Museum of History & Industry

Introduction

The Museum of History and Industry, known as MOHAI, is Seattle foremost museum of urban and industrial history. Founded in 1952 by the Seattle Historical Society, it moved in 2012 into the former Naval Reserve Armory in South Lake Union, a 1942 Art Moderne building by Sylvester Graham that was once among the largest U.S. Navy training facilities on the Pacific Coast and is itself a historic artifact. The permanent exhibition True Boettcher Peril: Seattle and the Great Fire uses objects, media, and interactives to trace Seattle story from Duwamish settlements, the 1851 white settlement, the 1889 Great Fire, the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush, and the rise of Boeing and Microsoft. Holdings include a full-size 1885 Yesler Way wooden fire engine, a replica of the first Boeing B&W seaplane, and the original model of the 1962 World Fair Space Needle, alongside hands-on galleries, making it the best starting point for understanding Seattle transformation from frontier town to global tech capital.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info