• 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

1580 results for: City of Seattle

Share:
Image of Louisa, Madge, David, and Inez Denny, Seattle, circa 1858
Photograph

Louisa, Madge, David, and Inez Denny, Seattle, circa 1858

David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) and Louisa Boren (1827-1916) were members of the Seattle pioneers known as the Denny Party, 24 white people who settled in Seattle in 1851. The two married in 1853 in city's first wedding of European American settlers, and had eight children together.In this image David and Louisa pose with their children, Emily Inez Denny (1854-1918), and…
ID Number:SHS154
Date:circa 1858
Image of East-facing view of Seattle and the Alaskan, 1888
Photograph

East-facing view of Seattle and the Alaskan, 1888

Seattle in the 1880s was a rapidly growing city, aided in no small part by the 1883 connection with the Northern Pacific Railway Company. Lumber and coal were the primary industries, but the growth of fishing, wholesale trade, shipbuilding, and shipping also contributed to the town's economic expansion and population growth. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at…
ID Number:SHS201
Date:1888
Image of King County Courthouse courtroom, circa 1885
Photograph

King County Courthouse courtroom, circa 1885

In 1882, the government of King County occupied a wood frame courthouse at Third Avenue, between Jefferson Street and Yesler Way in downtown Seattle. In 1890, the county moved its offices up the hill to a new courthouse near the present site of Harborview Hospital and sold the old building to the city of Seattle.This photo by J.C. Haines shows…
ID Number:SHS215
Date:Circa 1885
Image of City of Seattle Health Office, Yesler Way, circa 1900
Photograph

City of Seattle Health Office, Yesler Way, circa 1900

The Seattle City Council created the position of City Health Officer in 1877. The Health Officer had the responsibility to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served in the role. An amended City Charter in 1908 replaced the Board of Health with…
ID Number:SHS218
Date:Circa 1900
Image of King County Hospital, Georgetown, circa 1900
Photograph

King County Hospital, Georgetown, circa 1900

The Seattle City Council created the position of City Health Officer in 1877. The Health Officer had the responsibility to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served in the role. An amended City Charter in 1908 replaced the Board of Health with…
ID Number:SHS222
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Commercial Street looking north, Seattle, 1865
Photograph

Commercial Street looking north, Seattle, 1865

Seattle was first incorporated by the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1865 with a population of 350 and an economy based on timber. This image, taken from about Main Street, looking North along Commercial Street (now First Avenue South), shows the Territorial University of Washington in the center distance, built in 1862 at a location now occupied by the Fairmont Olympic…
ID Number:SHS239
Date:1865
Image of Dexter Horton home, 3rd and Seneca, Seattle, circa 1875
Photograph

Dexter Horton home, 3rd and Seneca, Seattle, circa 1875

In 1853 Dexter Horton (1825-1904) came to Seattle with his first wife, Hannah Eliza (Shoudy) Horton (1828-1871), and their daughter, Rebecca. Developing a reputation as an honest businessman, he established the city's first real bank. Horton was also a founding volunteer in various social organizations, including the Seattle Library Association in 1873 and the Seattle Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)…
ID Number:SHS243
Date:Circa 1875
Image of City Hall at 3rd and Jefferson, Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

City Hall at 3rd and Jefferson, Seattle, circa 1900

In 1876, King County purchased a lot from Henry Yesler for the price of $3,500 and built the first King County building on county owned property. The two-story wood, stone and brick structure occupied the corner of Third Avenue and Jefferson Street (the present site of City Hall Park) and cost $17,000 to build. It housed the jail in the…
ID Number:SHS250
Date:Circa 1900
Image of John Leary home, 2nd and Madison, Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

John Leary home, 2nd and Madison, Seattle, circa 1890

John Leary (1837-1905) came to Seattle in 1869 and was involved with virtually every major civic and commercial undertaking in Seattle in the 1870s and 1880s. He was the first president of the West Coast Improvement Company (WCIC), which shaped Ballard into the “Shingle Capitol of the World” (Leary Way still bears his name). Leary served three terms as a member…
ID Number:SHS258
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Henry and Minnie Yesler home, 3rd and James, Seattle, circa 1895
Photograph

Henry and Minnie Yesler home, 3rd and James, Seattle, circa 1895

In 1884 lumberman and Seattle's first millionaire, Henry L. Yesler (1810-1892), and his wife, Sarah Burgert Yesler (1822-1887) built their mansion on the block between Third and Fourth Avenues at James Street. Sarah died shortly after they moved in, and Yesler married a young cousin, Minnie Gagle Yesler (born c. 1867), who lived in the house after his death until…
ID Number:SHS267
Date:Circa 1895
Previous 1 … 147 148 149 150 151 … 158 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