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1513 results for: City of Seattle

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Image of Wooden sidewalk on Front Street, circa 1878
Photograph

Wooden sidewalk on Front Street, circa 1878

Before the 1870s, Seattle's Front Street was a rough path filled with stumps and cut by ravines. The city pulled out the stumps, filled in the gullies, and smoothed out the street. It also built a new wooden sidewalk with guard rails to keep people from falling down into the tidal flats.This photo, looking south from Madison Street, was taken…
ID Number:1983.10.6138
Date:Circa 1878
Image of Talbot Coal Company wharf and Yesler's Wharf, 1878
Photograph

Talbot Coal Company wharf and Yesler's Wharf, 1878

In the 1870s, coal from Renton was shipped from Seattle to San Francisco. Steamers loaded with coal on the trip south returned to Seattle filled with goods for the growing city.This photo, taken around 1878, shows the pier at the Talbot Coal Company's Seattle yard. The Talbot coal pier was just one of several coal docks at the Seattle waterfront…
ID Number:1983.10.6141
Date:1878
Image of Looking south from Denny Hill, 1882
Photograph

Looking south from Denny Hill, 1882

On a sunny summer afternoon in 1882, a person looking south from Seattle's Denny Hill would have had this view. Seattle was still a frontier city of wood frame houses on the recently cleared hillsides above Elliott Bay. The steamers that landed at Yesler's Wharf (right center) were the city's lifeline to the rest of the United States and to…
ID Number:1983.10.6143.1
Date:1882
Image of Oxen hauling logs along waterfront, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Oxen hauling logs along waterfront, Seattle, circa 1885

As Seattle grew, the hills above the city were gradually logged over. Oxen and railroads hauled the logs to the sawmills at the waterfront.This photo, taken in the 1880s, shows a long team of oxen hauling a train of huge logs along a trestle at the Seattle waterfront. It is believed to show the first load of logs carried by…
ID Number:1983.10.6232
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Front Street from Frye's Opera House, circa 1885
Photograph

Front Street from Frye's Opera House, circa 1885

Between 1880 and 1884, Seattle's population grew from 3,533 to 12,632. The city spent $250,000 on street improvements. Businesses along Front Street near Madison and Spring Streets included Frye's Opera House, a market, a drug store, and a boot and shoe store. A nearby stationery store also sold books, magazines, and wallpaper.This photo, taken from Frye's Opera House around 1885,…
ID Number:1983.10.6241
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Cherry Street in over five feet of snow, 1880
Photograph

Cherry Street in over five feet of snow, 1880

Over five feet of snow fell on Seattle in early January 1880. The city wasn't used to such heavy snow. Schools closed, trains didn't run, and the city's activities ground to a halt.This photo was taken on January 10th, 1880 after the great snow. It shows the view up Cherry Street from First Avenue towards First Hill. Notes: Original copy…
ID Number:1983.10.6267
Date:1880
Image of First railroad depot in Seattle, circa 1880
Photograph

First railroad depot in Seattle, circa 1880

Seattle's first railway station stood near where King Street Station stands today. At that time, much of the land in that part of the city was still underwater at high tide, and the tracks of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad ran over the tidelands on wooden trestles. This photo, taken about 1880, shows the depot, sometimes called the Columbia…
ID Number:1983.10.6284
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Henry and Sarah Yesler residence, Seattle, circa 1860
Photograph

Henry and Sarah Yesler residence, Seattle, circa 1860

In this photo, taken around 1860, Sarah Yesler, the wife of mill owner Henry Yesler, stands on the front porch of their white house. Some trees remain from the dense forest which originally covered the area. The elevated wooden flume which carried water to the city from a hillside spring is towards the right side of the picture.This is said…
ID Number:1983.10.6331
Date:Circa 1860
Image of Seattle's downtown before the Great Fire, 1883
Photograph

Seattle's downtown before the Great Fire, 1883

In the 1880s, Seattle's business district was near Pioneer Square. Loggers, miners, and others came to this part of the city to find work, supplies, and entertainment. Others came to Seattle to attend the Territorial University, which stood on a hill above the city.This photo, taken around 1884, shows the intersection of Commercial Street (now First Avenue South) and Main…
ID Number:1983.10.6343
Date:1883
Image of Downtown view looking east between Cherry and Columbia Streets, Seattle, circa 1898
Photograph

Downtown view looking east between Cherry and Columbia Streets, Seattle, circa 1898

The photographer may have been standing atop the Daily Journal of Commerce Building to capture this view of turn-of-the-century Seattle. Looking east and slightly south from Post Alley between Cherry and Columbia, many of the city's prominent buildings are visible, including the King County Courthouse on the right. Signs in image: Schwabacher Bros. & Co. Inc. Distributors - White Knight…
ID Number:1983.10.6394
Date:Circa 1898
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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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