• 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

650 results for: Lake Washington

Share:
Image of Seattle Street Railway car on first day of service, Seattle, September 1884
Photograph

Seattle Street Railway car on first day of service, Seattle, September 1884

In September 1884, Washington Territory's first streetcar line opened in Seattle. By the end of the year, the line had three miles of track and four streetcars which were operated by a total of ten men and twenty horses. One branch ran out to Lake Union, and the other ran to Front Street (First Avenue) and on to Queen Anne…
ID Number:SHS898
Date:1884
Image of Madison Street Cable Railway at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, 1907
Photograph

Madison Street Cable Railway at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, 1907

The Madison Street Cable Railway provided public transportation along one of Seattle's busiest thoroughfares from 1890 to 1940. Built to connect downtown Seattle with Lake Washington, Madison Street was Seattle's steepest cable line, terminating downtown at a turntable on West Street (now Western Avenue), near the present-day ferry terminal on Puget Sound. In this image a Madison Street Cable Railway…
ID Number:SHS915
Date:1907
Image of Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888
Photograph

Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888

Seattle's Fremont neighborhood is located at the northwest corner of Lake Union, and was originally part of the William A. Strickler homestead. On March 1, 1888 David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) and John Philo Hoyt (1841-1926) bought 240 acres from Strickler's estate, then sold the parcel to Carrie and Edward Blewett on March 20, 1888. With the help of their agents,…
ID Number:SHS1047B
Date:1888
Image of Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive
Photograph

Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive "D.H. Gilman," circa 1887

The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern RailwayCompany was formed in 1885 by Daniel Gilman, Judge Thomas Burke, and other Seattle businessmen. By 1887, it ran from the Seattle waterfront to Smith Cove, across Salmon Bay, and along the northwest side of Lake Washington. By 1888, the line reached Fall City to the east and Snohomish to the north, eventually connecting…
ID Number:SHS1143
Date:Circa 1887
Image of University of Washington graduating class, Seattle, 1898
Photograph

University of Washington graduating class, Seattle, 1898

In 1858 one of Seattle's founders, Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899), successfully petitioned the Washington Territorial Legislature to select Seattle as the location for a new university. Seeing this as a chance to add to the city's potential and prestige, a site was chosen on Denny's Knoll that now houses the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The Territorial University of Washington opened in…
ID Number:SHS1514
Date:1898
Image of Queen City Cycle Club, Kent, June 28, 1896
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
Image of Chesheeahud and Tleebuleetsa near campfire, circa 1900
Photograph

Chesheeahud and Tleebuleetsa near campfire, circa 1900

Chesheeahud was a Duwamish chief and guide to the lakes and rivers around what is now Seattle living between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. He led a village called hehs-KWEE-kweel (meaning Skate), at the south edge of the mouth of Union Bay onto Lake Washington. hehs-KWEE-kweel was near a vital portage used by the Duwamish between Lake Union and…
ID Number:SHS1900
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Chesheeahud and others in a canoe on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Chesheeahud and others in a canoe on Lake Union, Seattle, circa 1885

Chesheeahud (also spelled Cheshiahud) was a Duwamish chief and guide to the lakes and rivers around what is now Seattle, living between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. He led a village called hehs-KWEE-kweel (meaning Skate), at the south edge of the mouth of Union Bay onto Lake Washington. hehs-KWEE-kweel was near a vital portage used by the Duwamish between…
ID Number:SHS2228
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Smith Logging Company, Monroe, 1912
Photograph

Smith Logging Company, Monroe, 1912

Darius Kinsey (1869-1945) was a prominent photographer in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in logging photography. After five years as a photographer for the Seattle and Lake Shore Railroad Co, in 1897 he opened a photography studio in Sedro-Wooley with his wife Tabitha working as his photography assistant. In 1906, he moved his photography studio to Seattle, but continued to document…
ID Number:SHS2626
Date:1912
Image of View of Lake Union from the Lake Washington Bicycle Path, Seattle, circa 1902
Photograph

View of Lake Union from the Lake Washington Bicycle Path, Seattle, circa 1902

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:SHS2964
Date:Circa 1902
Previous 1 … 60 61 62 63 64 65 Next

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