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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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357 results for: Homes and Housing

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Image of Ranke House and Cabrini Hospital, Madison St., Seattle, circa 1925
Photograph

Ranke House and Cabrini Hospital, Madison St., Seattle, circa 1925

This image features the three-story, Queen Anne Style Ranke House at the southeast corner of Madison Street and Terry Avenue on First Hill. First Hill was the residence of choice in the 1890s for elite Seattle residents who wanted to escape the fast pace of downtown. This mansion was built by German immigrants, contractor, and socialites Otto Ranke (1842-1892) and…
ID Number:1980.6877.48
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Apartment house on Queen Anne Avenue, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Apartment house on Queen Anne Avenue, Seattle, circa 1927

Apartment houses began to appear in Seattle as early as 1890, when residents without family homes often lived in boarding houses and residential hotels. By 1910, as population growth outpaced development and house ownership diminished, renters enjoyed the convenience of apartments, which allowed for more privacy than boarding in a private home. Apartment construction increased throughout the 1920s. This photograph…
ID Number:1980.6877.262
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Family in front of their cabin, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Family in front of their cabin, Seattle, circa 1910

Carl Henry Moen was born in Seattle in 1892 to Norwegian immigrant parents. His family moved several times as he was growing up, but settled in Ballard when he was nine years old. He helped harvest and sell the produce, milk, and poultry his family raised, and also was a messenger for Western Union, dug clams, and worked for Bemis…
ID Number:1980.6880.926
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Family in front of their cabin, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Family in front of their cabin, Seattle, circa 1910

Carl Henry Moen was born in Seattle in 1892 to Norwegian immigrant parents. His family moved several times as he was growing up, but settled in Ballard when he was nine years old. He helped harvest and sell the produce, milk, and poultry his family raised, and also was a messenger for Western Union, dug clams, and worked for Bemis…
ID Number:1980.6880.927
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903
Photograph

Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903

Predating the settlement that became the city of Seattle, the Duwamish had an encampment with two longhouses situated along the north central waterfront, roughly at the intersection of present-day Bell Street and Alaskan Way. By around the 1860s, the longhouses were gone, leaving only modest beach structures. In the 1890s the waterfront from Pike Street north to Broad Street had…
ID Number:1980.6923.107
Date:1903
Image of Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903
Photograph

Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903

Predating the settlement that became the city of Seattle, the Duwamish had an encampment with two longhouses situated along the north central waterfront, roughly at the intersection of present-day Bell Street and Alaskan Way. By around the 1860s, the longhouses were gone, leaving only modest beach structures. In the 1890s the waterfront from Pike Street north to Broad Street had…
ID Number:1980.6923.108
Date:1903
Image of Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903
Photograph

Beach shacks on waterfront, Seattle, 1903

Predating the settlement that became the city of Seattle, the Duwamish had an encampment with two longhouses situated along the north central waterfront, roughly at the intersection of present-day Bell Street and Alaskan Way. By around the 1860s, the longhouses were gone, leaving only modest beach structures. In the 1890s the waterfront from Pike Street north to Broad Street had…
ID Number:1980.6923.109
Date:1903
Image of Floating homes on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1967
Photograph

Floating homes on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1967

Houseboats have been popular in Seattle for many years. These included fancy summer houseboats on Lake Washington soon after the opening of the Yesler cable car line in 1888 and both upper class and working-class floating homes on Lake Union. Most houseboats were cheap to live in, and public opinion against them was sometimes strong. By 1967, fewer than 500…
ID Number:1980.7067.1.15.2
Date:Circa 1967
Image of Eckstein residence, Seattle, 1915
Photograph

Eckstein residence, Seattle, 1915

This photo comes from the collection of Joanna Eckstein, who was one of two daughters (with her sister Babette) of Nathan Eckstein and Mina Schwabacher Eckstein. Mina Schwabacher was a daughter of Abraham Schwabacher (circa 1838-1909) and Sarah Lehrberger (1847-?), who married in 1869. Abraham and his brothers Louis and Sigmund owned the Schwabacher Brothers wholesale grocery stores in Walla…
ID Number:1980.7166.1.46
Date:1915
Image of Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927
Photograph

Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927

In 1925, the Great Northern Railway Company began work on its new Cascade Tunnel near Stevens Pass, Washington. Workers dug from the east and the west portals of the tunnel. They also sank a vertical shaft at Mill Creek, just east of the summit, and dug their way towards the portals. Between Mill Creek and the West Portal at Scenic,…
ID Number:1981.7265.6
Date:1927
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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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