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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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768 results for: Businesses and Corporations

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Image of Kenworth planning department, Seattle, 1936
Photograph

Kenworth planning department, Seattle, 1936

The Kenworth Motor Truck Company got its start building heavy-duty trucks for the timber industry. It later expanded its line to include moving vans, delivery trucks, fire trucks, and buses. Here, workers are shown in the company's planning department. Photographer's Reference Number: 36-219Note from MOHAI records: Kenworth office/planning interior.
ID Number:1983.10.5987.64
Date:1936
Image of Great Western Iron and Steel Company,  Kirkland, circa 1892
Photograph

Great Western Iron and Steel Company, Kirkland, circa 1892

In 1888, Seattle investors convinced British industrialist Peter Kirk to open a steel mill in Kirkland, named in his honor. They hoped that the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Works, reorganized in 1890 as the Great Western Iron and Steel Company, would turn Kirkland into the Pittsburgh of the West. The city boomed as speculators subdivided land and built substantial…
ID Number:1983.10.6113
Date:Circa 1892
Image of First Avenue and Spring Street, Seattle, circa 1911
Photograph

First Avenue and Spring Street, Seattle, circa 1911

Amos Brown (1833-1899) was an prominent Seattle lumberman and real estate owner in the late 1800s. He built the family house featured at the center of this photograph around 1870 after his marriage. The house survived the Great Seattle Fire, and other buildings and businesses were built around it, until the house's demolition in 1914. Signs in image: Grand Pacific.…
ID Number:1983.10.6280
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Front Street at Madison Street, circa 1891
Photograph

Front Street at Madison Street, circa 1891

Seattle's Front and Madison Streets recovered quickly after the Great Fire of 1889. In this photo, taken about 1891, a shoe store, a restaurant, and other businesses occupy new brick buildings. Streetcars run along Front Street's trestle, and cable cars climb Madison's steep hills. Billboards advertise business investments and Levi's clothing. The towers of Providence Hospital (left) and Central School…
ID Number:1983.10.6300.1
Date:Circa 1891
Image of Downtown view looking east between Cherry and Columbia Streets, Seattle, circa 1898
Photograph

Downtown view looking east between Cherry and Columbia Streets, Seattle, circa 1898

The photographer may have been standing atop the Daily Journal of Commerce Building to capture this view of turn-of-the-century Seattle. Looking east and slightly south from Post Alley between Cherry and Columbia, many of the city's prominent buildings are visible, including the King County Courthouse on the right. Signs in image: Schwabacher Bros. & Co. Inc. Distributors - White Knight…
ID Number:1983.10.6394
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Denny Clay Company buildings, circa 1911
Photograph

Denny Clay Company buildings, circa 1911

By 1910, the Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company was one of Renton's most important businesses. Company workers removed the clay from nearby cliffs using high pressure hoses. Other laborers formed and baked the clay into bricks, sewer tile, terra cotta, and other building materials. By 1917, the Denny-Renton Clay Company was reportedly the world's largest producer of street paving brick.…
ID Number:1983.10.6573.2
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Hitt Fireworks Co., Seattle, circa 1911
Photograph

Hitt Fireworks Co., Seattle, circa 1911

Born in England, T.G. Hitt came to the Seattle area in 1905 and founded the Hitt Fireworks Company. The operation was based on a hill just outside Columbia City. Hitt became one of the foremost fireworks manufacturers in the country, known for elaborate public spectacles as well as small novelties such as "Flashcrackas." Hitt also produced special effects for Hollywood,…
ID Number:1983.10.6591.2
Date:Circa 1911
Image of J.W. Dalton Automobiles, Seattle, 1911
Photograph

J.W. Dalton Automobiles, Seattle, 1911

Signs in image: J.W. Dalton, Jr. Guaranteed Car and Repair Work. J.W. Dalton, Jr. Automobiles - Repaired, Rebuilt, Bought & Sold. The Douglass Sweeper - Owned by the J.S. Dalton, Jr. Co. - 506 Denny Way Home Office Seattle Wn. - Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver B.C., Spokane - Down Town Offices - Z.C. Miles & Piper Co. - Madison St. Machine…
ID Number:1983.10.6646
Date:1911
Image of Lumber Exchange building, Seattle, circa 1911
Photograph

Lumber Exchange building, Seattle, circa 1911

The Lumber Exchange opened in 1903 by Seattle developer James A. Moore (1861-1929) to provide offices fo rthe growing lumber industry. Located at 119 Second Avenue, but building was demolished in 1990. Signs in image: The [L...er]. More Goods for the Same Money, The Same Goods for Less Money Than Elsewhere. Gymnasium, School. Lumber Exchange. Toklas, Singerman & Co. Max…
ID Number:1983.10.6676
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Hoge Building, Seattle, circa 1905
Photograph

Hoge Building, Seattle, circa 1905

Signs in image: Hoge Building. Conservative Life Insurance Co. - "The Most Successful." Furnished Rooms. Robert S. [U...] Real Estate Loans. Dean & Curtiss Tailors. [E.H. Wharton?] Dentist. J.R. Justice Stationer - Filing Cabinets, Card Systems. This Paving Done With Wilkeson Sandstone Block - Bell & Price General Construction - Our Bonds Furnished by H.A. Raser. The Ivy Press. L.L.…
ID Number:1983.10.6942
Date:Circa 1905
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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
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