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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 Motorcycle police squad outside station, Seattle, October 22, 1914
Photograph

Motorcycle police squad outside station, Seattle, October 22, 1914

In early 1910, the Seattle police department invested $1,329 in its first three motorcycles, with seven patrolman selected as the first members of the "motor cops" squad. In this 1914 photo, a motorcycle squad of 15 officers shows off its new Indian brand motorcycles. Executives of the Seattle Police Department stand to the right of the fleet: left to right,…
ID Number:SHS16707
Date:1914
Image of Asahel Curtis and companion on Skagway Trail, circa 1897
Photograph

Asahel Curtis and companion on Skagway Trail, circa 1897

Seattleite Asahel Curtis left for the Klondike in 1897 and stayed two years, taking photos for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. With today's tiny cameras and one-hour printing, it is easy to forget that he and the other gold rush photographers had to haul hundreds of pounds of glass photographic plates, heavy equipment, and chemicals through the wilderness and find places to…
ID Number:SHS16720
Date:Circa 1897
Image of Postcard of monorail test track, Seattle, 1911
Photograph

Postcard of monorail test track, Seattle, 1911

In this image, a portrait of William H. Boyes appears above a test track he demonstrated in 1911 in the tide flats of Seattle. Boyes sold shares in his Pacific Railway Company for the proposed monorail electric system operating passenger and freight trains between Elliott Bay in Seattle and Commencement Bay in Tacoma. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on May…
ID Number:SHS16810
Date:1911
Image of Moritz Thomsen family, Seattle, circa 1914
Photograph

Moritz Thomsen family, Seattle, circa 1914

Born in what is now Denmark, Moritz Thomsen (1850-1932) arrived in Seattle in 1896 to build a second flour mill for Centennial Mills (now Krusteaz Brand). A tireless industrialist, Thomsen at one time was president of 14 corporations, including the Centennial Mill Company, and the Denny-Renton Clay & Coal Company.In this image, Thomsen is pictured here with his family in…
ID Number:SHS17070
Date:Circa 1914
Image of Firland Sanatorium, Richmond Highlands, circa 1911
Photograph

Firland Sanatorium, Richmond Highlands, circa 1911

In 1911, Firland Sanatorium began accepting patients suffering from highly infectious tuberculosis (TB). The hospital's country setting in Richmond Highlands, well north of Seattle, isolated patients from the healthy populace and provided the fresh air which doctors considered essential. In 1948, Firland housed nearly 1,050 patients. It closed in 1968 after new antibiotic treatments allowed patients to live at home.This…
ID Number:SHS17247
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Alfred M. Hubbard, Seattle, circa 1924
Photograph

Alfred M. Hubbard, Seattle, circa 1924

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation. His operation eventually grew to include many…
ID Number:SHS17299
Date:Circa 1924
Image of Boeing plant, Seattle, April 16, 1918
Photograph

Boeing plant, Seattle, April 16, 1918

The Boeing Airplane Company got its first big military order when its "C" model seaplane was accepted as a trainer by the U.S. Navy during World War I. The company opened a new plant on the west side of the Duwamish River, south of Seattle, to handle all this new business. This photo, taken in April 1918, shows the new…
ID Number:SHS17645
Date:1918
Image of Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1889
Photograph

Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1889

The creation of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) can be traced back to July 6th, 1876, when the all-volunteer Seattle Engine Company No.1 was organized. In 1883, the City Charter was amended to create and fund equipment, but not staff, for a centralized municipal fire department. The volunteer-based system persisted until pressure from the insurance industry and citizens after the…
ID Number:SHS17710
Date:Circa 1889
Image of Engine House #3, Seattle, May 11, 1911
Photograph

Engine House #3, Seattle, May 11, 1911

From 1890 to 1904, the Seattle Fire Department’s Engine House No. 3 stood in what is now the Chinatown - International District. In 1904, it was replaced by a new Station 3, at the intersection of Terry Avenue and Alder Street, in what is now Yesler Terrace. This 1911 image shows Fire Station 3 in its heyday. Three fire wagons,…
ID Number:SHS17728
Date:1911
Image of PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, circa 1921
Photograph

PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, circa 1921

Telephone service in Seattle began with 90 customers in 1883. One of Seattle's original service providers, Sunset Telephone-Telegraph Company (later Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, then AT&T) built a new exchange building in 1921 to help handle what was by then 83,347 customers, making half-a-million local telephone calls every day. The Garfield Exchange was built on Queen Anne Hill at…
ID Number:SHS17731
Date:Circa 1921
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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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