434 results for: James
Photograph
Firemen posing outside Seattle Fire Department, November 1889
The creation of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) can be traced back to July 6th, 1876, when the all-volunteer Seattle Engine Company No.1 was organized. In 1883, the City Charter was amended to create and fund equipment, but not staff, for a centralized municipal fire department. The volunteer-based system persisted until pressure from the insurance industry and citizens after the…
ID Number:SHS700
Date:1889
Photograph
Members of the Washington National Guard in Seattle, June 1889
The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes of the City. One hundred acres of Seattle's business district and waterfront were destroyed. The burned areas were guarded and patrolled by members of the Washington National Guard from Seattle, Tacoma, and Port Townsend until June 11,…
ID Number:SHS710
Date:1889
Photograph
Counterbalance streetcar on 3rd Ave, Seattle, 1903
Denny Hill once stood north of what is now Seattle’s central business district, between Second and Fifth Avenues. Between 1889 and 1906, the Denny (later Washington) Hotel dominated its southern slope. The hill was so steep that the hotel’s second owner James Moore built a counterbalance streetcar on Third Avenue to carry guests up the two blocks from Pine Street.…
ID Number:SHS727
Date:1903
Photograph
Shorey's Books at 3rd Ave. and Cherry St., Seattle, circa 1895
Legendary Seattle bookstore Shorey's was founded by newspaperman Samuel Fernald Shorey (1851-1932) in 1890 as a small magazine and cigar store at Third and James. Sam's great-nephew John W. "Bill" Todd Jr.(1914-2007) bought the store in 1939, and it was later run by his son, Jim Todd. Shorey's maintained its huge inventory even though the store had to move several…
ID Number:SHS1317
Date:Circa 1895
Photograph
Occidental Hotel, circa 1886
In 1884, John Collins opened his Occidental Hotel at the junction of James Street and Mill Street (now Yesler Way) in Seattle. The ornate, four-story brick building was at the center of the city, just off of what is now Pioneer Square. It was considered to be the grandest hotel in Washington Territory. A bank occupied part of the ground…
ID Number:SHS1581
Date:Circa 1886
Photograph
Queen City Cycle Club, Kent, June 28, 1896
Between about 1894-1904, after the horse and before the automobile, bicycles were the hottest new form of do-it-yourself urban transportation in Seattle. The region's many cycling groups regularly sponsored outings along the twenty-five miles of urban bicycle trails which were built, funded, and maintained with the aid of city engineers. Bike cops enforced cyclist speed limits, safety, and dealt with…
ID Number:SHS1825
Date:1896
Photograph
St. James Mission, Tanana, Alaska, circa 1900
St. James Mission was an Episcopal mission established in Alaska, near the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon Rivers. The point of land between the rivers had been a historic trading place for Athabascan peoples. Built over the years between 1887 and 1900, the site grew to include a school, hospital, and sawmill, as well as the reading room and…
ID Number:SHS2020
Date:Circa 1900
Photograph
Seattle's first July 4th celebration, 1865
Seattle was first incorporated by the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1865, with a population of 350 and an economy based on timber. The Fourth of July celebration depicted in this photo would have been the first for the new city, as well as the first after the end of the Civil War. Pioneers pose in front of a foliage-covered structure,…
ID Number:SHS2772
Date:1865
Photograph
George Frederick Frye, Seattle, circa 1888
Born in Germany, George Frederick Frye came to Seattle in 1853, where he worked with Henry Yesler at his lumber mill. After marrying Louisa Denny in 1860, the couple operated a meat market and bakery, built and invested in real estate, and established the Frye Opera House. They had architects Bebb & Mendel design the 11-story Frye Hotel, which was…
ID Number:SHS2814
Date:Circa 1888
Photograph
Seattle skyline and suffragists, 1915
The print pictured here features two panoramic images, one of the Seattle skyline, with many landmarks identified, and the other of a large group of people posing together on a city sidewalk. Most of the individuals are women, and several are proudly displaying copies of The Suffragist, a weekly newspaper published by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage. Handwritten on…
ID Number:SHS5211
Date:1915