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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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406 results for: Construction and Urban Planning

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Image of Construction of ship shed for battleship USS Nebraska, Moran Brothers shipyard, 1902
Photograph

Construction of ship shed for battleship USS Nebraska, Moran Brothers shipyard, 1902

In 1901, the Moran Brothers shipyard of Seattle won the bid to build one of three battleships for the US Navy. To accommodate the construction of so large a vessel, the shipyard, located at the foot of South Charles Street, required major renovations. A large quantity of heavy tools and equipment was purchased, and a ship shed was built with…
ID Number:2000.87.21.22
Date:1902
Image of Greg Broad building walkway at Tillicum Village prior to APEC conference, Blake Island, November 5, 1993
Photograph

Greg Broad building walkway at Tillicum Village prior to APEC conference, Blake Island, November 5, 1993

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference (APEC) was founded in 1989 as an informal dialog group with limited participation by ministers and cabinet-level officials in the Asian-Pacific region, and rose to world prominence in Seattle in 1993 when President Clinton endorsed the organization and used it for what is now an annual summit meeting of Asian and Pacific leaders. The group…
ID Number:2000.107.009.35.01
Date:1993
Image of People on Mercer Street opposing Initiatives 547 and 35, Seattle, November 6, 1990
Photograph

People on Mercer Street opposing Initiatives 547 and 35, Seattle, November 6, 1990

Increasing urban sprawl and environmental degradation led the Washington legislature to work on state-directed growth control measures. Unhappiness with their proposals led to the citizen-initiated Initiative 547 on the November 1990 ballot. The initiative would have would have required comprehensive land-use planning by all Washington state counties and the establishment of two regional growth control panels. Initiative 547 failed by…
ID Number:2000.107.055.28.02
Date:1990
Image of Jim Mason and Eddie Rye, Jr. talking to press, Spetember 15, 1986
Photograph

Jim Mason and Eddie Rye, Jr. talking to press, Spetember 15, 1986

On September 15, 1986, about two dozen African American contractors and unemployed workers visited the Guy F. Atkinson Co. job site near the Mount Baker tunnel to express their dissatisfaction with minority hiring and contracting procedures used by the firm. Eddie Rye Jr., a representative of the Black Contractors Coalition, told Atkinson representative Ira Fell that the group was particularly…
ID Number:2000.107.119.28.01
Date:1986
Image of Metro Transit tunnel construction, Seattle, February 4, 1988
Photograph

Metro Transit tunnel construction, Seattle, February 4, 1988

In this image, construction crews excavate the area that will become the north portal entrance to the Metro Transit bus tunnel and the Convention Center Station at Ninth Avenue and Pine Street. Work on Metro's $455 million 1.3-mile-long bus tunnel began in 1987 amid concerns from local business owners that construction would affect commerce. Metro kept the sidewalks open for…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.01
Date:1988
Image of Contractors excavating for Metro Transit tunnel, Seattle, March 17, 1987
Photograph

Contractors excavating for Metro Transit tunnel, Seattle, March 17, 1987

In this image construction workers from Frontier Foundations, Inc., a subcontractor for Atkinson/Dillingham Construction Co., drill the first hold for the first piling for the excavation of the Pioneer Square tunnel station at Third Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle. Work on Metro Transit's $455 million, 1.3-mile-long bus tunnel began in 1987 amid concerns from local business owners that…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.02
Date:1987
Image of Metro Transit tunnel construction at Third Ave. and Pike St., Seattle, February 9, 1988
Photograph

Metro Transit tunnel construction at Third Ave. and Pike St., Seattle, February 9, 1988

In this image construction workers line a 20-foot diameter shaft being dug on Third Avenue at Pike Street. The shaft will eventually connect with Metro Transit's bus tunnels about 55 feet below Third Avenue, part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Also known as the Metro Bus Tunnel, the 1.3-mile-long public transit tunnel now runs underneath downtown Seattle. Constructed between…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.03
Date:1988
Image of Two men walking in bus tunnel, Seattle, January 19, 1988
Photograph

Two men walking in bus tunnel, Seattle, January 19, 1988

In this image, Seattle P.I. reporter James Wallace is accompanied through the bus tunnel by a Metro Transit inspector after the project was delayed because digging farther without stabilizing the soil could endanger building foundations. Most of the tunnel has a concrete structure; the wooden "whiskey barrel" structure at the right edge of the frame indicates a location where a…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.04
Date:1988
Image of South entrance to Metro Transit bus tunnel, Seattle, August 5, 1989
Photograph

South entrance to Metro Transit bus tunnel, Seattle, August 5, 1989

In this image a Metro Transit inspector walks through the tunnel at the south entrance during construction. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (Metro Bus Tunnel) is a 1.3-mile-long public transit tunnel that runs underneath downtown Seattle. Constructed between 1987-1990, the $455 million tunnel originally built for buses was updated to include light rail access in 2009. Caption information derived from…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.05
Date:1989
Image of Ceremonial reopening of Pine Street during transit tunnel construction, Seattle, November 1, 1987
Photograph

Ceremonial reopening of Pine Street during transit tunnel construction, Seattle, November 1, 1987

In this image Seattle City Councilman George Benson (left), the "Mighty Mole," and Metro construction manager Valadimir Khazak cut a ribbon and remove traffic barricades on Pine Street and Eighth Avenue, which had been blocked for construction of the Metro tunnel. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (Metro Bus Tunnel) is a 1.3-mile-long public transit tunnel that runs underneath downtown Seattle.…
ID Number:2000.107.124.34.06
Date:1987
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