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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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415 results for: Entertainment

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Image of Pantages Usherettes lined up in uniform, 1925
Photograph

Pantages Usherettes lined up in uniform, 1925

The Pantages was primarily a vaudeville theater, and it ran 22 shows per week – three daily and four on Sundays. The theater was designed by Seattle architect B. Marcus Priteca and opened in 1915 at the corner of 3rd Avenue and University Street. It was the second Pantages Theatre in Seattle, replacing an earlier theater on 2nd Avenue and…
ID Number:2022.6.7
Date:1925
Image of Shelly's Leg bar poster, Seattle, 1974
Poster

Shelly's Leg bar poster, Seattle, 1974

Shelly's Leg was the first publicly gay disco and bar in Seattle when it opened on November 13, 1973, in a converted hotel in Pioneer Square at the intersection of South Main Street and Alaskan Way. Co-owner Shelly Bauman (1947-2010) funded the wildly popular party spot with settlement money from an accident at the Bastille Day Parade in 1970 which…
ID Number:2022.13.1
Date:1974
Image of Orpheum Theatre logbook, 1927-1937
Logbook

Orpheum Theatre logbook, 1927-1937

The Orpheum Theatre opened on August 28, 1927, showing vaudeville acts as well as motion pictures. The Orpheum transitioned to mostly showing films in the mid-1930s and was open until 1967, when the theater closed and the building was demolished. The Washington Plaza Hotel (now the Westin) was built on the Orpheum’s old site. These images show the cover and…
ID Number:2023.35.1
Date:Circa 1932
Image of Burger Gun visor from Almost Live! sketch, Seattle, 1989
Ephemera

Burger Gun visor from Almost Live! sketch, Seattle, 1989

From 1984 to 1999, the KING 5 TV show Almost Live! used humor to capture the experience of living in this region. The show coincided with a time when the region was making headlines with its music scene, tech industry, and coffee culture. Incorporating comedy monologues, in-studio antics, and inventive taped sketches, Almost Live! produced a slew of enduring characters…
ID Number:2024.10.3
Date:1989
Image of Good Buzz Malt Liquor label from Almost Live! TV show, Seattle, 1991
Ephemera

Good Buzz Malt Liquor label from Almost Live! TV show, Seattle, 1991

From 1984 to 1999, the KING 5 TV show Almost Live! used humor to capture the experience of living in this region. The show coincided with a time when the region was making headlines with its music scene, tech industry, and coffee culture. Incorporating comedy monologues, in-studio antics, and inventive taped sketches, Almost Live! produced a slew of enduring characters…
ID Number:2024.28.2
Date:1991
Image of Bill Nye the Science Guy Show:
Ephemera

Bill Nye the Science Guy Show: "Rules", 1993

Bill Nye moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer at Boeing and later for Sundstrand Data Control. In the early 1980s he began to do stand-up comedy and eventually was hired as a writer and performer on the Seattle TV comedy show Almost Live! It was there that he built the Bill Nye the Science Guy character,…
ID Number:2024.39.48.01
Date:1993
Image of Bill Nye the Science Guy postcard, circa 1995
Ephemera

Bill Nye the Science Guy postcard, circa 1995

Bill Nye moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer at Boeing and later for Sundstrand Data Control. In the early 1980s he began to do stand-up comedy and eventually was hired as a writer and performer on the Seattle TV comedy show Almost Live! It was there that he built the Bill Nye the Science Guy character,…
ID Number:2024.39.49.01
Date:Circa 1995
Image of Seasons Greetings card from Bill Nye, circa 1995
Ephemera

Seasons Greetings card from Bill Nye, circa 1995

Bill Nye moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer at Boeing and later for Sundstrand Data Control. In the early 1980s he began to do stand-up comedy and eventually was hired as a writer and performer on the Seattle TV comedy show Almost Live! It was there that he built the Bill Nye the Science Guy character,…
ID Number:2024.39.50.01
Date:Circa 1995
Image of Infernal Noise Brigade marching in the WTO protests, Seattle, November 30, 1999
Photograph

Infernal Noise Brigade marching in the WTO protests, Seattle, November 30, 1999

The Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held in Seattle from November 30 to December 3, 1999. Trade ministers and other officials from the WTO's 135 member nations met in an unsuccessful attempt to plan negotiations to further deregulate free trade. Tens of thousands of activists for many causes gathered to protest what they saw as…
ID Number:2024.54.05.09
Date:1999
Image of Almost Live! ticket, circa 1990
Ephemera

Almost Live! ticket, circa 1990

From 1984 to 1999, the KING 5 TV show Almost Live! used humor to capture the experience of living in this region. The show coincided with a time when the region was making headlines with its music scene, tech industry, and coffee culture. Incorporating comedy monologues, in-studio antics, and inventive taped sketches, Almost Live! produced a slew of enduring characters…
ID Number:2025.Wilson.7
Date:Circa 1990
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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.
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