• 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

331 results for: World War II, 1941-1945 (WWII)

Share:
Image of Rules for Test Blackout Night, March 7, 1941
Ephemera

Rules for Test Blackout Night, March 7, 1941

The City of Seattle ran a Test Blackout Night on March 7, 1941. Mayor John E. Carroll declared an official emergency for the duration of the blackout, and the city distributed this handbill telling people what to expect and what to do. All male citizens of Seattle were called upon to report violations to city authorities.
ID Number:Lib1996.28.19b
Date:1941
Image of Program for the United Nations Victory Festival, Seattle, December1945
Program

Program for the United Nations Victory Festival, Seattle, December1945

The Seventh Annual United Nations Christmas Festival, known in 1945 as the Victory Festival, was held at Seattle's Civic Auditorium, with costumed representatives from fourteen countries participating in the "Pageant of the Nations Going Home," a celebration of courage and hope after the devastations of war. United Nations representatives from twenty nations attended, and the entertainment also included performances by…
ID Number:Lib1996.28.22
Date:1945
Image of Shoppers buying stockings at Frederick & Nelson, November 3, 1945
Photograph

Shoppers buying stockings at Frederick & Nelson, November 3, 1945

In the early 1940s, during World War II, the military needed silk to make parachutes. Silk was rationed, and there was hardly any left over to make underwear, stockings or other everyday products. Women found that rayon stockings bagged and leg makeup smeared or cracked. When the war was over, women jumped at the chance to buy the new sheer…
ID Number:PI21052
Date:1945
Image of Woman in work clothes waiting to cross street, Seattle, 1942
Photograph

Woman in work clothes waiting to cross street, Seattle, 1942

During World War II, many women were trained to fill the jobs left by men serving in the military. Women did auto repair, aircraft assembly and other jobs once considered men's work. Handwritten on image: Women slacks.Handwritten on sleeve: Fashions - slacks - women's.Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by…
ID Number:PI21377
Date:1942
Image of Naval officers watching Hooverville shack burn, June 6, 1942
Photograph

Naval officers watching Hooverville shack burn, June 6, 1942

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many unemployed and homeless people throughout the United States built shantytowns on vacant lots. The settlements were called Hoovervilles, after President Herbert Hoover whom many blamed for the depression. In Seattle, shantytowns grew in the waterfront areas south of downtown Seattle and north near Smith Cove. When the United States entered World War…
ID Number:PI22395
Date:1942
Image of War memorial in Victory Square, Seattle, 1946
Photograph

War memorial in Victory Square, Seattle, 1946

Memorial reads: We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. -Lincoln.Handwritten on negative: Victory Square.Handwritten on sleeve: Memorial Day - Victory Square.Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): May 31, 1946.
ID Number:PI23390
Date:1946
Image of High Point housing project, July 1942
Photograph

High Point housing project, July 1942

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, workers were already pouring into Seattle to work at Boeing and other war industries. The Seattle Housing Authority rushed to complete High Point in West Seattle to house some of the war workers. Some 650 carpenters and other laborers built 700 homes, mainly duplexes.This July 1942 shows the High…
ID Number:PI23696
Date:1942
Image of Child care center at High Point housing project, April 1942
Photograph

Child care center at High Point housing project, April 1942

Many people came to the Seattle area during World War II to work in the shipyards and other war industries. Some of these men and women lived at the High Point housing project in West Seattle. Child care was a problem for working mothers. Many of High Point's young children were looked after at the community's child care center.This April…
ID Number:PI23697
Date:1942
Image of Rainier Vista Housing Project, Seattle, 1941
Photograph

Rainier Vista Housing Project, Seattle, 1941

The Rainier Vista Housing Project was built to house workers in Seattle's war industries. After the war, veterans moved into the development. It was once again used for defense industry workers during the Korean War. In 1953, the Seattle Housing Authority took over the development. Handwritten on negative: Rainier Vista housing project.Handwritten on sleeve: Seattle - housing projects - Rainier…
ID Number:PI23703
Date:1941
Image of Sand Point Housing Project, Seattle, 1941
Photograph

Sand Point Housing Project, Seattle, 1941

During World War II, the Navy built temporary officers quarters on the south end of the Sand Point Naval Air Station. The University of Washington took over the housing in 1957, renting the units to married students at low rates. The buildings were torn down in 2000. Handwritten on negative: Sand Point Housing.Handwritten on sleeve: Seattle - housing projects -…
ID Number:PI23714
Date:1941
Previous 1 … 21 22 23 24 25 … 34 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