Browse photographs from the Paul Dorpat Collection which documents the history of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. At this time, a small sampling of images has been digitized while the collection is actively being processed.
Fred Haley Interview, May 2, 1986
Fred T. Haley (1912-2005) was the president of Brown & Haley, the confectionary company founded by his father in 1912 that became well known for manufacturing Almond Roca. Haley was heavily involved in civil rights and education issues in Tacoma and nationwide. He served on the Tacoma School Board from 1954 to 1965 and worked for school desegregation and increasing diversity among the faculty. He was also heavily involved in establishing a Tacoma campus for the University of Washington. Haley’s deep interest in social causes was further demonstrated by his participation in the 1963 March on Washington. The American Civil Liberties Union honored Haley with their William O. Douglas award in 1985 for his work to promote civil rights and racial equality and protecting targets of McCarthyism in the 1950s.
Identifier: spl_ds_fhaley_01
Date: 1986-05-02
View this itemAnne Gerber Interview, November 8, 1987
Anne Gerber (1910-2005) was a local art collector known for her patronage of unique artists. Gerber attended Garfield High School, Roosevelt High School and Edison Technical School. She studied painting and sculpture at the University of Washington and began collecting artwork after marrying her husband, Sidney Gerber (-1965). Together, the two acquired artwork by artists such as Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Mark Tobey and Guy Anderson. They also built a large collection of Native American artwork which now resides at the Burke Museum. In 1965, Sidney was flying a plane carrying Seattle City Councilmember Wing Luke and his secretary Kay LaDue over the Cascade Mountains. They ran into bad weather conditions and the plane crashed, killing all those aboard. After his death, Anne continued her work the arts community. She was a member of the Contemporary Art Council of the Seattle Art Museum and of the Seattle Art Commission. In 1984 she received the Governor’s Art award. Anne was also active in civic causes, fighting against housing segregation in Seattle, working with the American Civil Liberties Union and serving as president of the Neighborhood House which provides assistance for low-income families.
Identifier: spl_ds_agerber_01
Date: 1987-11-09
View this itemGreg Falls Interview, 1987
Gregory Falls (1922-1997) was heavily involved in the Seattle theater scene, serving as chair of the University of Washington School of Drama and founding artistic director of A Contemporary Theatre (ACT). Originally from Russellville Arkansas, Falls came to Seattle in 1961 to become head of the University’s Drama School. He created ACT Theatre in 1965 provide a space for unique and progressive theater. Falls acted as the director of the theater until his 1987 retirement. Falls also served as the president of the Washington Association of Theater Artists and National Theater Conference. In 1994, Falls was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, an organization of distinguished professionals in the education and theater communities.
Identifier: spl_ds_gfalls_01
Date: 1987-07-09; 1987-11-04
View this itemKarl William Edmark Interview, January 7, 1986
Dr. Karl William Edmark (1924-1994) was a cardiovascular surgeon responsible for the invention of the heart defibrillator.
Identifier: spl_ds_wedmark_01
Date: 1986-01-07
View this itemView north to regrade at 7th and Virginia, ca. 1906
Dwellings in the process of being lowered appear to the right.
Identifier: spl_dr_035
Date: 1906
View this itemMunicipal Plans Commission of the City of Seattle map showing Ballard Waterfront District, 1911
Map showing proposed city improvements under the Plan of Seattle, commonly known as the Bogue Plan. Designed by Virgil Bogue, Seattle's municipal plans director, the Bogue Plan proposed a series of improvements aimed at beautifying the city and making it making it more cohesive after years of rapid growth and industrialization. The plan worked in tandem with the Olmsted Brothers new system of parks, begun in 1903, and proposed new government buildings, an improved city center and an interurban road connecting the city together. The plan was rejected by voters in 1912.
Identifier: spl_maps_2465533_11
Date: 1911
View this itemMaiden and wine jug
Frank Asakichi Kunishige was born in Japan on June 5, 1878. He came to the United States via San Francisco in 1895. After graduating from the Illinois College of Photography, he opened a small photography studio in San Francisco. Kunishige moved to Seattle in 1917. In the same year, he married Gin Kunishige and began working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis where he became acquainted with Ella McBride who he worked for in later years. Kunishige was well known for his use of Pictorialism, a popular painterly style of photography. He developed his photographs on "textura tissue," a paper of his own creation, which allowed him to produce almost dreamlike prints. His work was featured nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications such as Photo-Era and Seattle's Town Crier. In 1924, Kunishige became one of the founding members of the Seattle Camera Club, a group of local photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara who gathered to share techniques and ideas, as well as their deep love of the medium. Although the group was initially solely Japanese, they soon welcomed more members including Ella McBride, their first female member. When World War II struck and the country's Japanese internment policy was put in place, Kunishige and his wife were forced to leave Seattle for Idaho where they were interned at the Minidoka camp. After their release, Kunishige spent two years working at a photography studio in Twin Falls, Idaho but eventually returned to Seattle due to his poor health. Frank Kunishige passed away on April 9, 1960.
Identifier: spl_art_367924_50
View this itemView east from near 1st Ave. and Pine St. to regrade activity, ca. 1906
The Washington Hotel appears at the top of the hill. Although the regrade started in 1903, James Moore, the owner of the Washington Hotel, refused to clear the property until 1906 when regrading of Second and Third Avenues were well underway.
Identifier: spl_dr_027
Date: 1906
View this itemMunicipal Plans Commission of the City of Seattle Topographic Map of Seattle and Vicinity, 1911
Map showing proposed city improvements under the Plan of Seattle, commonly known as the Bogue Plan. Designed by Virgil Bogue, Seattle's municipal plans director, the Bogue Plan proposed a series of improvements aimed at beautifying the city and making it making it more cohesive after years of rapid growth and industrialization. The plan worked in tandem with the Olmsted Brothers new system of parks, begun in 1903, and proposed new government buildings, an improved city center and an interurban road connecting the city together. The plan was rejected by voters in 1912.
Identifier: spl_maps_2465533_20
Date: 1911
View this item