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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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1512 results for: City of Seattle

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Image of People strolling along waterfront in Leschi Park, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

People strolling along waterfront in Leschi Park, Seattle, circa 1910

Leschi Park, on the shore of Lake Washington, was a popular place for Seattle's city-dwellers to go for recreation. Many people caught a cable car at Pioneer Square and rode to the park along Yesler Way. Handwritten on sleeve: Leschi Park.Webster & Stevens number: 17326
ID Number:1983.10.8985
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Hwehlchtid's house at Shilshole with canoe anchored offshore, circa 1905
Photograph

Hwehlchtid's house at Shilshole with canoe anchored offshore, circa 1905

In 1855, representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the area now known as Seattle, including the Duwamish and Suquamish, signed the Treaty of Point Elliott. As part of this treaty, many Indigenous people agreed to move in their tribal groups to reservations outside of the Seattle area, but some remained. In 1865 the Board of Trustees of Seattle passed Ordinance…
ID Number:1983.10.9067
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Seattle Public Library, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Seattle Public Library, Seattle, circa 1910

The city of Seattle established a public library in 1890 after several earlier attempts by private citizens. The library was housed in various places and finally ended up in the Yesler Mansion, just uphill from its current site. After the mansion burned in 1901, industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated $200,000 for a new building which opened in 1906. The Carnegie Library…
ID Number:1983.10.9095
Date:Circa 1910
Image of YWCA, Seattle, circa 1911
Photograph

YWCA, Seattle, circa 1911

Seattle's Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) was founded in 1894 by a group of women who wanted to help the city's working women. At that time, many young women came to Seattle in search of jobs, but ended up on the streets. The YWCA provided meals, classes, and a variety of clubs and activities. Prior to 1914, this building at…
ID Number:1983.10.9168
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Columbia Branch Library interior, Seattle, circa 1915
Photograph

Columbia Branch Library interior, Seattle, circa 1915

The Columbia Branch of the Seattle Public Library opened in the Columbia city hall in 1909. Three years later, the city purchased a site for a separate library building, with the help of local citizens. The new branch opened in 1915 at Rainier Avenue and Alaska Street. Like a number of other Seattle libraries, the Columbia Branch was built with…
ID Number:1983.10.9205
Date:Circa 1915
Image of Men's reading room in the Seattle Public Library, circa 1918
Photograph

Men's reading room in the Seattle Public Library, circa 1918

The city of Seattle established a public library in 1890 after several earlier attempts by private citizens. The library was housed in various places and in 1899 moved into the Yesler Mansion at 516 3rd Ave. After the mansion burned in 1901, industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated $200,000 for a new building, which opened in 1906 on the site of the…
ID Number:1983.10.9206
Date:1915
Image of Crowd rushing to Mayor Gill's support meeting, February 2, 1911
Photograph

Crowd rushing to Mayor Gill's support meeting, February 2, 1911

Shortly after Hiram Gill was elected mayor of Seattle, some people wanted to remove him from office for not enforcing the city's anti-vice laws. When the mayor wanted to answer his accusers, his supporters set up a noontime meeting at the Grand Opera House. So many people crowded into the opera house that a second meeting was set up at…
ID Number:1983.10.9222.2
Date:1911
Image of Mayor Gill's overflow rally in the Seattle Theatre, February 2, 1911
Photograph

Mayor Gill's overflow rally in the Seattle Theatre, February 2, 1911

In 1911, when Mayor Gill was accused of not enforcing Seattle's anti-vice laws, his supporters set up a meeting so that he could answer his accusers. So many people wanted to hear the mayor, that the overflow crowd of 3,000 people rallied at the Seattle Theatre. The Seattle Times, which supported Gill, reported that this was the city's greatest-ever political…
ID Number:1983.10.9223.2
Date:1911
Image of Grand Trunk dock with steamer
Photograph

Grand Trunk dock with steamer "Flyer," circa 1912

In 1910, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway opened a dock at the foot of Seattle's Madison Street. This dock was the city's largest wooden structure. Before the ferry system began, a swarm of small steamboats carried passengers and freight between various parts of Puget Sound. These came to be called the "mosquito fleet". Many of the mosquito fleet steamers landed…
ID Number:1983.10.9230
Date:Circa 1912
Image of Seattle Buddhist Temple, circa 1914
Photograph

Seattle Buddhist Temple, circa 1914

In 1901, a small group of Seattle's newer Japanese residents started a Buddhist mission society to meet various community needs. Because first generation Japanese immigrants couldn't own property, the society met in a rented house at Sixth Avenue and Main Street. In 1908, the group built its first temple on South Main Street.This photo shows the Seattle Buddhist Temple on…
ID Number:1983.10.9235
Date:Circa 1914
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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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