• 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

506 results for: Government and Public Services

Share:
Image of Interior of Government of India Pavilion, Seattle World's Fair, 1962
Photograph

Interior of Government of India Pavilion, Seattle World's Fair, 1962

The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. As planned, the exposition left behind a fairground and numerous public buildings and public works; some credit it with revitalizing Seattle's economic and cultural life. The site, slightly expanded since the fair, is…
ID Number:1963.3119.65.47
Date:1962
Image of Queen City Hose Team members posing for tournament, 1889
Photograph

Queen City Hose Team members posing for tournament, 1889

The creation of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) can be traced back to July 6th, 1876, when the all-volunteer Seattle Engine Company No.1 was organized. In 1883, the City Charter was amended to create and fund equipment, but not staff, for a centralized municipal fire department. The volunteer-based system persisted until pressure from the insurance industry and citizens after the…
ID Number:1965.3520.9
Date:1889
Image of Pavilion of Electric Power, Seattle World's Fair, 1962
Photograph

Pavilion of Electric Power, Seattle World's Fair, 1962

"Water splashing over the spillways of a 40-foot-high model dam forms the background for the Pavilion of Electric Power exhibit of the Electric Utilities of Washington State. Theme of the exhibit is the harnessing of the power of flowing water to provide better living for less - electrically. A major feature is a 16-foot by 24-foot relief map of the…
ID Number:1965.3598.1.7
Date:1962
Image of Officials in front of Space Needle, Seattle World's Fair, circa 1962
Photograph

Officials in front of Space Needle, Seattle World's Fair, circa 1962

This photo shows fair and local and state officials in front of the Space Needle. Handwritten on verso: Left to right - 1. Joseph E. Gandy; 2. Gov. Albert Rosellini; 3. unidentified; 4. unidentified; 5. Mayor Gordon Clinton.
ID Number:1965.3598.9.1
Date:Circa 1962
Image of Hydroelectric power relief map of Washington State, Seattle World's Fair, 1962
Photograph

Hydroelectric power relief map of Washington State, Seattle World's Fair, 1962

The Pavilion of Electric Power was easily identified by the 40 foot high dam replica which formed its backdrop. Floating in a pond at the base of the dam was this 22 foot relief map of Washington State. Illuminated plastic blocks, lamps, and neon tubing show the principal power dams of the state, the transmission network, and cities with populations…
ID Number:1965.3598.27.8.6
Date:1962
Image of Map of the City of Seattle and Adjacent Territory, Bogue Map No. 2, September 1911
Cartographic material

Map of the City of Seattle and Adjacent Territory, Bogue Map No. 2, September 1911

The Municipal Plans Commission of Seattle, established in 1910, hired civil engineer Virgil Gay Bogue (1846-1916) to prepare a strategic development plan for the city. Bogue's 1911 proposal was very ambitious, including a Civic Center in the Denny Regrade area, a park and boulevard system, separation of railroad tracks from streets, and a variety of other municipal improvements. Bogue's "Plan…
ID Number:1966.3805.1
Date:1911
Image of Julean Arnold and China Club of Seattle aboard S.S. President Grant, Seattle, April 7, 1923
Photograph

Julean Arnold and China Club of Seattle aboard S.S. President Grant, Seattle, April 7, 1923

Julean Herbert Arnold was a U. S. Commercial Attache in China and Japan from 1914-1940, and a founder of the China Club in Seattle. Established in 1916, the China Club of Seattle still operates today and is committed to promoting closer trade and cultural relations with China. In 1923, Mr. Arnold spent four months touring the United States, including Seattle,…
ID Number:1967.4171.1
Date:1923
Image of Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 6, 1919
Serial

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 6, 1919

The Seattle General Strike was a work stoppage by more than 65,000 workers in Seattle from February 6-11, 1919. The strike began in shipyards when workers were refused pay increases after two years of World War I wage controls. Most of the city's 110 local unions, including members of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Industrial Workers of…
ID Number:1969.4599.1
Date:1919
Image of Seattle City Treasurer's office employees, June 1908
Photograph

Seattle City Treasurer's office employees, June 1908

This portrait of the employees of the office of the City Treasurer includes the following identifications:First [front] row, left to right: J. F. Haney, Asst. Treas.; W. H. Sanders; Margaret Epler; Maude Judd; George F. Russell, City Treasurer (1906-1908); A. N. Graves; C. L. Blewett.Second row, left to right: Thomas Scott; Charles A. Duke; Amos Brown; Col. H. W. Beecher;…
ID Number:1969.4653.12
Date:1908
Image of Volunteer firemen Victor Denny and Luther Youngs, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Volunteer firemen Victor Denny and Luther Youngs, Seattle, circa 1885

In the mid-1880s, Victor Denny (left) and Luther Youngs (right) were members of Seattle’s all-volunteer fire department. Denny was born in Seattle to one of the city's founding fathers, David Denny, was a student at the time of this photograph. Youngs, a carpenter, had moved to Seattle in 1883 from Kentucky. In June 1889, in spite of the best efforts…
ID Number:1969.4689.1
Date:Circa 1885
Previous 1 2 3 4 … 51 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