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39 results for: Seattle Electric Company

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Image of Seattle's Automobile Show advertisement, April 1916
Ephemera

Seattle's Automobile Show advertisement, April 1916

In 1916 the third annual Seattle Automobile Show was held downtown, hosted by the Seattle Auditorium Company, and featured thirty-three passenger models of twenty different makes, and eight motor trucks produced by six different manufacturers. Some of the standouts included a white six-cylinder Paige, a maroon eight-cylinder Oakland, and a Marmon with an aluminum engine. Also on display were the…
ID Number:MS.COLL.872
Date:1916
Image of Seattle-Everett interurban trolley, 1907
Photograph

Seattle-Everett interurban trolley, 1907

The Seattle-Everett Interurban Company was organized in 1900, and construction on the electric trolley line began in Ballard in 1901. By 1905, the tracks reached Hall's Lake and in 1910, they were completed to Everett. Passengers traveling between Seattle and Everett changed between the interurban cars and Seattle's local transit system in Ballard.This photo shows Seattle-Everett interurban trolley cars 5…
ID Number:SHS735
Date:1907
Image of Seattle trolley car on trestle, Woodland Park, circa 1910
Photograph

Seattle trolley car on trestle, Woodland Park, circa 1910

By 1902, the trolley line that ran along the east shore of Green Lake had been extended through Woodland Park. In 1903, the Seattle Electric Company began regular sightseeing tours on the line during warm weather. In their plan for Woodland Park, the Olmsted Brothers wanted low embankments built beside the tracks to cut down on noise and screen out…
ID Number:SHS753
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Madison Street Cable Railway at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, 1907
Photograph

Madison Street Cable Railway at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, 1907

The Madison Street Cable Railway provided public transportation along one of Seattle's busiest thoroughfares from 1890 to 1940. Built to connect downtown Seattle with Lake Washington, Madison Street was Seattle's steepest cable line, terminating downtown at a turntable on West Street (now Western Avenue), near the present-day ferry terminal on Puget Sound. In this image a Madison Street Cable Railway…
ID Number:SHS915
Date:1907
Image of Seattle Electric Railway Company trolley with motormen, circa 1890
Photograph

Seattle Electric Railway Company trolley with motormen, circa 1890

Seattle's first electric streetcars began carrying passengers in 1889. By 1892, the city had 48 miles of electric streetcars and 22 miles of cable railway. In the mid-1890s, motormen were paid 22 cents an hour, but only while the cars were rolling. They weren't paid for the time it took to get the cars ready in the morning, keep them…
ID Number:SHS7701
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Aerial view of Bethlehem Pacific Steel plant, Seattle, 1954
Photograph

Aerial view of Bethlehem Pacific Steel plant, Seattle, 1954

In 1903, William Pigott (1860-1929) formed Seattle Steel Company (later Pacific Coast Steel Co., then Bethlehem Steel Co., now Nucor Steel) on 55 acres of the Duwamish River estuary tide flats in Humphrey (later Youngstown, now the North Delridge neighborhood of Seattle). Operations began on May 4, 1905, and the Seattle Sunday Times proclaimed the plant "Seattle's Little Pittsburgh."In this image…
ID Number:SHS11316
Date:1954
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 Ice cream delivery wagon, circa 1880
Photograph

Ice cream delivery wagon, circa 1880

Ice cream was a popular summer dessert even before electric refrigeration. Recipes for flavored sweet cream and iced creams appeared in many 18th century English and American cookbooks. Fruit such as lemon, raspberry, and orange were popular flavorings, as well as vanilla, honey, pistachio, and chocolate. The first commercial production of ice cream in the Pacific Northwest was begun in…
ID Number:SHS17804
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Trolley car No. 535 for Alki Point and Luna Park, circa 1910
Photograph

Trolley car No. 535 for Alki Point and Luna Park, circa 1910

The West Seattle Cable Railway opened for business in September 1890. By 1893, there was hourly service connecting with the ferry to downtown Seattle. The fare was five cents, including the ferry ride. In 1907, the company became part of the Seattle Electric Company's street and cable car operations.This photo, taken around 1910, shows the Alki Point and Luna Park…
ID Number:SHS19002
Date:Circa 1910
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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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