• 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

1514 results for: City of Seattle

Share:
Image of Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890

Seattle in the early 1890s was a rapidly growing city. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at 19,116, and although 1889's Great Fire leveled 116 acres in the heart of the city's business district, by 1890 the city's population actually grew to 40,000 inhabitants from the influx of people helping to recreate the city. Lumber and coal were…
ID Number:SHS1546
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Occidental Hotel, circa 1886
Photograph

Occidental Hotel, circa 1886

In 1884, John Collins opened his Occidental Hotel at the junction of James Street and Mill Street (now Yesler Way) in Seattle. The ornate, four-story brick building was at the center of the city, just off of what is now Pioneer Square. It was considered to be the grandest hotel in Washington Territory. A bank occupied part of the ground…
ID Number:SHS1581
Date:Circa 1886
Image of Queen City Cycle Club, Kent, June 28, 1896
Photograph

Queen City Cycle Club, Kent, June 28, 1896

Between about 1894-1904, after the horse and before the automobile, bicycles were the hottest new form of do-it-yourself urban transportation in Seattle. The region's many cycling groups regularly sponsored outings along the twenty-five miles of urban bicycle trails which were built, funded, and maintained with the aid of city engineers. Bike cops enforced cyclist speed limits, safety, and dealt with…
ID Number:SHS1825
Date:1896
Image of Chesheeahud and Tleebuleetsa near campfire, circa 1900
Photograph

Chesheeahud and Tleebuleetsa near campfire, circa 1900

Chesheeahud was a Duwamish chief and guide to the lakes and rivers around what is now Seattle living between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. He led a village called hehs-KWEE-kweel (meaning Skate), at the south edge of the mouth of Union Bay onto Lake Washington. hehs-KWEE-kweel was near a vital portage used by the Duwamish between Lake Union and…
ID Number:SHS1900
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Seattleites posing with goods salvaged from the fire, June 1889
Photograph

Seattleites posing with goods salvaged from the fire, June 1889

The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes of the City, destroying 100 acres of Seattle's business district and waterfront. The city didn't take much time to mourn; most businesses decided to rebuild where they had been, and rebuilding began almost immediately. Relief bureaus were…
ID Number:SHS2150
Date:1889
Image of Native camp on the beach, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Native camp on the beach, Seattle, circa 1885

In 1865 the Board of Trustees of Seattle passed Ordinance No. 5 banning Indigenous people from living in the city unless they worked for a non-Indigenous resident and lived on their employer’s property. Despite this attempt to enforce separation between Indigenous people and the settlers, Seattle depended on Indigenous people. Settlers relied on Native people for domestic work and for…
ID Number:SHS2174
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Indigenous encampment at the Seattle waterfront, circa 1895
Photograph

Indigenous encampment at the Seattle waterfront, circa 1895

In 1865 the Board of Trustees of Seattle passed Ordinance No. 5 banning Indigenous people from living in the city unless they worked for a non-Indigenous resident and lived on their employer’s property. Despite this attempt to enforce separation between Indigenous people and the settlers, Seattle depended on Indigenous people. Settlers relied on Native people for domestic work and for…
ID Number:SHS2210
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Chesheeahud and others in a canoe on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Chesheeahud and others in a canoe on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1885

Chesheeahud (also spelled Cheshiahud) was a Duwamish chief and guide to the lakes and rivers around what is now Seattle, living between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. He led a village called hehs-KWEE-kweel (meaning Skate), at the south edge of the mouth of Union Bay onto Lake Washington. hehs-KWEE-kweel was near a vital portage used by the Duwamish between…
ID Number:SHS2228
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Members of Seattle Police Department, Ballard Station, April, 1913
Photograph

Members of Seattle Police Department, Ballard Station, April, 1913

Ballard was an independent city from its incorporation in 1890, until a vote to annex to Seattle passed 996 to 874 on November 6, 1906. On May 29, 1907, the City of Ballard officially became simply Ballard, a neighborhood of Seattle.In the 1910s, Seattle had neighborhood police headquarters in Ballard, West Seattle, Columbia City, Densmore (now Wallingford), and Georgetown. This…
ID Number:SHS2273
Date:1913
Image of Mayor Bertha K. Landes at her desk, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Mayor Bertha K. Landes at her desk, Seattle, circa 1927

In 1926, Bertha Knight Landes was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major American city when she became mayor of Seattle. She vowed to clean up city government, running on the platform of "municipal housekeeping." She served only one term as mayor but remained a civic leader in such organizations as the Women's University Club, the Women's…
ID Number:SHS2344
Date:Circa 1927
Previous 1 … 144 145 146 147 148 … 152 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