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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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869 results for: Performing Arts and Music

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Image of Dixy Lee Rag, 1980
Music, notated

Dixy Lee Rag, 1980

Tacoma-born Dixy Lee Ray (1914-1994) held many prestigious posts in Washington State: first woman on the Atomic Energy Commission, director of the Pacific Science Center, and longtime University of Washington professor. A political novice, Ms. Ray served as Washington's first female governor from 1977-1981, gaining popularity as an outsider and a non-politician. Her blunt style won her as many enemies…
ID Number:1979.6775.12a
Date:1980
Image of Pipe organ with clock at the Elks Club, Seattle, circa 1914
Photograph

Pipe organ with clock at the Elks Club, Seattle, circa 1914

Jos. Mayer and Bros. began in 1897 in Seattle and manufactured many clocks during the first two decades of the 1900s. This clock is part of a pipe organ stand at the Elks Club in Seattle, Washington. The organ was built by the W.W. Kimball Co. of Chicago in 1914 and was located on the seventh floor of the Elks…
ID Number:1980.6877.5.77
Date:Circa 1914
Image of Group listening to wax cylinder recordings on Ballard Beach, Seattle, circa 1913
Photograph

Group listening to wax cylinder recordings on Ballard Beach, Seattle, circa 1913

Carl Henry Moen was born in Seattle in 1892 to Norwegian immigrant parents. His family moved several times as he was growing up, but settled in Ballard when he was nine years old. He helped harvest and sell the produce, milk, and poultry his family raised, and also was a messenger for Western Union, dug clams, and worked for Bemis…
ID Number:1980.6880.317
Date:Circa 1913
Image of Rehearsal of
Photograph

Rehearsal of "The Wayfarer" at Husky Stadium, Seattle, July 1921

In 1921, the Seattle Times organized the "Midsummer Fete," a week-long festival in July that included fireworks displays, dances, a parade of 7,000 members of Elks Lodges, and races between sailors of the U. S. Pacific Fleet, who were anchored in Elliott Bay for the event. In addition, a massive staging was presented of "The Wayfarer," a religious work combining…
ID Number:1980.7005.5
Date:1923
Image of Admiral Theater interior, Seattle, circa 1945
Photograph

Admiral Theater interior, Seattle, circa 1945

The Admiral Theater in West Seattle opened January 22, 1942. This undated photo shows the interior of the theater, which was decorated in a nautical theme. Fluorescent murals showed undersea life and the ceiling was painted with signs of the zodiac. The movie theater had 1000 seats, which were equipped with a new push-back feature that allowed moviegoers to let…
ID Number:1980.7021.1.3
Date:Circa 1945
Image of Portrait of B. Marcus Priteca, circa 1916
Photograph

Portrait of B. Marcus Priteca, circa 1916

Scottish-born architect and designer Benjamin Marcus Priteca (1889-1971) arrived in Seattle around 1909. From 1910 to 1929, he worked exclusively for vaudeville magnate Alexander Pantages (1876-1936), designing more than 150 theaters, including Seattle's Coliseum, Orpheum, Paramount, and Admiral Theatres. Priteca also lent his design expertise to several synagogues, Longacres Racetrack, and Seattle Center Opera House. Priteca was named a fellow…
ID Number:1980.7021.62.1
Date:Circa 1916
Image of Portrait of B. Marcus Priteca, circa 1955
Photograph

Portrait of B. Marcus Priteca, circa 1955

Scottish-born architect and designer Benjamin Marcus Priteca (1889-1971) arrived in Seattle around 1909. From 1910 to 1929, he worked exclusively for vaudeville magnate Alexander Pantages (1876-1936), designing more than 150 theaters, including Seattle's Coliseum, Orpheum, Paramount, and Admiral Theatres. Priteca also lent his design expertise to several synagogues, Longacres Racetrack, and Seattle Center Opera House. Priteca was named a fellow…
ID Number:1980.7021.62.2
Date:Circa 1955
Image of Drawing of Orpheum theater, Seattle, circa 1927
Drawing

Drawing of Orpheum theater, Seattle, circa 1927

Seattle's Orpheum Theatre opened August 25, 1927, and was heralded as one of the finest vaudeville and "photoplay" houses on the West Coast. Designed in Spanish Renaissance style by the famous architect B. Marcus Priteca, the building stood at the corner of 5th and Stewart until 1967, when it was destroyed for construction of the Washington Plaza Hotel. This pen…
ID Number:1980.7021.62.3
Date:Circa 1927
Image of The Curtis Picture Musicale program, circa 1912
Program

The Curtis Picture Musicale program, circa 1912

From 1911 to 1913, photographer Edward S. Curtis toured the country with a multimedia production, The Curtis Picture Musicale, based on his photographs of Indigenous peoples. At this point, Curtis’s efforts to document Indigenous life had already taken 14 years, and he expected that it would take eight additional years to complete the project. The Musicale, a fund-raising effort, was…
ID Number:1980.7060.1
Date:Circa 1912
Image of Facade of the Colonial Theater, Seattle, 1967
Photograph

Facade of the Colonial Theater, Seattle, 1967

The Colonial Theatre, located at 1515 4th Avenue, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Pike Street, opened July 16, 1913. Its façade featured four doric columns, and it seated 1,000 people, with no balconies. The Colonial was torn down in 1984 as part of the development of the Century Square office building.This image shows the façade of the Colonial…
ID Number:1980.7067.1.2.1
Date:Circa 1967
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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.
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