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774 results for: "al smith collection"

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Image of Royalty riding on Mardi Gras parade float, Seattle, circa 1954
Photograph

Royalty riding on Mardi Gras parade float, Seattle, circa 1954

For over 70 years, Seattle’s Black community has a held a summer festival that was part of Seattle's International Festival, now Seafair. The first, in 1952, was called the East Madison/East Union Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras later transformed into the Pacific Northwest Black Community Festival, and in 1997 it became the Umoja Fest African Heritage Festival.Here, the Mardi Gras queen…
ID Number:2014.49.092.010.03
Date:Circa 1954
Image of Youth football team leaving by train for Las Vegas, Seattle, November 25, 1952
Photograph

Youth football team leaving by train for Las Vegas, Seattle, November 25, 1952

In addition to his Seattle jazz club images, photographer Al Smith also took photos of events important to the city’s Black community. The Nisei Japanese Veterans Association had sponsored a neighborhood Little League football team that was open to all. In 1952, the team, called the International Fighting Irish, won the city and Northwest district championships and headed off by…
ID Number:2014.49.092.013.0001
Date:1952
Image of Crowning of Miss International Center, July 23, 1952
Photograph

Crowning of Miss International Center, July 23, 1952

Seafair Royalty have been a part of Seattle's annual ten-day-long celebration since the festival's beginnings in 1950. Young women are chosen for the court to represent their neighborhood and/or ethnic community and are awarded academic scholarships. Throughout the summer, Seafair Royalty participate in festival events and perform knighting ceremonies recognizing outsltanding citizens in the Seattle area.The Chinatown - International District…
ID Number:2014.49.092.017.02
Date:1952
Image of Mardi Gras royalty riding on a parade float, August 5, 1952
Photograph

Mardi Gras royalty riding on a parade float, August 5, 1952

For over 70 years, Seattle’s Black community has a held a summer festival that was part of Seattle's International Festival, now Seafair. The first, in 1952, was called the East Madison/East Union Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras later transformed into the Pacific Northwest Black Community Festival, and in 1997 it became the Umoja Fest African Heritage Festival.This photo shows the first…
ID Number:2014.49.092.018.01
Date:1952
Image of Al Smith and his post office bowling team, Seattle, 1954
Photograph

Al Smith and his post office bowling team, Seattle, 1954

In the mid-1950s, Seattle photographer Al Smith began working as a mail carrier for the US Post Office. He worked there for 25 years and was proud of his work. Al appreciated his post office job for its security, fair wages, and relative lack of discrimination. The job afforded him both a middle-class lifestyle and an opportunity to pursue photography…
ID Number:2014.49.092.011.01
Date:1954
Image of Vivian Dandridge dancing with a man at the China Pheasant, Seattle, 1953
Photograph

Vivian Dandridge dancing with a man at the China Pheasant, Seattle, 1953

Not all of Seattle's mid-20th century jazz clubs were on Jackson Street. The China Pheasant was a Chinese-run roadhouse casino on East Marginal Way South near Boeing Field that also featured jazz performances. Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure in Seattle's jazz clubs, where he often took pictures of musicians and performers.On this occasion, Smith photographed Vivian Dandridge…
ID Number:2014.49.092.012.04
Date:1953
Image of Two children sitting on car in front of Hills Bros. BBQ, Seattle, circa 1953
Photograph

Two children sitting on car in front of Hills Bros. BBQ, Seattle, circa 1953

Run by brothers Robert and Zeb Hill, Hill's Bros. BBQ opened in 1952 in a small wooden building on 21st Avenue between East Cherry and East Jefferson streets in Seattle's Central Area. Here, Al Smith photographs Robert Hill's sons, Robert (left) and Zebedee, sitting on a Crosley automobile in front of Hill's Bros. BBQ. According to the Smith family, the…
ID Number:2014.49.092.015.01
Date:Circa 1953
Photograph

Al Smith on the SS President Grant, circa 1938

Albert Joseph "Al" Smith, Sr. (1916-2008), was a photographer and prolific chronicler of life in Seattle's Central Area during the mid- to late-20th century. From a hobby begun as a preteen, Mr. Smith began his "weekend job" and photography business, On the Spot, in the 1940s, capturing life in the city’s African American community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the…
ID Number:2014.49.094.005.05
Date:Circa 1938
Image of Woman standing on step in Japan, circa 1938
Photograph

Woman standing on step in Japan, circa 1938

Albert Joseph "Al" Smith, Sr. (1916-2008) was a photographer and prolific chronicler of life in Seattle's Central Area during the mid- to late-20th century. From a hobby begun as a preteen, Mr. Smith began his "weekend job" and photography business, On the Spot, in the 1940s, capturing life in the city’s African American community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the…
ID Number:2014.49.094.008.01
Date:Circa 1938
Image of Al Smith and a friend in Japan, circa 1936
Photograph

Al Smith and a friend in Japan, circa 1936

Al Smith, Sr. (1916-2008) was a photographer and prolific chronicler of life in Seattle's Central Area during the mid- to late-20th century, capturing life in the city’s Black African American community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the local jazz scene.Al Smith left O'Dea High School in 1935 and joined the Merchant Marine Union, working as a steward on passenger ships.…
ID Number:2014.49.094.011.04
Date:Circa 1936
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