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.
Letter from Edward S. Curtis to Harriet Leitch, November 4, 1949
Letter from Edward Curtis to Harriet Leitch describing his progress on "The Lure of Gold." He notes that publishing firm has expressed interest in publishing the work but he had to let them know it would be at least two years before he would be able to complete it. Curtis writes "For one of my age, that's looking far ahead."
Identifier: spl_esc_014
Date: 1949-11-04
View this itemAerial view of Bellevue, WA, circa 1990s
Aerial view of Bellevue looking west and slightly north along NE 4th Ave. towards Lake Washington and Seattle. Bellevue Square (first opened in 1946 as Bellevue Shopping Square, and expanded in the 1980s), One Bellevue Center (constructed 1982-1983), the Hyatt Regency hotel (built 1989), Key Bank Building (built 1971), and other buildings can be seen.
Identifier: spl_dor_00021
Date: 1990?
View this itemQueen Anne from West Seattle, August 27, 1976
Taken from West Seattle, this image shows Queen Anne with the Space Needle visible, and part of downtown Seattle in the distance across Elliott Bay.
Identifier: spl_dor_00003
Date: 1976-08-27
View this itemPortage Bay, Montlake with Laurelhurst in distance, May 15, 1925
Montlake Bridge and Portage Bay from Shelby Street, May 15, 1925 cropped from original photograph taken by photographer Asahel Curtis.
Identifier: spl_dor_00010
Date: 1925-05-15
View this itemSeattle floating bridge, August 28, 1963
This photograph was taken on the opening day of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, later the SR 520 bridge, from the west side looking east across Lake Washington towards Medina.
Identifier: spl_dor_00052
Date: 1963-08-28
View this itemGasworks and Lake Union from Queen Anne, July 3, 1961
View of Gasworks Park, the University District, Portage Bay, the University Bridge and Eastlake taken from Paul Dorpat's friend's porch in Queen Anne.
Identifier: spl_dor_00005
Date: 1961-07-03
View this itemLetter from Edward S. Curtis to Harriet Leitch, July 11, 1949
Letter from Edward Curtis to Harriet Leitch, apologizing for his slow response and explaining he is deep in his work on "The Lure of Gold." He writes that the size of the project is overwhelming and he is ""praying that I will live long enough to finish the job." Curtis discusses his climbs of Mount Rainier and his friendship with Ella McBride. He notes that she was one of the few women to summit the mountain unassisted and describes her as "my star helper" both in climbs of Mount Rainier and later, as an assistant in his photography studio. He writes that she lived with the Curtis family and was like a second mother to his daughters.
Identifier: spl_esc_012
Date: 1949-07-11
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 itemSunrise and city from Kerry Park, December 18, 1975
View of Seattle showing the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier in the distance.
Identifier: spl_dor_00046
Date: 1975-12-18
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