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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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396 results for: Central Area

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Image of Waterfront from Beacon Hill, Seattle, circa 1898
Photograph

Waterfront from Beacon Hill, Seattle, circa 1898

The area south of downtown Seattle was originally made up of tidal flats; soil dredged from the Duwamish River and sluiced from the Denny triangle and Beacon Hill regrades was used to create this industrial area needed by area businesses and railroads. This image, taken between 1890-1900, shows what much of Seattle's waterfront looked like before the tidal flats were…
ID Number:SHS462
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Soda fountain at Weed's Pharmacy, circa 1910
Photograph

Soda fountain at Weed's Pharmacy, circa 1910

Melvin Albert (Bert) Weed (1882-1964) began in the pharmacy business in 1898 as a clerk at the Bartell Drug Company. After college he partnered with Albert G. Keene and worked as a pharmacist at Lake Washington Pharmacy. Lake Washington Pharmacy became Weed's Pharmacy in 1910, operating in the same Central District location until Bert's retirement in 1958.This photograph shows the…
ID Number:SHS798
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Columbia St., looking east from 3rd Ave., Seattle, circa 1890

Seattle in the early 1890s was a rapidly growing city. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at 19,116, and although 1889's Great Fire leveled 116 acres in the heart of the city's business district, by 1890 the city's population actually grew to 40,000 inhabitants from the influx of people helping to recreate the city. Lumber and coal were…
ID Number:SHS1546
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Performers from the
Photograph

Performers from the "Streets of Cairo" in the Oriental Village pose on the Pay Streak at AYPE, Seattle, 1909

The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) was a world's fair held in Seattle to publicize the development of the Pacific Northwest. The fairgrounds were designed by the Olmsted Brothers landscape Architecture firm and located on the campus of the University of Washington. The AYPE's amusement park and midway area was located along what is now 15th Avenue, and was called the Pay…
ID Number:SHS7956
Date:1909
Image of Chevra Bikur Cholim Congregation synagogue at 14th Ave and Washington St., Seattle, circa 1900
Photograph

Chevra Bikur Cholim Congregation synagogue at 14th Ave and Washington St., Seattle, circa 1900

The oldest synagogue in Washington state, Chevra Bikur Cholim (Hebrew for Society for visiting the sick), now Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, incorporated in Seattle in 1891 with the purpose of caring for the sick and providing proper burial. Within a decade it evolved into a religious congregation and services were held in Red Man's Hall on Second Avenue and Seneca…
ID Number:SHS10991
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Chief Anotklosh of the Taku, Alaska, circa 1913
Photograph

Chief Anotklosh of the Taku, Alaska, circa 1913

The Tlingit people have lived on the coast and islands of what is now southeastern Alaska since time immemorial. Tlingit society is organized into clans, which follow maternal descent. Fishing, gathering, and hunting were central to historic Tlingit lifeways – they used salmon, shellfish, seals, berries, deer, and other food sources. They used every part for different purposes, not wasting…
ID Number:SHS14163
Date:Circa 1913
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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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