Online Exhibits
Seattle's Race and Social Justice Initiative
Seattle became the first city in the U.S. to establish a program to address racial inequities, explicitly working to eliminate institutional racism.
Discovery Park
The urban oasis of Discovery Park has had many competing demands for use over its history.
Police Accountability
How community advocacy and engagement has led to incremental progress in mechanisms for police oversight in Seattle.
Urban Renewal in Seattle
A look at urban renewal programs in the city and their lasting effects.
The City of Seattle and the 1962 World's Fair
How the municipal government prepared for Century 21.
The Seattle Open Housing Campaign, 1959-1968
The story of the long struggle for fair housing legislation in Seattle, as told through photographs, documents, and audio clips.
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
How Native American activism led to the dedication of public land for Native peoples' use for the first time since the founding of Seattle.
Strength & Stamina: Women in the Fire Department
The story of the courage, hard work, and perseverance it took for women to enter the all-male world of firefighting in Seattle.
Domestic Partnerships and Marriage Equality in Seattle
Legislation and other events that led to legal domestic partnerships - and eventually same sex marriage - in Seattle.
Seattle at 150
Stories of the city through 150 objects from the Seattle Municipal Archives, in honor of the city's sesquicentennial.
A City at Work: Images from the Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection
A wide-ranging display of images from the Photograph Collection, highlighting the history, work, and accomplishments of Seattle city government.
Pike Place Market Centennial
A brief history of the market's first hundred years, including its founding and development, its farmers and shoppers, and the citizen initiative that saved it from urban renewal in the 1970s.
Redlining in Seattle
A look at the city's efforts to address discriminatory lending practices identified in a 1975 report by the Central Seattle Community Council Federation.
Annexed Cities
Eight small towns were annexed to Seattle between 1905 and 1910, some enthusiastically and some reluctantly. This exhibit takes a look at the history of four of those towns and how they became part of the city.
Lake Washington Ship Canal
A set of small exhibits highlighting the construction of the canal and development along its shores.
Women in City Government
An exhibit illustrating women's employment and involvement in Seattle city government and their stories and struggles in finding their "places" in the City.
Traffic Flow Maps
Learn how city engineers tracked Seattle's traffic patterns over the years.
Seattle Design Commission: 50 Years
Selected photos and drawings that highlight projects reviewed by the commission during its first 50 years.
Boundary Dam
A history of the construction and development of City Light's dam in northeastern Washington.
Urban Refugees: The 1978 Housing Crisis
The conversion of apartment buildings to condominiums caused a housing crunch for renters in the late 1970s.
AYPE: A Memorable Enterprise
A behind-the-scenes look at Seattle city government's role in preparing the city for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909.
Seattle's City Halls
A look at city halls throughout Seattle's history, from the first building constructed for city government offices to the new city hall that opened in 2003.