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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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283 results for: Retail and Department Stores

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Image of St. Vincent De Paul secondhand store, Seattle, circa 1926
Photograph

St. Vincent De Paul secondhand store, Seattle, circa 1926

St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic volunteer organization that serves poor families and individuals. Its Salvage Bureau offered used items for sale with all proceeds benefiting its programs. The store shown in this photo was located at First and Battery St. in Belltown. Sign in window: St. Vincent De Paul Salvage Bureau - Used Articles for Sale.Handwritten on sleeve:…
ID Number:1983.10.3345
Date:Circa 1926
Image of Kitchen at Standard Furniture store display, Seattle, circa 1926
Photograph

Kitchen at Standard Furniture store display, Seattle, circa 1926

This photo of a kitchen was likely from the "Casa El Sereno," a Spanish Bungalow on the fifth floor of Standard Furniture's downtown Seattle store. Handwritten on sleeve: Standard Furniture Co. - Bungalow Ints.Photographer's Reference Number: 120515Caption information source: "The Christmas Store," Seattle Daily Times, December 19, 1926; "A Range, If You Desire the Practical in Gifts," Seattle Daily Times,…
ID Number:1983.10.3409.1
Date:Circa 1926
Image of Excavation for the new Bon Marche store, circa 1928
Photograph

Excavation for the new Bon Marche store, circa 1928

When the original Bon Marche department store opened in 1890, Seattle's population stood at around 50,000 residents. The company grew with the city. By the time the Bon Marche moved into its big new store in 1929, the city was over ten times as large. This photo, taken about 1928, shows the excavation for the new Bon Marche building in…
ID Number:1983.10.3490.1
Date:Circa 1928
Image of Bon Marche, Seattle, November 13, 1928
Photograph

Bon Marche, Seattle, November 13, 1928

In 1890, German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine invested their life savings of $1,200 to start The Bon Marche at First Avenue and Cedar Street. He modeled his new department store after one he had known in Paris. The Bon Marche moved to the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street in 1896. By 1901, it had expanded…
ID Number:1983.10.3574.2
Date:1928
Image of Record player, probably in Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Record player, probably in Seattle, circa 1927

This photo of a record player was possibly from a furniture store, based on the handwritten note on the sleeve. Handwritten on sleeve: Bush & Lane Int. & [Magnola...].Photographer's Reference Number: 128037
ID Number:1983.10.3839.3
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Rhodes department store interior, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Rhodes department store interior, Seattle, circa 1927

Rhodes brothers Albert, William, Henry and Charles established the Rhodes Brothers department store in Tacoma in 1903. Albert Rhodes left Rhodes Brothers in 1907 and moved to Seattle, where he opened another store. Originally at the Arcade Building in between First and Second avenues, the store raised a portion of the Arcade Building for a new store which was constructed…
ID Number:1983.10.3850.11
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Ben Tipp Diamonds, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Ben Tipp Diamonds, Seattle, circa 1927

Ben Tipp was a Russian Jew who immigrated to the United States in 1898. By 1919 he was working in a Seattle jewelry store, and in 1922 he established his own business at 1408 2nd Avenue. He moved to 1431 3rd Avenue in 1926 and installed a large sign clock at this location. Signs in image: Block's Stores - [Newer]…
ID Number:1983.10.3861.2
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Pipe organ at Rhodes Department Store, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Pipe organ at Rhodes Department Store, Seattle, circa 1927

Albert J. Rhodes opened his first store in Seattle in 1907. While visiting the East Coast, Mr. Rhodes went to the John Wanamaker store in Philadelphia and heard the famous pipe organ there. He decided that after his family opened their new expanded store in Seattle, they would install an Aeolian organ. Mr. Rhodes died in 1921, and his widow,…
ID Number:1983.10.3863.4
Date:Circa 1927
Image of MacDougall & Southwick, Seattle, circa 1929
Photograph

MacDougall & Southwick, Seattle, circa 1929

In 1875 Polish immigrants Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) opened a retail business in Seattle which soon became the city's first department store. Toklas & Singerman, also referred to for a time as The San Francisco Store, was originally located at Cherry and Front Street (later called 1st Avenue). The store moved and expanded multiple times and was…
ID Number:1983.10.4079
Date:Circa 1929
Image of Shopping Tower, Seattle, October 21, 1929
Photograph

Shopping Tower, Seattle, October 21, 1929

The United Shopping Tower at Third Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle was designed as a vertical shopping building for different retailers. The building later became the Northwestern Mutual Insurance Building and the Olympic Tower. Signs in image: Fischer Studio Apartments. Happy Hanson Shirts. Laird Schober & Co. Agency. Handwritten on sleeve: Shopping Tower Now NW Mutual Bldg 10/21/29Webster…
ID Number:1983.10.4122
Date:1929
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