• 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 Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868
Photograph

Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868

Dr. David S. "Doc" Maynard arrived in Seattle in 1852. His original plans to salt salmon for the San Francisco market failed, but he set up Seattle's first store, selling medicine and general merchandise in his salting works on First Avenue and Main Street. It was Doc Maynard who proposed naming the new city Seattle after Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle)…
ID Number:SHS5595
Date:Circa 1868
Image of Group wearing flu masks outside R.C. Erskine & Company, Seattle, 1918
Photograph

Group wearing flu masks outside R.C. Erskine & Company, Seattle, 1918

In the fall of 1918, the worldwide influenza epidemic hit Seattle. The flu was sudden and deadly. The city's health commissioner banned dances and closed theaters, churches, and schools. At the height of the epidemic, anyone going out in public was required by law to wear a mask made of six layers of gauze. This was supposed to keep the…
ID Number:SHS6338A
Date:1918
Image of Newspaper boy with mask standing in front of closed theatre
Photograph

Newspaper boy with mask standing in front of closed theatre "closed" sign on box office, Seattle, 1918

In the fall of 1918, the worldwide influenza epidemic hit Seattle. The flu was sudden and deadly. The city's health commissioner banned dances and closed theaters, churches, and schools. At the height of the epidemic, anyone going out in public was required by law to wear a mask made of six layers of gauze. This was supposed to keep the…
ID Number:SHS6338B
Date:1918
Image of Adding floors to the County-City Building, circa 1930
Photograph

Adding floors to the County-City Building, circa 1930

In 1916, the new King County Courthouse and Municipal Building, also called the County-City Building, opened on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle. The building, designed by Seattle architect Augustus Warren Gould, was five stories tall, with a partial sixth story for the use of the city engineer. In 1929-1931, architect Henry Bittman's six story addition expanded Gould's original building upwards.This…
ID Number:SHS6523
Date:Circa 1930
Image of Sarah Yesler, circa 1865
Photograph

Sarah Yesler, circa 1865

Sarah Burgert married Henry Yelser in Ohio. Once he was settled in Seattle, she traveled out to join him. Sarah Yesler was active in many civic groups including the Ladies' Relief Society, which helped the needy, and the Ladies' Library Board, which founded Seattle's public library in the home of one of the members. Mrs. Yesler was Seattle's first librarian.…
ID Number:SHS6663B
Date:Circa 1865
Image of Early mill on Lake Washington, circa 1885
Photograph

Early mill on Lake Washington, circa 1885

In the 1870s, thick forests covered the shores of Lake Washington, east of Seattle. As logs were cut, they were floated to small sawmills like this one and cut into lumber, which was used to build the growing city.
ID Number:SHS6671
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Seattle Police Department officers sitting for portrait, August 21, 1891
Photograph

Seattle Police Department officers sitting for portrait, August 21, 1891

The Seattle Police Department was officially organized on June 2, 1869, and law enforcement in Seattle began with election of a town marshal, John Tenny Jordan (1832-1886), a stonemason originally from Maine who later served as the city's mayor. By 1890 the city's population had grown to 42,837, and the police force had grown to include the officers pictured here:…
ID Number:SHS6963
Date:1891
Image of Water tank at Firlands Sanatorium, circa 1935
Photograph

Water tank at Firlands Sanatorium, circa 1935

By 1930, the Seattle Water Department had built water mains as far north as the 85th Street city limits. Firlands Sanatorium was located far outside the city limits. While it had enough well water for most uses, it lacked a good supply for fighting fires. The water department was reluctant to run mains that far north because planners were unsure…
ID Number:SHS7174
Date:Circa 1935
Image of Harborview Hospital and Harborview Hall, Seattle, circa 1932
Photograph

Harborview Hospital and Harborview Hall, Seattle, circa 1932

Harborview Hospital's large, Art Deco building has dominated Seattle's skyline since it opened in 1931 on Seattle's First Hill. Harborview was modeled after large teaching hospitals in the east and was intended to be both a public city hospital and a statewide health center. It has also served as a primary center for medical and nursing education.This photo shows Harborview…
ID Number:SHS7359
Date:Circa 1932
Image of Seattle Electric Railway Company trolley with motormen, circa 1890
Photograph

Seattle Electric Railway Company trolley with motormen, circa 1890

Seattle's first electric streetcars began carrying passengers in 1889. By 1892, the city had 48 miles of electric streetcars and 22 miles of cable railway. In the mid-1890s, motormen were paid 22 cents an hour, but only while the cars were rolling. They weren't paid for the time it took to get the cars ready in the morning, keep them…
ID Number:SHS7701
Date:Circa 1890
Previous 1 … 153 154 155 156 157 158 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