• 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

308 results for: Retail and Department Stores

Share:
Image of Exterior of the Bon Marché livery stables, Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

Exterior of the Bon Marché livery stables, Seattle, circa 1900

The Bon Marché was founded in 1890 by German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine. Originally located in Seattle’s Belltown district at First Avenue and Cedar Street, in 1896 it moved to a more central location downtown at Second Avenue and Pike Street. This exterior shot is of the Bon Marché Stables (later Compton Lumber Company, today Compton Building),…
ID Number:2009.20.72
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Aerial photograph of Bon Marché with Christmas star and downtown extending east and north, Seattle, circa 1965
Photograph

Aerial photograph of Bon Marché with Christmas star and downtown extending east and north, Seattle, circa 1965

The Bon Marché was founded in 1890 by German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine. Originally located in Seattle’s Belltown district at First Avenue and Cedar Street, in 1896 it moved to a more central location downtown at Second Avenue and Pike Street. The holiday star hangs annually on the corner of the Bon Marché building at Fourth Avenue…
ID Number:2009.20.74
Date:Circa 1965
Image of Bon Marché Christmas star design drawing, Seattle, circa 1957
Architectural drawing

Bon Marché Christmas star design drawing, Seattle, circa 1957

Edward and Josephine Nordhoff opened Seattle’s Bon Marché in 1890. The department store moved and expanded over the years, and by 1929, it occupied an art-deco building on a full city block in downtown Seattle. Sometime around 1953, Bob James of the Bon Marché Display Department designed a Christmas tree and star in lights for the diagonal corner of the…
ID Number:2009.20.78.1
Date:1957
Image of Bon Marché Christmas star design drawing, Seattle, circa 1957
Architectural drawing

Bon Marché Christmas star design drawing, Seattle, circa 1957

Edward and Josephine Nordhoff opened Seattle’s Bon Marché in 1890. The department store moved and expanded over the years, and by 1929, it occupied an art-deco building on a full city block in downtown Seattle. Sometime around 1953, Bob James of the Bon Marché Display Department designed a Christmas tree and star in lights for the diagonal corner of the…
ID Number:2009.20.78.2
Date:1957
Image of Bon Marché Christmas star revised design drawing, Seattle, July 17, 1957
Architectural drawing

Bon Marché Christmas star revised design drawing, Seattle, July 17, 1957

Edward and Josephine Nordhoff opened Seattle’s Bon Marché in 1890. The department store moved and expanded over the years, and by 1929, it occupied an art-deco building on a full city block in downtown Seattle. Sometime around 1953, Bob James of the Bon Marché Display Department designed a Christmas tree and star in lights for the diagonal corner of the…
ID Number:2009.20.78.3
Date:1957
Image of Bon Marché Christmas star colored lamps design drawing, Seattle, 1962
Architectural drawing

Bon Marché Christmas star colored lamps design drawing, Seattle, 1962

Edward and Josephine Nordhoff opened Seattle’s Bon Marché in 1890. The department store moved and expanded over the years, and by 1929, it occupied an art-deco building on a full city block in downtown Seattle.Sometime around 1953, Bob James of the Bon Marché Display Department designed a Christmas tree and star in lights for the diagonal corner of the building…
ID Number:2009.20.78.4
Date:1962
Image of Bon Marché ad in The Seattle Star, August 27, 1909
Serial

Bon Marché ad in The Seattle Star, August 27, 1909

In 1890, Edward and Josephine Nordhoff moved from Chicago to Seattle and opened their Bon Marché dry goods store in the Belltown neighborhood. The couple named the store after the Bon Marché in Paris. Starting with their life savings of $1,200, they gradually expanded the business, moving it downtown to the main shopping district in 1896. Their lower pricing attracted…
ID Number:2009.20.86.1
Date:1909
Image of Lunchtime modeling at the Bon Marché Northgate Mall store, Seattle, circa 1951
Photograph

Lunchtime modeling at the Bon Marché Northgate Mall store, Seattle, circa 1951

The Bon Marché was founded in 1890 by German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine. Originally located in Seattle’s Belltown district at First Avenue and Cedar Street, in 1896 it moved to a more central location downtown at Second Avenue and Pike Street.In 1949, the Bon Marché provided the anchor store for one of the world's first modern shopping…
ID Number:2009.20.113.1
Date:Circa 1951
Image of Capehart TV display at the Bon Marché Northgate Store, Seattle, circa 1951
Photograph

Capehart TV display at the Bon Marché Northgate Store, Seattle, circa 1951

The Bon Marché was founded in 1890 by German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine. Originally located in Seattle’s Belltown district at First Avenue and Cedar Street, in 1896 it moved to a more central location downtown at Second Avenue and Pike Street.In 1949, the Bon Marché provided the anchor store for one of the world's first modern shopping…
ID Number:2009.20.115.1
Date:Circa 1951
Image of Exterior of the Bon Marché at Second Avenue and Pike Street, Seattle, 1900
Photograph

Exterior of the Bon Marché at Second Avenue and Pike Street, Seattle, 1900

The Bon Marché was founded in 1890 by German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine. Originally located in Seattle’s Belltown district at First Avenue and Cedar Street, in 1896 it moved to a more central location downtown at Second Avenue and Pike Street. This exterior shot of the store at Second Avenue and Pike Street shows the building before…
ID Number:2009.20.134
Date:1900
Previous 1 … 22 23 24 25 26 … 31 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