• 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

878 results for: Performing Arts

Share:
Image of Ola Browning speaking at fashion show, Seattle, circa 1953
Photograph

Ola Browning speaking at fashion show, Seattle, circa 1953

In the 1950s, Seattle community and civil rights leader Ola Browning served on the Washington State Board Against Discrimination, and in 1959 brought Washington's first wrongful discrimination case. Here, Ola Browning speaks at a podium at a Seattle fashion show, with a jazz band visible behind her. Judging by the name "Bumps" on the stands, this may be Bumps Blackwell's…
ID Number:2014.49.014.017.0027
Date:Circa 1953
Image of Group around table at club party, Seattle, circa 1953
Photograph

Group around table at club party, Seattle, circa 1953

Here, a group sits at a table set for food and drink. The party may be at Faurot's Ballroom at 1214 E. Pike Street or The Trianon at 218 Wall Street. The guests are, left to right: unidentified man, Ruth (Beck) Davis of Tacoma, unidentified man, Betty Cox, Mr. Davis (Ruth Davis' husband), Dorothy Walton, and Frank Walton.
ID Number:2014.49.014.020.0038
Date:Circa 1953
Image of Seven women standing in front of stage, Seattle, circa 1953
Photograph

Seven women standing in front of stage, Seattle, circa 1953

Renee Moore (second from left), Mrs. James Jackson (third from right), and five unidentified women stand in front of a stage, all wearing fancy dresses and gloves. Playing onstage behind the women are saxophonist Terry Cruise, third from left, and his swing band. The venue is probably Washington Hall at 14th Avenue and Jackson Street.
ID Number:2014.49.014.036.0078
Date:Circa 1953
Image of Figure skaters posing on ice rink, Seattle, circa 1953
Photograph

Figure skaters posing on ice rink, Seattle, circa 1953

Two unidentified female skaters in costume pose in high kicks at an ice rink, perhaps rehearsing for a show.
ID Number:2014.49.014.056.0133
Date:Circa 1953
Image of Jive Bombers performance, Seattle, circa 1943
Photograph

Jive Bombers performance, Seattle, circa 1943

During World War II, Black musicians were recruited from across the country to officially serve as musicians in the U.S. Navy. Trained to play in big bands at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, the men formed 25-piece bands to tour naval bases and boost morale. One of the bands was transferred to the Sand Point Naval Air Station…
ID Number:2014.49.14.001.01
Date:Circa 1943
Image of Dancers entertaining patrons at nightclub, Seattle, circa 1946
Photograph

Dancers entertaining patrons at nightclub, Seattle, circa 1946

Seattle's Jackson Street jazz clubs flourished in the first half of the twentieth century, with their popularity peaking in the late 1930s through early 1950s. Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure in the clubs, often taking pictures of musicians and patrons, then returning the following week to sell prints.Some of the Jackson Street nightclubs featured a floor show.…
ID Number:2014.49.14.001.04
Date:Circa 1946
Image of Palmer Johnson at Faurot's Ballroom, Seattle, circa 1940
Photograph

Palmer Johnson at Faurot's Ballroom, Seattle, circa 1940

The growing popularity of ballroom dancing and swing prompted the opening of numerous ballrooms around Seattle. Faurot’s Ballroom, at 1214 E. Pike Street, opened in the 1930s. Here, jazz pianist Palmer Johnson plays for a large group of patrons. Photographer Al Smith placed himself on stage, above Johnson.
ID Number:2014.49.14.006.03
Date:Circa 1940
Image of Jitterbuggers, Seattle, circa 1944
Photograph

Jitterbuggers, Seattle, circa 1944

Seattle's Jackson Street jazz clubs flourished in the first half of the twentieth century, with their popularity peaking in the late 1930s through early 1950s. Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure in the clubs, often taking pictures of musicians and patrons, then returning the following week to sell prints.On this occasion, Smith photographed an energetically dancing couple being…
ID Number:2014.49.14.006.04
Date:Circa 1944
Image of Dick Wilson with the Andy Kirk band at the Senator Ballroom, Seattle, February 17, 1941
Photograph

Dick Wilson with the Andy Kirk band at the Senator Ballroom, Seattle, February 17, 1941

Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure wherever jazz was played. On this occasion he photographed the Andy Kirk big band, also called the Clouds of Joy, when they played Seattle’s Senator Ballroom in downtown Seattle in early 1941. The band included tenor saxophone player Dick Wilson, who plays here wearing sunglasses. The Kansas City group had played at…
ID Number:2014.49.14.006.05
Date:1941
Image of Evelyn Williamson at the Trianon Ballroom, Seattle, December 1940
Photograph

Evelyn Williamson at the Trianon Ballroom, Seattle, December 1940

Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure wherever jazz was played around the city. On this occasion, he photographed local vocalist Evelyn Williamson as she sang with Lionel Hampton’s jazz band at the Trianon Ballroom in late 1940. Williamson, a local vocalist who sang in Jackson Street area clubs, had already recorded a number with the band. At this…
ID Number:2014.49.14.006.06
Date:Circa 1940
Previous 1 … 66 67 68 69 70 … 88 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