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HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

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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.

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.

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525 results for: Government and Public Services

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Image of Steve Sneed viewing restoration at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, Seattle, April 11, 1993
Photograph

Steve Sneed viewing restoration at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, Seattle, April 11, 1993

In 1969 the City of Seattle used federal Model Cities funds to purchase a building for use as a community center, the Chevra Bikur Cholim Synagogue, which was designed in 1915 by B. Marcus Priteca (1889-1971) and located at 104 17th Avenue South in the Central District neighborhood. In 1971 the building became the home of what is now known…
ID Number:2000.107.176.29.01
Date:1993
Image of Florence Donley sitting in lobby of new SOIC building, Seattle, January 17, 1975
Photograph

Florence Donley sitting in lobby of new SOIC building, Seattle, January 17, 1975

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.01
Date:1979
Image of Man learning to weld at SOIC, August 1975
Photograph

Man learning to weld at SOIC, August 1975

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.02
Date:1975
Image of Women learning keypunch at SOIC, January 1979
Photograph

Women learning keypunch at SOIC, January 1979

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained, and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.03
Date:1979
Image of Plumbing student at SOIC, January 15, 1979
Photograph

Plumbing student at SOIC, January 15, 1979

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.04
Date:1979
Image of Students complaining about problems at SOIC, April 21, 1980
Photograph

Students complaining about problems at SOIC, April 21, 1980

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.05
Date:1980
Image of Teacher and class on steps of closed SOIC building, August 1986
Photograph

Teacher and class on steps of closed SOIC building, August 1986

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.06
Date:1986
Image of City employees collecting money from parking meters, Seattle, February 7, 1942
Photograph

City employees collecting money from parking meters, Seattle, February 7, 1942

Stating in 1935, controversy raged in Seattle over whether people should have to pay to park on downtown streets. The first parking meters went into operation on February 5, 1942. The fee was five cents per hour.Here, Seattle Police Department Parking Enforcement division employees Ed Lorentzen and Einar Larson make the first collection from the 77 new meters. They replaced…
ID Number:2000.107.178.06.04
Date:1942
Image of Fire inspectors at Ray's Boathouse, Seattle, May 27, 1987
Photograph

Fire inspectors at Ray's Boathouse, Seattle, May 27, 1987

One of Seattle’s landmark waterfront restaurants, Ray’s Boathouse, burned in a spectacular fire on May 26, 1987. A wiring problem beneath Ray’s pier caused plumes of smoke, which spread up into the restaurant through the kitchen floor and prompted the evacuation of customers and staff. Some 50 to 60 fire fighters, plus 20 fire trucks and boats fought the four-alarm…
ID Number:2000.107.185.24.02
Date:1987
Image of Fire at Ray's Boathouse, Seattle, May 26, 1987
Photograph

Fire at Ray's Boathouse, Seattle, May 26, 1987

One of Seattle’s landmark waterfront restaurants, Ray’s Boathouse, burned in a spectacular fire on May 26, 1987. A wiring problem beneath Ray’s pier caused plumes of smoke, which spread up into the restaurant through the kitchen floor and prompted the evacuation of customers and staff. Some 50 to 60 fire fighters, plus 20 fire trucks and boats fought the four-alarm…
ID Number:2000.107.185.24.04
Date:1987
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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
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