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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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733 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

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Image of Ironworker Ray Lind on the Space Needle, Seattle, October 1961
Photograph

Ironworker Ray Lind on the Space Needle, Seattle, October 1961

Hundreds of feet above the site of the Seattle World's Fair grounds, ironworker Ray Lind inspects the work of his construction crew on the Space Needle. He stands on a wood platform attached to the outside of one of the 500-foot high "legs" of the structure. Lind is excited that he and his fellow ironworkers are among a relatively small…
ID Number:1986.5.33157.1
Date:1961
Image of Anna Louise Strong, possibly in Seattle, 1939
Photograph

Anna Louise Strong, possibly in Seattle, 1939

Born in Nebraska, Anna Louise Strong moved to Seattle in 1915. She was elected to the Seattle School Board but later was recalled because of her socialist politics and her support of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). She reported on the Everett Massacre for the New York Evening Post, going on to a long career as a journalist.…
ID Number:1986.5.42932.1
Date:1939
Image of Large group of people at Stampede Pass Tunnel, circa 1888
Photograph

Large group of people at Stampede Pass Tunnel, circa 1888

During the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad's Stampede Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains, the company regularly took photos of work crews and officials as a way of recording progress and marking major milestones. The group in this late 1880s photo, which includes a few women and children, has gathered near a large trestle.
ID Number:1986.17.4
Date:Circa 1888
Image of King Street Station employees posing in coach yard, Seattle, October 2, 1929
Photograph

King Street Station employees posing in coach yard, Seattle, October 2, 1929

From 1888 through the 1950s trains dominated travel in and out of Seattle, via the King Street Station and Union Station in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood. Built between 1904 and 1906, the King Street Station served the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway until the creation and start of Amtrak in 1971. The depot with its 242-foot clock tower…
ID Number:1989.87.1
Date:1929
Image of Employees at the Blanchard Boat Company plant, circa 1924
Photograph

Employees at the Blanchard Boat Company plant, circa 1924

A new Blanchard plant was built at 3201 Fairview Avenue East after a 1922 fire destroyed the original yard at the foot of Wallingford Avenue. Here, the future naval architect Ed Monk, Sr., is seen leaning against the door at left. Caption information source: Blanchard, Norman C. and Wilen, Stephen, "Knee Deep in Shavings," 1999. Handwritten on verso: ca 1924.…
ID Number:1989.89.27
Date:Circa 1924
Image of Journeyman boatbuilder William Wood working at Blanchard Boat Company shipbuilders, circa 1950
Photograph

Journeyman boatbuilder William Wood working at Blanchard Boat Company shipbuilders, circa 1950

The Blanchard Boat Company was one of the leading yacht builders of Seattle. Founded by N.J. (Norman J.) Blanchard (1885-1954) in 1905, the company built nearly 2,000 boats over its 64-year history, including commercial ships, classic motor cruisers and sailing yachts, some of which are still in use today. Following N.J.'s death in 1954, his son Norman C. Blanchard (1911-2009)…
ID Number:1989.89.104
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Highway improvements between Duvall and Bothell, September 17, 1931
Photograph

Highway improvements between Duvall and Bothell, September 17, 1931

During the summer of 1931, workers made improvements to the highway between Bothell and Duvall, Washington. This photo, taken in September 1931, shows laborers working on a concrete culvert beneath the road. One uses a pneumatic drill powered by air from the large compressor (left). The photo was taken for the company which supplied the concrete.
ID Number:1990.39.108
Date:1931
Image of Indigenous family working in a hop field in western Washington, circa 1900
Photograph

Indigenous family working in a hop field in western Washington, circa 1900

From the late 1860s to the early 1890s, hop farming was an important activity in the valleys of the Puget Sound region, including Puyallup, White River, and Snoqualmie. Indigenous workers came from throughout the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Alaska (but especially from regional tribes like the Puyallup, Snoqualmie, Muckleshoot, Duwamish, Sammamish, Lummi, and Nisqually) as a seasonal labor force to…
ID Number:1990.45.11
Date:Circa 1900
Image of 10,000 salmon on cannery wharf and Chinese worker, circa 1900
Photograph

10,000 salmon on cannery wharf and Chinese worker, circa 1900

In the salmon industry, people of different races held different jobs. White workers caught the fish and took care of the equipment while Chinese laborers sorted, butchered, and canned the fish. In this photo, a Chinese worker sorts salmon into various kinds and sizes. The photo was taken by Anders B. Wilse at a Puget Sound cannery wharf sometime around…
ID Number:1990.45.20
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Butterfield Trunk Co. employees in work shop, Seattle, January 13, 1920
Photograph

Butterfield Trunk Co. employees in work shop, Seattle, January 13, 1920

Originally from Iowa, George Lester Butterfield (1882-1970) came to Seattle in 1910 and operated the Butterfield Trunk Company, a high-end luggage manufacturer, until its sale in 1968 to Skyway Luggage.In this image taken at the Butterfield work shop located at 87 Wall Street in Seattle, employees pose with various models of their hand-made trunks. A 1930 advertisement claimed that the…
ID Number:1990.74.4
Date:1920
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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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