Seattle Historic Postcard Collection
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Highlights of early 20th century Seattle, as depicted through our historic postcards. Cards include images of buildings, attractions and events from the 1900s to the 1960s along with messages between friends and family.
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Bow Lake Trailer Town, ca. 1960
Transcribed from postcard: "18050 32nd Ave., So. Ch 4 4755. Across U.S. 99 from Sea-Tac International Airport. Mobile living as its best. The only 5 star park in the northwest."
Identifier: spl_pc_00101
Date: 1960?
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Alaska Building, ca. 1910
The Alaska Building, constructed between 1903 and 1904, was the first building in Seattle to be built with a steel frame. At 14 stories high, it was the tallest building in Seattle until the construction of the Hoge Building in 1911.
Identifier: spl_pc_00206
Date: 1910?
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St. James Cathedral, ca. 1928
Bishop Edward O'Dea purchased the land for St. James Cathedral's First Hill site in 1903 after successfully petitioning the Pope to relocate the episcopal see from Vancouver, Washington to Seattle. The cornerstone for the building was laid in 1905 with more than 5,000 people in attendance and the cathedral officially opened on December 15, 1907.
Identifier: spl_pc_00310
Date: 1928?
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Perry Hotel, ca. 1910
Located at Madison Street and Boren Avenue, the Perry Hotel, also known as the Perry Apartments, was built in 1907. In 1916, the building was renovated to become the Columbus Sanitarium and renamed once again to Cabrini Hospital in the 1960s. The building was demolished in 1996.
Identifier: spl_pc_00817
Date: 1910?
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Olympic Hotel, ca. 1930
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, originally the Olympic Hotel, was built in 1924. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Identifier: spl_pc_00809
Date: 1930?
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Smith Tower at night, ca. 1928
Transcribed from postcard: "This great building with 600 offices with exterior trim of bronze and interior of steel, finished to resemble highly grained mahogany. Besides possessing every convenience required in the business day, has a Chinese Room adjoining and opening onto the observation balcony. This magnificent room is highly decorated in heavy and finely carved Chinese Teakwood, wrought by native workmen, embellished with myriads of porcelain panels in varying designs, replicas of those in ancient Chinese Temples. No room in America is more gorgeous, visited each day by thousands who are afforded a beautiful vista of Seattle, the bay and lakes and the snow capped mountain ranges, with Mount Rainier and Mount Baker in the distance."
Identifier: spl_pc_00201
Date: 1928?
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Pacific Builder and Engineer, v. 4, no. 42, Oct. 20, 1906
Identifier: spl_pbe_3022043_1906_04_42
Date: 1906-10-20
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Villa Academy, ca. 1977
Sacred Heart's Villa. Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Currently called Villa Academy.
Identifier: spl_pc_00303
Date: 1977?
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Plymouth Congregational Church, March 21, 1932
Transcribed from postcard: "Plymouth Congregational Church was founded in 1870 and moved to its third location, depicted here at 6th Avenue and University Street, after construction was completed in 1912." The building was demolished in 1966.
Identifier: spl_pc_00325
Date: 1932-03-21
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