• 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

376 results for: Manufacturing

Share:
Image of Berger Engineering Works employee with machinery, Seattle, circa 1944
Photograph

Berger Engineering Works employee with machinery, Seattle, circa 1944

In 1932, Knute Berger started Berger Engineering Works, Inc. to build rugged equipment for shipyards, loggers, and the U.S. Navy. In 1962, Bergen Engineering merged with the company started by Edmund Smith, inventor of the salmon-butchering machine, becoming Smith Berger Manufacturing Corporation. In June, 1983 the company reorganized as Smith Berger Marine, Inc.In this image an unidentified Bergen Engineering Works…
ID Number:1983.10.14958.3
Date:Circa 1944
Image of Women working on machines, Seattle, 1945
Photograph

Women working on machines, Seattle, 1945

Women were employed in many jobs for wartime manufacturing throughout the Puget Sound area. These women are working with drill presses and a floor-mounted drill in the making of small machinery parts, possibly for airplane manufacture. Many small shops such as this became sub-contractors for Boeing during the World War II years. Webster & Stevens number: 45-94
ID Number:1983.10.15254.1
Date:1945
Image of Aerial of Ford Motor Plant from southeast, Seattle, 1932
Photograph

Aerial of Ford Motor Plant from southeast, Seattle, 1932

Photographer Charles Laidlaw made this view of the second Ford factory from about 800 feet above the Duwamish industrial area. Seattle's newest producer of Fords built only a few thousand cars before the Great Depression stopped the assembly line. The building was later used as a sales and service facility; in 1942 it was sold to the federal government. Caption…
ID Number:1983.10.18041.2
Date:1932
Image of Woman sewing in garment factory, Seattle, 1954
Photograph

Woman sewing in garment factory, Seattle, 1954

Title from inventory: Union Special Machine Co. - Sewing in Garment FactoryHandwritten on sleeve: Sewing in Garment Factory.Webster & Stevens number: 54-5140
ID Number:1983.10.18245.5
Date:1954
Audio recording

Oral history interview with Wilfred Miller, Nels Nelson, and Roy St. Clair, January 17, 1985

Interview with Wilfred Miller, Nels Nelson, and Roy St. Clair about their employment at the Lake Washington Shipyards. Topics discussed include the production changes brought by war, the shortage of Navy inspectors, worker wages, working conditions, safety standards, women welders, union activity, and a worker strike prior to Pearl Harbor.The interview conducted by Lorraine McConaghy for the Life on the…
ID Number:1985.134.15
Date:1985
Audio recording

Oral history interview with Edith Robertson, January 6, 1985

Edith Robertson was born in Kansas City. She moved to Spokane in the early 1930s and Seattle in 1933. She worked as a waitress and a beautician before going to work in the shipyards during World War II. In this interview conducted by Lorraine McConaghy for the Life on the Homefront Oral History Project on January 6, 1985, Robertson recalls…
ID Number:1985.134.20
Date:1985
Image of Bill Lasley at Dugdale Field, Seattle, circa 1928
Photograph

Bill Lasley at Dugdale Field, Seattle, circa 1928

Willard Almond "Bill" Lasley (1902-1990) was raised in Seattle and became a top pitcher in Northwest semi-professional baseball leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. He played briefly for the St. Louis Browns in 1924, and in a game with touring major-league all-stars, he played with Babe Ruth and against Ty Cobb. Lasley taught himself the business and manufacturing techniques he…
ID Number:1986.5.1438.1
Date:Circa 1928
Image of Machine shop, Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943
Photograph

Machine shop, Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943

In 1907, John Isaacson established a small blacksmith shop called Isaacson Iron Works. During World War II, Isaacson Steel incorporated the Jorgensen Steel forging operations and was an integral supplier of iron products for West Coast Naval shipyards, including forged and machined ship shafting. Isaacson Iron Works was in operation from 1907 until 1983. Written on sleeve: INDUSTRIES, Isaacson Iron…
ID Number:1986.5.4446.1
Date:1943
Image of Molten metal being poured into a crucible at Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943
Photograph

Molten metal being poured into a crucible at Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943

In 1907, John Isaacson established a small blacksmith shop called Isaacson Iron Works. During World War II, Isaacson Steel incorporated the Jorgensen Steel forging operations and was an integral supplier of iron products for West Coast Naval shipyards, including forged and machined ship shafting. Isaacson Iron Works was in operation from 1907 until 1983. Written on sleeve: INDUSTRIES, Isaacson Iron…
ID Number:1986.5.4446.2
Date:1943
Image of Ship shafts at Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943
Photograph

Ship shafts at Isaacson Iron Works, Seattle, 1943

In 1907, John Isaacson established a small blacksmith shop called Isaacson Iron Works. During World War II, Isaacson Steel incorporated the Jorgensen Steel forging operations and was an integral supplier of iron products for West Coast Naval shipyards, including forged and machined ship shafting. Isaacson Iron Works was in operation from 1907 until 1983. Written on sleeve: INDUSTRIES, Isaacson Iron…
ID Number:1986.5.4446.3
Date:1943
Previous 1 … 11 12 13 14 15 … 38 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