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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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406 results for: Construction and Urban Planning

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Image of Aerial of Evergreen Point Bridge under construction from southwest, Seattle, 1963
Photograph

Aerial of Evergreen Point Bridge under construction from southwest, Seattle, 1963

Washington's Evergreen Point Floating Bridge carries State Route 520 across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle with the growing area east of the lake. When it opened, the bridge's 7,578 foot floating span was the longest in the world. This was the second floating bridge to cross Lake Washington, and both bridges are overcrowded daily with commuters in their automobiles.This photo shows…
ID Number:PI20474
Date:1963
Image of Aerial view of Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, March 1963
Photograph

Aerial view of Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, March 1963

Washington's Evergreen Point Floating Bridge carries State Route 520 across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle with the growing area east of the lake. When it opened, the bridge's 7,578 foot floating span was the longest in the world. This was the second floating bridge to cross Lake Washington, and both bridges are overcrowded daily with commuters in their automobiles.//This photo shows…
ID Number:PI20478
Date:1963
Image of Engineers Town near site of Grand Coulee dam, circa 1937
Photograph

Engineers Town near site of Grand Coulee dam, circa 1937

Thousands of workers from all over the United States poured into the central Washington to work on the Grand Coulee Dam. Whether they were engineers, office workers or unskilled labor, all of these people and their families needed places to live. In December 1933, at the start of the dam project, workers graded the land for Engineers Town. Six months…
ID Number:PI22025
Date:Circa 1937
Image of Change of shift at dam construction site, circa 1937
Photograph

Change of shift at dam construction site, circa 1937

Work started on the Grand Coulee Dam in the fall of 1933 and was finished ten years later. Workers used a system of cranes, trestles, and conveyor belts to move the concrete and other construction materials into place. The men labored in shifts around the clock in winter and summer to build the dam on the Columbia River.This photo, taken…
ID Number:PI22031
Date:Circa 1937
Image of Trestles and traveling cranes at dam construction site, circa 1937
Photograph

Trestles and traveling cranes at dam construction site, circa 1937

Large concrete dams, like Grand Coulee Dam, are actually built as a series of immense blocks, not as one solid structure. At Grand Coulee, workers poured concrete five feet at a time into wooden forms at the top of each column. A system of trestles and traveling cranes moved the workers and building materials to where they were needed.This photo,…
ID Number:PI22037
Date:Circa 1937
Image of Men emptying cement into form at dam construction site, circa 1937
Photograph

Men emptying cement into form at dam construction site, circa 1937

After much research, the United States Bureau of Reclamation and its contractor, the MWAK Company, developed a very strong type of concrete for the Grand Coulee Dam. Two concrete mixing plants built at the dam site supplied 640 cubic yards of concrete per hour, breaking all earlier records. Traveling cranes moved the concrete to the building site in huge buckets.This…
ID Number:PI22043
Date:Circa 1937
Image of High Point housing project, July 1942
Photograph

High Point housing project, July 1942

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, workers were already pouring into Seattle to work at Boeing and other war industries. The Seattle Housing Authority rushed to complete High Point in West Seattle to house some of the war workers. Some 650 carpenters and other laborers built 700 homes, mainly duplexes.This July 1942 shows the High…
ID Number:PI23696
Date:1942
Image of Aerial view of Alaskan Way Viaduct under construction from south, Seattle, 1957
Photograph

Aerial view of Alaskan Way Viaduct under construction from south, Seattle, 1957

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct carried traffic over the waterfront area, linking the northern part of the city to the industrial area south of the central business district. The first unit of the elevated roadway, from Battery Street to Dearborn Street, was completed in 1953 and a southern extension in 1959. The Viaduct closed in January 2019 after being replaced by…
ID Number:PI27481
Date:1957
Image of Houses under construction in Bellevue, May 1946
Photograph

Houses under construction in Bellevue, May 1946

At the end of World War II, the United States Congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, called the G.I. Bill of Rights. The G.I. Bill provided $13 billion to returning military personnel for medical treatment, education and vocational training, and other needs. The bill offered home buyers government-guarantied, low-interest loans on new homes, with no down payment. New…
ID Number:PI27850
Date:1946
Image of Aerial view of Lake Hills, Bellevue, 1959
Photograph

Aerial view of Lake Hills, Bellevue, 1959

In the 1950s, Lake Hills and other housing developments were built for families moving to the east side of Lake Washington. The developers of Lake Hills built 4,000 homes on 1,000 rural acres near Bellevue. They advertised the new development as the first major planned community in the Pacific Northwest, calling it "a fine residential area in a relaxing country…
ID Number:PI27874
Date:1959
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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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