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Museum of History & Industry facts for kids
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The MOHAI building (Naval Reserve Armory) at Lake Union Park, pictured in 2015
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| Established | 1952 |
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| Location | 860 Terry Ave N. Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Public transit access | South Lake Union Streetcar |
The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum located in the South Lake Union area of Seattle, Washington. It is the biggest private history group in Washington state. MOHAI has almost four million items, photos, and old papers. These mostly show the history of Seattle and the nearby Puget Sound region. About 2% of these items are always on display in the museum's galleries. These galleries are inside the old Naval Reserve Armory building in Lake Union Park.
Some of the museum's most famous exhibits include Boeing's first commercial plane, the 1919 Boeing B-1. You can also see the Petticoat Flag, a U.S. flag sewn by women during the 1856 Battle of Seattle. Another popular item is the huge 12-foot tall neon "R" sign from the Rainier Brewing Company. Besides its regular and special exhibits, MOHAI also has programs for kids and adults. It often hosts public events with other groups, especially in the South Lake Union neighborhood. MOHAI is approved by the American Alliance of Museums and is connected to the Smithsonian museums.
Contents
History of MOHAI
Early Beginnings
In 1911, Morgan and Emily Carkeek started a special "Founder's Day" party. Guests wore old costumes and brought historical items from early Seattle. These parties led to the creation of the Seattle Historical Society in 1914. At first, only white settlers and their families could join.
The Seattle Historical Society did not have its own building for the museum. They tried many times to find a permanent home. But money problems, especially during the Great Depression, made it hard. Also, the first members were getting older, and new people were not joining. Still, the collection of items kept growing. In 1945, Boeing offered $50,000 to help build an aviation section. Over the next five years, the Society found a spot in Montlake. During this time, the Society became more open to the public. They invited community groups to the Founder's Day event. The new museum finally opened in 1952.
Over the next 50 years, the museum faced some challenges. These included how it managed its collections and its relationship with the community. In the 1980s, the museum started new exhibits. It also began reaching out to more diverse communities. This was a big change for some older staff and board members. In the 1990s, the museum slowly got better. It overcame its internal and money problems. It also started to offer more educational and community programs.
Moving to a New Home
A big road project, the reconstruction of SR-520, meant MOHAI had to leave its Montlake location. After looking at other places, MOHAI and the City of Seattle agreed on a new home. MOHAI would move to the Naval Reserve Armory building. This building was soon to become part of Lake Union Park. At that time, the building needed a lot of repairs to be a public museum.
MOHAI raised $90 million to fix up the building. They carefully restored the old facility. They uncovered the original ceiling and floor. They also made big safety, access, and system improvements. As part of this project, MOHAI also moved its library and collections to a warehouse in the Georgetown neighborhood. In June 2012, the Montlake museum closed. Six months later, on December 29, 2012, MOHAI opened its new home in South Lake Union to the public.
Exploring the Museum's Galleries
True Northwest: Seattle's Story
MOHAI's main exhibit is on most of the second floor. It tells the story of Seattle and its surrounding areas in order from oldest to newest. The exhibit has 22 different sections. Each section focuses on a special event or time in Seattle's history. These range from before the first settlers to today. Ann Farrington, MOHAI's Creative Director, said it's "not a timeline, but a series of stories strung like pearls." This shows how Seattle's past, present, and future are connected.
Along with many artifacts and photos, the exhibit has lots of interactive screens. Visitors can touch screens or play games. These games explore different parts of Seattle's history and culture. The main exhibit also has the Great Fire Theatre. Here, artifacts from the 1889 Great Seattle Fire sing the story of the event. This happens over a film of old pictures. The Joshua Green Foundation Theater shows a 7-minute film about Seattle culture on two big screens.
The Grand Atrium: Big Exhibits
The first floor of the museum is a huge open room. It is called the Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium. You can see both the original floor and ceiling of the Naval Reserve Building from here. Hanging in the middle of the room is the 1919 Boeing B-1. This was the first commercial plane built by Bill Boeing. The plane is displayed to show how it would have flown onto Lake Union. This is where the plane took off and landed back then.
At the south end of the Grand Atrium, there is a three-story tall grid. It is filled with famous Seattle items. These include the neon Rainier "R" sign and a clam costume from the Seattle seafood chain Ivar's. There is also a stuffed cougar given by Eddie Bauer, who started the clothing store. The north end of the Grand Atrium has a 64-foot-tall sculpture. It is called Wawona by local artist John Grade. Wood for the sculpture came from the 1897 schooner Wawona. This ship was taken apart in 2009 because there wasn't enough money to fix it.
Special Exhibits Gallery
The Walker Gallery is MOHAI's main area for showing temporary and traveling exhibits. It covers the entire southern side of the museum's second floor. When the museum first opened in Lake Union Park, this gallery showed an exhibit about Seattle's connection to movies. It was called Celluloid Seattle: A City at the Movies. In 2015, the Walker Gallery hosted American Spirits: The Rise & Fall of Prohibition. This exhibit traveled from the National Constitution Center.
Community Gallery
This is another temporary gallery on the third floor of the museum. It is much smaller than the Walker Gallery. This space is made to "promote community ownership and stewardship of MOHAI." It does this by showing projects done with community groups. The first exhibit here was a partnership with a Seattle arts group called Arts Corps. They worked with Seattle high school students. The students created poetry and spoken word pieces. These were inspired by photos from MOHAI's historical collection.
Maritime History Gallery
On the top floor of the museum is a small gallery. It is all about Seattle's history with the sea. This space was first built to look like a ship's bridge. It was used to train naval recruits during World War II. It has windows facing south that look out over Lake Union. One of the most popular items in the gallery is a working World War II-era TANG periscope. It came from a naval submarine. You can look through it to see a 360-degree view of Lake Union and downtown Seattle. The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society curates this gallery. They have worked closely with MOHAI since the early 1950s.
Innovation Center
The museum opened a big new addition on October 11, 2013. It is called the Bezos Center for Innovation. This project was funded by a $10 million gift from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. The Seattle-based Olson Kundig Architects designed the project. It takes up part of the museum's Grand Atrium.
Learning Programs
MOHAI's programs for students from kindergarten to 12th grade are designed to go along with the main exhibit, "True Northwest: The Seattle Journey." These programs help teachers meet state learning goals. They also offer training for teachers. The programs use original historical items to help students think critically. They show many different viewpoints to explore Seattle's diverse stories. They also connect history to students' own lives.
Onsite programs for students help them explore Seattle's stories using original sources. Students gather clues to solve history mysteries. They also learn facts and myths about Seattle's past.
MOHAI also offers outreach resources. These include themed trunks with artifacts, videos, and activities. These activities match state learning goals. Themes include Native American People of Washington State, Settlers of Washington State, and the War Years. There are also themed packets of visual resources. These have photos, slides, background stories, and activities. Themes include Early Recreation in Seattle and Women in Washington History. Finally, there is a reader's theater script about the Gold Rush. It comes with stage directions.
MOHAI also helps teachers learn more about Seattle's history. They teach about learning with objects and understanding curriculum standards.
What's in the Collection?
MOHAI has about 4 million items in its collection. This includes around 100,000 3D objects. There are also over 3 million photos and about 200,000 old documents. The collections focus on Seattle's early settlement (around 1850) up to today. They highlight the stories and achievements of people in Seattle and King County. The 3D collection has many different items. These include clothes, art, household items, old computers, and more. The museum also has a growing collection of oral histories. These are recorded stories from people who have lived in the Puget Sound area for a long time.
Amazing Photos
The most used part of MOHAI's collection is its photos. There are about 3.75 million historical photos. This is the largest group of historical photos in the region. Like the rest of MOHAI's collections, the photos mainly focus on Seattle and King County. But they also show other parts of Washington State and Alaska. One of the largest groups of photos is the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection. Seattle's original newspaper (which is no longer published) gave about 2 million photos to MOHAI. They did this in three gifts from 1975 to 2012. This collection includes both published and unpublished news photos. They were taken across Western Washington from 1917 to 2009.
Another big group of photos is the PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection. Webster & Stevens was a major photo studio in Seattle starting in 1903. They had many important clients, especially the Seattle Times. The newspaper used this studio for almost all its photos for 23 years. In 1983, PEMCO Insurance gave $50,000 to MOHAI. This allowed MOHAI to buy about 55,000 photos by Webster & Stevens. This created the PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection. Other important MOHAI photo collections include: The Milkie Studio Collection, The King County News Photo Collection, and The Seattle Historical Society Collection.
The Sophie Frye Bass Library
Most of MOHAI's old documents and papers are kept in the museum's library. This includes handwritten notes, photos, maps, books, and old films. The library is named after Sophie Frye Bass (1866–1947). She was the granddaughter of pioneers Arthur and Mary Denny. Sophie Frye Bass wrote two books about early life in Seattle, including Pig Tail Days in Old Seattle (published 1937). Bass collected many historical books and papers. In 1914, she gave her entire library to the Seattle Historical Society, which was MOHAI's earlier name. The library also holds collections from the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society and the Black Heritage Society of Washington State. The library is in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. You can visit it by making an appointment.
See also
- History of Seattle
- Arts in Seattle