• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

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.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

506 results for: Government and Public Services

Share:
Image of Seattle City Light service truck, September 21, 1917
Photograph

Seattle City Light service truck, September 21, 1917

By the 1910s, electricity from Seattle City Light powered homes and businesses as well as the streetlights and trolleys. This 1917 photo shows Seattle City Light "Underground Service" truck No. 29, with an workman at the wheel. Photographer's number: 3886SHS category: Lighting
ID Number:SHS8748
Date:1917
Image of Denny Way sewer outfall into Puget Sound, Seattle, May 12, 1913
Photograph

Denny Way sewer outfall into Puget Sound, Seattle, May 12, 1913

Prior to 1890, Seattle relied on a haphazard assortment of sewers and cesspools that, at best, drained into surrounding lakes and salt water. Faced with recurring threats of waterborne diseases including typhoid and cholera, City Engineer Benezette Williams designed the Seattle's first centralized combined sewage system plan in 1891. This plan sought to remove as much city sewage as possible…
ID Number:SHS8888
Date:1913
Image of Alder Street sewer outfall into Lake Washington, June 19, 1917
Photograph

Alder Street sewer outfall into Lake Washington, June 19, 1917

Prior to 1890, Seattle relied on a haphazard assortment of sewers and cesspools that, at best, drained into surrounding lakes and salt water. Faced with recurring threats of waterborne diseases including typhoid and cholera, City Engineer Benezette Williams designed the Seattle's first centralized combined sewage system plan in 1891. This plan sought to remove as much city sewage as possible…
ID Number:SHS8917
Date:1917
Image of Seattle City Light line crew with horse-drawn wagon, January 1914
Photograph

Seattle City Light line crew with horse-drawn wagon, January 1914

By the 1910s, electricity from Seattle City Light powered homes and businesses as well as the streetlights and trolleys. This photo, taken in 1914, shows a Seattle City Light line crew and their horse-drawn wagon parked near a power line. The caption on the photo notes that this was one of four line crews, and identifies the workers as, left…
ID Number:SHS17525
Date:1914
Image of Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1889
Photograph

Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 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:SHS17710
Date:Circa 1889
Image of Engine House #3, Seattle, May 11, 1911
Photograph

Engine House #3, Seattle, May 11, 1911

From 1890 to 1904, the Seattle Fire Department’s Engine House No. 3 stood in what is now the Chinatown - International District. In 1904, it was replaced by a new Station 3, at the intersection of Terry Avenue and Alder Street, in what is now Yesler Terrace. This 1911 image shows Fire Station 3 in its heyday. Three fire wagons,…
ID Number:SHS17728
Date:1911
Previous 1 … 49 50 51

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
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved