This transcript is taken from a video hosted by Ralph Munro, former Secretary of State. In a TVW show, “My Favorite Places,” he offers video tours of his favorite places in Washington State.
Wow, this is impressive. We are here on the southern shores of Lake Union at MOHAI, the Museum of History and Industry.
For many years, this was the naval reserve center at the armory for Navy uses here in Puget Sound country. If you go up on the fourth floor, you’ll see where they trained young sailors to be skippers of the ship, because there weren’t enough ships to train on, so they used this building as an actual training location. It was the first command of many young sailors.
Many museums concentrate on what happened after European settlers or Asian settlers came to the Pacific Northwest. But MOHAI really concentrates on the people that were here before that, as well. And their Native American stories and the learning experience about Native Americans is excellent here in this facility.
Well, you’ve all heard about the B-17s and the B-29s and all the Boeing manufactured airships during the war, and then the commercial airplanes. But behind me is B-1, Boeing’s first aircraft. He wanted to prove to the world that not only could people fly, and they fly commercially. It was an endeavor that would work in carrying the mail and carrying passengers as well. Innovation that started in Seattle and remains in Seattle today.
And look here, this is Slo-mo IV, Seattle’s favorite boat. We all remember – at least if you are my age you certainly remember – that first Gold Cup race in Seattle. He came out from under the bridge and the starting gun went off. And those Detroit guys were flabbergasted. He beat ‘em hands-down. Slo-mo IV will always be my favorite hydroplane.
In some ways the story of Washington State is also a story about beer. There were breweries in Long View and breweries in Vancouver and breweries in Tacoma and breweries in Seattle. Maybe the two most famous ones are the Olympia Brewery and Rainier Brewery in Seattle.My great-grandfather was a barrel-maker. He worked at the Rainier Brewery for many, many years. And the big R on the wall back there brings back lots of fond memories of the enjoyment we had on a Sunday afternoon sitting around the table enjoying a glass of Rainier beer.
This facility has virtually millions of artifacts, historic documents, pictures, you name it, that talk about the story of our lives and the people who lived here before us. If you want to learn about Seattle’s history and have a great day, come to MOHAI and see these wonderful exhibits.
It’s not just a bunch of dusty old artifacts or relics. But its about innovation and invention and how to get young people involved in making new decisions that will make our community even better than it is now.
When it’s all said and done, MOHAI, the Museum of History and Industry ,here on the south shores of Lake Union is one of my very favorite places.
TVW is local programming offering coverage of Washington State government, politics and public policy. TVW also offers “My Favorite Places” with Ralph Munro, former Secretary of State. In these video diaries, Munro travels through some of Washington’s most iconic and interesting places. To view the original video of Ralph Munro’s visit to MOHAI, along with videos of his other favorite places, click this link to My Favorite Places.All photos for this article are from commons.wikimedia.org
