• 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

316 results for: Recreation

Share:
Image of May Day family picnic flier, Seattle, May 4, 1975
Ephemera

May Day family picnic flier, Seattle, May 4, 1975

On May 4, 1975, Seattle area Asian and Pacific Island workers were invited to a potluck picnic at Seward Park that included a pig roast, recreation, cultural presentations and speakers. May Day, also known as International Workers Day, aims to build international working class unity.The flier for the event is printed in Tagalog (Filipino), Chinese and English. Sponsors included groups…
ID Number:2002.23.1.32.2
Date:1975
Image of Anti-Authoritarian Peace Picnic flier, Seattle, September 1991
Ephemera

Anti-Authoritarian Peace Picnic flier, Seattle, September 1991

On a fall Sunday, members of Seattle leftist groups gathered at Volunteer Park Amphitheater for a picnic. They were entertained by a variety of punk and metal bands, performance artists, and anti-authoritarian speeches. Participants could also enjoy arts and crafts and free food.This poster for the picnic features the names of the bands. In the lower left are symbols reflecting…
ID Number:2002.23.2.63.1
Date:1991
Image of CAMP registration card, from Gay City and Boyz in the Woods, 1996
Ephemera

CAMP registration card, from Gay City and Boyz in the Woods, 1996

This card advertises a weekend camping trip focused on gay men, organized by Gay City and Boyz in the Woods. It promises "gay exploring and merry-making," arts and play, and homo spirituality. The illustration on the front shows two scantily-clad idealized male figures driving logs down a river. Gay City, now called Seattle's LGBTQ+ Center, was founded in 1995 by…
ID Number:2002.23.6.27.1
Date:1996
Image of Lou Whittaker at his home in Ashford, Washington, April 1975
Photograph

Lou Whittaker at his home in Ashford, Washington, April 1975

Lou Whittaker (1929-2024) and his identical twin brother Jim are often referred to as "the first family of mountaineering." The twins first started climbing at age 12 and began mountain rescue work in the Washington Cascades in 1948. In 1969, Lou went on to co-found Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., now known as RMI Expeditions, and spent decades guiding thousands of people…
ID Number:2002.46.6756.12
Date:1975
Image of Canoeists at Leschi Park, Seattle, circa 1905
Postcard

Canoeists at Leschi Park, Seattle, circa 1905

Leschi Park, on the shore of Lake Washington, was a popular place for Seattle's city-dwellers to go for recreation. Many people caught a cable car at Pioneer Square and rode to the park along Yesler Way. This postcard shows people canoeing near the shore of the busy park. Caption on image: Boating scene at Leschi Park, Seattle, Washington.Stamped on verso:…
ID Number:2002.48.1156
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Greater Seattle Bicycle Expo poster, February 22-23, 1991
Poster

Greater Seattle Bicycle Expo poster, February 22-23, 1991

In 1987, the Cascade Bicycle Club, an organization started by brothers Mike and Rick Quam in 1970 to discuss bicycling in the Puget Sound region, began its annual trade show, the Seattle Bicycle Expo. The expo would continue until 2015, when the Cascade Bicycle Club dropped the event due to declining attendance. Cascadia Events took it over as the Seattle…
ID Number:2007.25.11
Date:1991
Image of Morgan J. Carkeek  posting park rules, Carkeek Park, Seattle, circa 1918
Photograph

Morgan J. Carkeek posting park rules, Carkeek Park, Seattle, circa 1918

Beginning in about 1918, the Seattle Park Board hosted annual picnics at the "original" Carkeek Park (1918-1926) on Pontiac Bay at Lake Washington, later the site of the Sand Point Naval Station and now Magnuson Park. These annual luncheon picnics were attended by donors to the park and their friends on the anniversary of the donation of the park by…
ID Number:2008.3.1.46.9
Date:Circa 1918
Image of Park Ranger Charles Browne with ice axe near crevasse, Mount Rainier National Park,  circa 1930
Photograph

Park Ranger Charles Browne with ice axe near crevasse, Mount Rainier National Park, circa 1930

Charles Browne became a National Park Service Ranger around 1928, working first in Mount Rainier National Park, and later in Olympic National Park. After 37 years of service, Browne retired from the National Park Service in 1965.
ID Number:2009.16.3
Date:Circa 1930
Image of Park Ranger Charles Browne and climbing party, Mount Rainer National Park, 1930
Photograph

Park Ranger Charles Browne and climbing party, Mount Rainer National Park, 1930

Charles Browne became a National Park Service Ranger around 1928, working first in Mount Rainier National Park, and later in Olympic National Park. After 37 years of service, Browne retired from the National Park Service in 1965.Ranger Browne, at far left, is shown here with a party of climbers, perhaps other rangers. The men hold ice axes, and are probably…
ID Number:2009.16.43
Date:1930
Image of Aurora Speedway race program, 1936
Program

Aurora Speedway race program, 1936

The Aurora Speedway was built in 1932 as an expansion of Playland, a popular amusement park built in 1930 near Bitter Lake in Seattle. The oval track and large wooden grandstand fronted Aurora Avenue between North 130th and North 135th Streets. The park suffered a series of fires in the 1950s, and public interest began to wane as other means…
ID Number:2010.65.3
Date:1936
Previous 1 … 18 19 20 21 22 … 32 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