company, Kirkland, circa 1892

In 1888, Seattle investors convinced British industrialist Peter Kirk to open a steel mill in Kirkland, named in his honor. They hoped that the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Works, reorganized in 1890 as the Great Western Iron and Steel Company, would turn Kirkland into the Pittsburgh of the West. The city boomed as speculators subdivided land and built substantial…
ID Number:1983.10.6113
Date:Circa 1892
Image of Denny Clay Company buildings, circa 1911
Photograph

Denny Clay Company buildings, circa 1911

By 1910, the Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company was one of Renton's most important businesses. Company workers removed the clay from nearby cliffs using high pressure hoses. Other laborers formed and baked the clay into bricks, sewer tile, terra cotta, and other building materials. By 1917, the Denny-Renton Clay Company was reportedly the world's largest producer of street paving brick.…
ID Number:1983.10.6573.2
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Waterfront from Moran's shipyard, circa 1900
Photograph

Waterfront from Moran's shipyard, circa 1900

Seattle's waterfront was busy in the early 1900s. Rafts of logs floated near the sawmills, ready to be cut into lumber. Some ships waited to be loaded with lumber or coal. Others carried passengers and cargo between Puget Sound, San Francisco, and other ports. In 1900, the editor of the Seattle Times predicted that Seattle would become the center for…
ID Number:1983.10.6762.2
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Hoffman Carriage Co., Seattle, circa 1905
Photograph

Hoffman Carriage Co., Seattle, circa 1905

Handwritten on sleeve: Hoffman Carriage Co.Webster & Stevens number: 3509A
ID Number:1983.10.7381
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Crescent Manufacturing Co., Seattle, circa 1904
Photograph

Crescent Manufacturing Co., Seattle, circa 1904

During the first decade of the 20th century, the Crescent Manufacturing Company occupied the ground floor of a building at the corner of Jackson Street and Occidental Avenue, near Pioneer Square. The firm imported coffee, tea, and spices and also manufactured flavorings and ingredients for baking. Maring & Blake, a photoengraving and printing company, occupied the second floor of the…
ID Number:1983.10.8269
Date:Circa 1904
Image of Lake Union gasworks and University district, circa 1909
Photograph

Lake Union gasworks and University district, circa 1909

Private companies started supplying Seattle homes and businesses with natural gas in the early 1870s. At first, the gas was made from coal, which was brought in by railroad. It was used for lighting streets and buildings, as well as for cooking, heating, and manufacturing. One company built a plant at the north end of Lake Union in 1906. Parts…
ID Number:1983.10.8930.1
Date:Circa 1909
Image of Puget Sound Sheet Metal Works, Seattle, circa 1911
Photograph

Puget Sound Sheet Metal Works, Seattle, circa 1911

Signs in image: Roofers - Puget Sound Sheet Metal Works. Handwritten on sleeve: Puget Sound Sheet Metal Ext.Webster & Stevens number: 19554
ID Number:1983.10.9210
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Seattle Cedar mill, circa 1916
Photograph

Seattle Cedar mill, circa 1916

The Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Company had a large mill in Ballard, just to the west of the Ballard Bridge. Logs were floated to the mill, and kept in the water until they were cut. The rough lumber was then stacked to dry before it was planed and sold.This photo, taken around 1916, shows the tall smokestack and piles of…
ID Number:1983.10.10353
Date:Circa 1916
Image of Fisher Flouring Mills on Harbor Island, Seattle, 1917
Photograph

Fisher Flouring Mills on Harbor Island, Seattle, 1917

In 1911, brothers O. D. Fisher and O. W. Fisher began milling flour at the Fisher Flouring Mills on Seattle's Harbor Island in Elliott Bay. The grain silo and milling complex was one of the first facilities built on the artificial island after the island's completion in 1909. In 2001, Fisher sold the mill to Pendleton Flour Mills. The mill…
ID Number:1983.10.10416.2
Date:1917
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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.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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