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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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506 results for: Government and Public Services

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Image of Fire Lincoln Hotel, Seattle, April 7, 1920
Photograph

Fire Lincoln Hotel, Seattle, April 7, 1920

The Seattle Fire Department battled a large blaze at the Hotel Lincoln on April 7, 1920. The fire broke out in the middle of the night in the hotel's basement laundry room. By the time it was discovered, it had had burned upwards inside the walls. Many guests were trapped upstairs and had to be rescued by ladder or rope.…
ID Number:1983.10.1870.8
Date:1920
Image of Immigration staff member with Japanese baby, circa 1920
Photograph

Immigration staff member with Japanese baby, circa 1920

For many years, the United States laws tightly restricted Asian immigration. In the 1920s, Chinese and Japanese wives of Chinese and Japanese citizens of the United States couldn't immigrate to this country, but children could enter if their fathers were legal residents. This meant problems for mothers and children traveling together. The mother might be turned away, but the child…
ID Number:1983.10.1969
Date:Circa 1920
Image of Dairy herd inspector, circa 1921
Photograph

Dairy herd inspector, circa 1921

For many years, Seattle-area cows and milk have been tested to make sure that the city's milk supply was of good quality and safe to drink. This is particularly important because tuberculosis and other diseases can be spread by contaminated milk. In this photo, taken around 1921, a dairy herd inspector stands with his car and equipment. You may be…
ID Number:1983.10.2130
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Fire Station No. 2, Seattle, circa 1921
Photograph

Fire Station No. 2, Seattle, circa 1921

Seattle built several new firehouses when the Fire Department switched from horse-drawn fire equipment to motorized trucks. Fire Station No. 2, at Fourth Avenue and Battery Street, was one of these new stations. It opened in 1921 and is still in operation. Handwritten on sleeve: New Fire Station 4th & Battery.Webster & Stevens number: 85677
ID Number:1983.10.2210
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Smith Tower and the County-City Building, circa 1921
Photograph

Smith Tower and the County-City Building, circa 1921

In about 1912, a group of citizens pushed for a new governmental "Civic Center" in the recently regraded Denny Hill area. This effort failed, however. In 1916, the new King County Courthouse and Municipal Building, also known as the County-City Building, opened on Third Avenue, convenient to the heart of the old downtown.This photo, taken around 1921, shows the County-City…
ID Number:1983.10.2234.2
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Train at Skagit River power site, circa 1921
Photograph

Train at Skagit River power site, circa 1921

Harsh terrain made the development of Seattle City Light's three Skagit River dams very difficult. Once they got permission to proceed on the Gorge Creek Diversion Dam in 1918, workers built access roads and a railway line, the Skagit River Railway, to haul supplies and workers to the construction site.This photo, taken around 1921, shows what is probably an excursion…
ID Number:1983.10.2251.6
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Skagit Dam construction site, circa 1921
Photograph

Skagit Dam construction site, circa 1921

Harsh terrain made the development of Seattle City Light's three dams on the Skagit River very difficult. Once they got permission to proceed on the Gorge Creek Diversion Dam in 1918, workers had to build access roads through the mountainous wilderness and railway lines to haul supplies and workers to and from the construction site.This photo, taken around 1921, shows…
ID Number:1983.10.2251.25
Date:Circa 1921
Image of County-City Building, Seattle, circa 1921
Photograph

County-City Building, Seattle, circa 1921

In 1916, the new King County Courthouse and Municipal Building, also called the County-City Building, opened on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle. The building, designed by Seattle architect Augustus Warren Gould, was five stories tall, with a partial sixth story for the use of the city engineer.This photo, taken on a sunny afternoon in 1921, shows the new County-City building…
ID Number:1983.10.2333.2
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Seattle Public Library, circa 1918
Photograph

Seattle Public Library, circa 1918

The city of Seattle established a public library in 1890 after several earlier attempts by private citizens. The library was housed in various places and finally ended up in the Yesler Mansion, just uphill from its current site. After the mansion burned in 1901, industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated $200,000 for a new building which opened in 1906. The Carnegie Library…
ID Number:1983.10.2337.1
Date:Circa 1918
Image of Seattle City Light plant, Seattle, circa 1926
Photograph

Seattle City Light plant, Seattle, circa 1926

The image pictured here features Seattle City Light's shops and warehouse building at Fourth Avenue South and Spokane Street, a location now referred to as the South Service Center. The building was opened in 1926, and features a sign reading CITY LIGHT in nine-foot high letters, illuminated at night by about 400 light bulbs. Handwritten on sleeve: City Light Plant.Photographer's…
ID Number:1983.10.3061
Date:Circa 1926
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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
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