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141 results for: Great Seattle Fire (1889)

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Image of Women modeling latest MacDougall & Southwick fashions, probably in Seattle, circa 1924
Photograph

Women modeling latest MacDougall & Southwick fashions, probably in Seattle, circa 1924

In 1875 Polish immigrants Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) opened a retail business in Seattle which soon became the city's first department store. Toklas & Singerman, also referred to for a time as The San Francisco Store, was originally located at Cherry and Front Street (later called 1st Avenue). The store moved and expanded multiple times and was…
ID Number:1983.10.372.4
Date:Circa 1924
Image of Frederick & Nelson department store exterior, circa 1918
Photograph

Frederick & Nelson department store exterior, circa 1918

The first Frederick & Nelson retail store opened in 1889, right after Seattle's great fire. By 1916, the company was doing so well that it built a large new store at Fifth Avenue and Pike Street, which many people thought was too far out of town. Frederick & Nelson was one of Seattle's landmark companies for over a century. It…
ID Number:1983.10.1257
Date:Circa 1918
Image of Women in working in kitchen at Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, circa 1920
Photograph

Women in working in kitchen at Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, circa 1920

The first Frederick & Nelson retail store opened in 1889, right after Seattle's great fire. By 1916, the company was doing so well that it built a large new store at Fifth Avenue and Pike Street, which many people thought was too far out of town. Frederick & Nelson was one of Seattle's landmark companies for over a century. It…
ID Number:1983.10.1407.5
Date:Circa 1920
Image of MacDougall & Southwick, Seattle, circa 1929
Photograph

MacDougall & Southwick, Seattle, circa 1929

In 1875 Polish immigrants Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) opened a retail business in Seattle which soon became the city's first department store. Toklas & Singerman, also referred to for a time as The San Francisco Store, was originally located at Cherry and Front Street (later called 1st Avenue). The store moved and expanded multiple times and was…
ID Number:1983.10.4079
Date:Circa 1929
Image of The start of the Great Seattle fire, June 6, 1889
Photograph

The start of the Great Seattle fire, June 6, 1889

Seattle's Great Fire began in a basement woodshop, when a worker threw water on an overheating pot of glue. The fire spread very quickly because most of Seattle's downtown buildings were built of wood.This photo was taken on June 6, 1889, shortly after the fire started. Crowds are standing in Front Street (now First Avenue), looking towards the fire. The…
ID Number:1983.10.5989
Date:1889
Image of Exterior of Trinity Parish Church, Seattle, circa 1880
Photograph

Exterior of Trinity Parish Church, Seattle, circa 1880

Trinity Parish Church, Seattle's first Episcopal church, was established on August 13, 1865. The congregation's first church building and the rectory next door were located at Third Avenue and Jefferson Street, and were dedicated on June 11, 1871. Both buildings were destroyed in the 1889 Great Fire, and the church moved to its present site, on First Hill at 609…
ID Number:1983.10.6168
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Budlong's boathouse, circa 1886
Photograph

Budlong's boathouse, circa 1886

Webster & Stevens made copies of the work of a number of earlier Seattle photographers. Some, like this one, show what Seattle looked like a few years before the great fire of 1889.This photo, taken around 1886, shows Budlong's Boathouse on Front Street (now First Avenue) at the foot of Marion Street. The sailboats and other small watercraft that crowd…
ID Number:1983.10.6184
Date:Circa 1886
Image of The start of Seattle's Great Fire, June 6, 1889
Photograph

The start of Seattle's Great Fire, June 6, 1889

Fire was a constant danger in many cities of the late 1800s because so many of the buildings were built of wood. Seattle's 1889 Great Fire wasn't Seattle's first fire, but it was definitely the worst.This photo was taken from the roof of a building at Pike Street and Second Avenue in mid-afternoon on June 6, 1889, about 45 minutes…
ID Number:1983.10.6204
Date:1889
Image of Seattle Post-Intelligencer's temporary building after Great Fire, 1889
Photograph

Seattle Post-Intelligencer's temporary building after Great Fire, 1889

This photo shows the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's temporary building at 4th Avenue and Columbia Street in 1889. Their original building was destroyed in Seattle's Great Fire, and the newspaper used this residence (owned by Post-Intelligencer owner and publisher Leigh Hunt) for a few months until moving into a new office at 2nd Avenue and Cherry Street. Despite the fire, the Post-Intelligencer…
ID Number:1983.10.6228
Date:1889
Image of Front Street at Madison Street, circa 1891
Photograph

Front Street at Madison Street, circa 1891

Seattle's Front and Madison Streets recovered quickly after the Great Fire of 1889. In this photo, taken about 1891, a shoe store, a restaurant, and other businesses occupy new brick buildings. Streetcars run along Front Street's trestle, and cable cars climb Madison's steep hills. Billboards advertise business investments and Levi's clothing. The towers of Providence Hospital (left) and Central School…
ID Number:1983.10.6300.1
Date:Circa 1891
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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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