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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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308 results for: Retail and Department Stores

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Image of Theodore Wernecke and employees inside fur store, Seattle, circa 1898
Photograph

Theodore Wernecke and employees inside fur store, Seattle, circa 1898

An estimated 100,000 prospectors migrated to the Klondike region of the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1896 and 1899. Most of them stopped in Seattle to purchase supplies, greatly contributing to the city's economic success. Ohio-born Charles Theodore Wernecke (1852-1922) came to Seattle around 1897 and operated at least one store catering to miners headed to Alaska during the Klondike…
ID Number:SHS2508
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Exterior of C.T. Wernecke fur store, Seattle, circa 1897
Photograph

Exterior of C.T. Wernecke fur store, Seattle, circa 1897

Fur trading in the Pacific Northwest dates back to the 1700s. The first raw fur auction in the United States was organized in Seattle in 1898, coinciding with the Klondike Gold Rush, which had started in 1896. Ohio-born Charles Theodore Wernecke had come to Seattle in 1897 and ran a store that bought raw furs, manufactured fur clothing, and catered…
ID Number:SHS2525
Date:Circa 1897
Image of William Myers and Frank Krauland in Georgetown Market, Seattle, 1911
Photograph

William Myers and Frank Krauland in Georgetown Market, Seattle, 1911

Louis Steen (1845-1922), a butcher born in Germany, came to the U.S. in about 1867 and opened his meat market in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood on Duwamish Avenue, now Airport Way. In this image, two of Steen's employees stand in the interior of the market. William Myers, left, is listed as a meat cutter in the 1911 Seattle City Directory, and…
ID Number:SHS3643
Date:1911
Image of Second and Union, looking southeast, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Second and Union, looking southeast, Seattle, circa 1885

Between about 1888 and 1893, Seattle grocer Charles Louch sold groceries, seeds, cigars and other goods from his store on Front Street (now First Avenue). At some point, he advertised his store, and his 1888 brand of hams and bacon, using give-away photographs of downtown Seattle with his roof sign prominently displayed in the foreground.This photo, taken by Walter Davis…
ID Number:SHS5336
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Steamship office and drug store in Nome, Alaska, circa 1903
Photograph

Steamship office and drug store in Nome, Alaska, circa 1903

By late fall 1899, reports of gold strikes at Nome gained enough credibility to draw gold seekers from Dawson. Some 2,500 people left Dawson for Nome, traveling by river or trail. Once the word was out in Seattle and elsewhere, the small settlement grew quickly.This photo shows a commercial building in Nome sometime between 1900 and 1905. A drugstore and…
ID Number:SHS7900
Date:Circa 1903
Image of National Meat Company, Seattle, circa 1902
Photograph

National Meat Company, Seattle, circa 1902

Seattle’s National Meat Company opened at 318 Main Street in 1902. According to an article in The Seattle Sunday Times, the facility consisted of “a well-appointed and attractively kept main floor and basement,” and its two delivery wagons “promptly deliver to all parts of the city.”In this image, Frank Jobson stands with his staff members in the retail shop’s interior.…
ID Number:SHS10674
Date:circa 1902
Image of James and Ethel Stout with their delivery wagon in front of Stout Grocery, Seattle, circa 1913
Photograph

James and Ethel Stout with their delivery wagon in front of Stout Grocery, Seattle, circa 1913

James Albert Stout (1877-1962) moved to Seattle with his wife Henrietta Ethel Wilson (1876-1958) in 1910 from Michigan. They settled on Phinney Ridge in 1912 and bought a grocery store at 359 West 75th Street and later a garage and service station at 7208 Greenwood Avenue North.This image shows Ethel and James standing with their horse and delivery wagon in…
ID Number:SHS15724
Date:Circa 1913
Image of Spelger & Hurlbut Hardware delivery wagon, Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

Spelger & Hurlbut Hardware delivery wagon, Seattle, circa 1900

Spelger & Hurlbut was a hardware firm run by business partners Frank P. Spelger (1864-1942) and Frederick Ward Hurlbut (1863-1936). The two men first formed their partnership in Louisville, Kentucky, and brought their business to Seattle in 1890, opening their first store at Fifth Avenue and Pike Street. In 1930 the partners retired and sold their firm to Ernst Hardware…
ID Number:SHS15944
Date:Circa 1900
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