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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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3503 results for: Seattle Photographic Co.

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Image of First Ave. South from King Street, Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

First Ave. South from King Street, Seattle, circa 1900

This view of First Avenue South looks north from King Street and was possibly taken from the railroad trestle that crossed First Avenue at King until 1903. Arctic Oil Works at 313 First Avenue South and Jackson is visible at left. In this image, pedestrians walk on the plank sidewalks and the 1st Avenue trolley heads south in the middle…
ID Number:SHS958
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Corner of Terry and Columbia streets on First Hill, Seattle, circa 1895
Photograph

Corner of Terry and Columbia streets on First Hill, Seattle, circa 1895

One of Seattle’s seven hills, First Hill was city’s first “neighborhood” to be settled in the 1870s. Rising 366 feet above Elliott Bay, the once-forested slope was an easy walk to the city’s commercial district. By 1883, the hill entered a new era as the retreat of its “first families,” including mayors, judges, industrialists, timber barons, and art collectors. Over…
ID Number:SHS1006
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Firemen and wagon at Ballard Fire Station No. 18, circa 1907
Photograph

Firemen and wagon at Ballard Fire Station No. 18, circa 1907

This photograph shows five fireman and their horse-drawn hose wagon at the original wooden fire station on NW Market Street and Russell Ave NW in Ballard. This was a volunteer station until Ballard's annexation into Seattle on June 1, 1907, when it because Hose No. 18, a paid company of the Seattle Fire Department. In 1911, this building was replaced…
ID Number:SHS1042
Date:Circa 1907
Image of Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888
Photograph

Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888

Seattle's Fremont neighborhood is located at the northwest corner of Lake Union, and was originally part of the William A. Strickler homestead. On March 1, 1888 David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) and John Philo Hoyt (1841-1926) bought 240 acres from Strickler's estate, then sold the parcel to Carrie and Edward Blewett on March 20, 1888. With the help of their agents,…
ID Number:SHS1047B
Date:1888
Image of West Seattle grain elevator, circa 1895
Photograph

West Seattle grain elevator, circa 1895

Colonel Thomas Ewing, the major developer of West Seattle, foresaw a great industrial center on the peninsula. In 1890, Ewing built a grain elevator and hailed it as the key to Seattle's future as a worldwide grain exporter. Ewing convinced the Northern Pacific Railroad to build a trestle across the tide flats to reach his grain elevator. The railroad carried…
ID Number:SHS1053
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Steamboat
Photograph

Steamboat "Bailey Gatzert" at yard, circa 1890

The "Bailey Gatzert," named for an early Seattle businessman and mayor, was launched in Ballard in 1890. The luxury sternwheeler carried passengers on the Columbia River and Puget Sound and was one of the fastest vessels of its day. In 1920, the "Bailey Gatzert" became the first vessel to be rebuilt specifically for ferrying automobiles on Puget Sound. The ferry…
ID Number:SHS1076
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Grand Opera House, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Grand Opera House, Seattle, circa 1910

Seattle’s Grand Opera House, at 213-217 Cherry Street, was designed by Edwin H. Houghton, a prominent Pacific Northwest theater designer. Owned by John Cort, the theater stood at the northern end of Seattle’s entertainment district. It was the city’s most important live theater when built, but its popularity declined as the city expanded northwards. It became a movie theater, and…
ID Number:SHS1107
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Yesler Way and Yesler's Mill, Seattle, 1873
Photograph

Yesler Way and Yesler's Mill, Seattle, 1873

Henry Yesler arrived in Seattle in 1852 and soon built the first steam-powered sawmill on Puget Sound. It was located on the waterfront at the foot of Mill Street, now called Yesler Way.This 1873 image also shows the Pioneer Drug Store and the Seattle Bakery. Yesler's Wharf, where lumber schooners docked, would be beyond the mill's tall smokestack. Title from…
ID Number:SHS1108
Date:1873
Image of Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive
Photograph

Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive "D.H. Gilman," circa 1887

The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern RailwayCompany was formed in 1885 by Daniel Gilman, Judge Thomas Burke, and other Seattle businessmen. By 1887, it ran from the Seattle waterfront to Smith Cove, across Salmon Bay, and along the northwest side of Lake Washington. By 1888, the line reached Fall City to the east and Snohomish to the north, eventually connecting…
ID Number:SHS1143
Date:Circa 1887
Image of Chin Gee Hee, Chinese labor contractor, circa 1904
Photograph

Chin Gee Hee, Chinese labor contractor, circa 1904

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinese labor contractors brought thousands of Chinese men to the Pacific Northwest to build railroads and to work in canneries, logging camps and coal mines. Companies depended on labor contractors to recruit workers, to move them where they were needed, to feed and house them, and to keep track of their pay.…
ID Number:SHS1152
Date:1901
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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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