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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 Laying the cornerstone of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, March 15, 1911
Photograph

Laying the cornerstone of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, March 15, 1911

In this image Anna Herr Clise, founder of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital Association, holds a trowel over the cornerstone of Children's Orthopedic Hospital's new 40-bed facility at Warren Avenue and Crockett Street on Queen Anne Hill. The man closest to the building is Rev. Dr. Samuel Koch, with Rev. H. H. Gowen to his right, and at the far right,…
ID Number:SHS1226
Date:1911
Image of Office area and laboratory in U.S. Assay Office, circa 1903
Photograph

Office area and laboratory in U.S. Assay Office, circa 1903

Gold must be assayed in order to determine its purity, and therefore its value. After extensive lobbying by Seattle businessmen, the United States government opened an assay office in Seattle in July 1898. Many miners sold their gold to the government at the assay office which sent it to the Philadelphia mint for making gold coins.This photo shows the interior…
ID Number:SHS1230
Date:Circa 1903
Image of Shorey's Books at 3rd Ave. and Cherry St., Seattle, circa 1895
Photograph

Shorey's Books at 3rd Ave. and Cherry St., Seattle, circa 1895

Legendary Seattle bookstore Shorey's was founded by newspaperman Samuel Fernald Shorey (1851-1932) in 1890 as a small magazine and cigar store at Third and James. Sam's great-nephew John W. "Bill" Todd Jr.(1914-2007) bought the store in 1939, and it was later run by his son, Jim Todd. Shorey's maintained its huge inventory even though the store had to move several…
ID Number:SHS1317
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Men posing in front of tent near Jacob Furth home, 1889
Photograph

Men posing in front of tent near Jacob Furth home, 1889

The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes of the City. In this image men pose in front of a tent set up after the fire during regrading operations, in which streets were raised up to 22 feet in places, helping to level the hilly…
ID Number:SHS1359
Date:1889
Image of Steamer
Photograph

Steamer "Queen" and ice floes at Taku Inlet, 1897

Steamers carrying gold seekers north from Seattle during icy weather didn't always have an easy time of it. Alaska's Inland Passage could be tricky and dangerous, and channels weren't always marked.In this 1897 photo, the steamer "Queen" is stuck on a sandbar in Taku Inlet, southeast of Juneau. The vessel waited for six hours in the ice before it floated…
ID Number:SHS1512
Date:1897
Image of University of Washington graduating class, Seattle, 1898
Photograph

University of Washington graduating class, Seattle, 1898

In 1858 one of Seattle's founders, Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899), successfully petitioned the Washington Territorial Legislature to select Seattle as the location for a new university. Seeing this as a chance to add to the city's potential and prestige, a site was chosen on Denny's Knoll that now houses the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The Territorial University of Washington opened in…
ID Number:SHS1514
Date:1898
Image of Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890

Seattle in the early 1890s was a rapidly growing city. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at 19,116, and although 1889's Great Fire leveled 116 acres in the heart of the city's business district, by 1890 the city's population actually grew to 40,000 inhabitants from the influx of people helping to recreate the city. Lumber and coal were…
ID Number:SHS1546
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Occidental Hotel, circa 1886
Photograph

Occidental Hotel, circa 1886

In 1884, John Collins opened his Occidental Hotel at the junction of James Street and Mill Street (now Yesler Way) in Seattle. The ornate, four-story brick building was at the center of the city, just off of what is now Pioneer Square. It was considered to be the grandest hotel in Washington Territory. A bank occupied part of the ground…
ID Number:SHS1581
Date:Circa 1886
Image of Henry Yesler, circa 1885
Photograph

Henry Yesler, circa 1885

Henry Yesler arrived in Seattle in 1852 looking for a waterfront sawmill location. Other settlers moved the boundaries of their land claims to accomodate space for the mill, its pier, and a skid road, now Yesler Way. Yesler's sawmill, the first steam-powered mill on Puget Sound, started operation in the spring of 1853. In addition to his mill, Yesler owned…
ID Number:SHS1582
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Athletes at the Seattle Athletic Club, 1893<br />
Photograph

Athletes at the Seattle Athletic Club, 1893

The Seattle Athletic Club was a social club organized in 1893 around athletic pursuits. Designed by architect John Parkinson, the SAC's original four story building was on Cherry Street and Fourth Avenue in Pioneer Square. The SAC built a new five story building in 1903-1904 at First Avenue and Seneca Street. This organization is not related to the current Seattle…
ID Number:SHS1730
Date:1893
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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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