City Light Negatives, 1914-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle City Light
Title
City Light Negatives
Dates
1914-1995 (inclusive)
Quantity
150000 negatives
28511 digitized image files, (1204-01 digitized negatives available online)
Collection Number
1204-01
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

City Light provides electricity and electrical and conservation services to its public and private customers. It is the largest public utility in the Pacific Northwest. Public responsibility for electrical energy dates back to 1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. The formulation of this public utility stemmed from fear of monopolization by private companies and was reinforced by the inadequacy of those companies during the Great Fire of 1889. Unable to gain access to private water, much of the business district was burned to the ground. Citizens responded eagerly to the idea of publicly owned water and electricity, which was later encouraged as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s.

In 1902, Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar River under the administration of the Water Department. This was the nation's first municipally owned hydroelectric project. Electricity from this development began to serve customers in Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910 created the Lighting Department, making it a full member of the City's Board of Public Works. Under the leadership of Superintendent James D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River hydroelectric project which began supplying power in 1924 with the completion of the Gorge Dam.

Both public and private power was supplied to Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the local private electrical power company, the Puget Sound Power and Light Company, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary Project in northeastern Washington began operations in 1967 and supplied over half of City Light's power generation. By the early 21st century, approximately ten percent of City Light's income came from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the Northwest and Southwest with the remainder of City Light's financial support coming from customer revenue.

The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978 when the department was reorganized. As a municipally owned public power system, Seattle City Light is governed by elected Seattle officials. Administrative authority rests with the Superintendent and an executive team that includes the department's Chief of Staff, Service and Energy Delivery Officer, Human Resources Officer, Power Supply and Environmental Affairs Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. City Light is responsible for electrical service and streetlight service, streetlight problems, and also conservation, both residential and commercial/industrial.

City Light provides low-cost, reliable, and environmentally responsible electric power to approximately 395,000 customers in Seattle and neighboring areas, including Burien, Lake Forest Park, Normandy Park, Renton, SeaTac, Shoreline, Tukwila, and unincorporated King County. It is the ninth-largest public power system in the United States and has the lowest rates among comparably sized cities in the United States.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Both color and black and white photographic negatives documenting the development of Seattle's public electric utility, including dam construction, water main installation, and facilities. Includes photos of dam construction in the Cedar River Watershed and the Skagit, and the Boundary Project; transmission lines and substations; City Light facilities, and employees. Subseries of images relate to Boundary Dam, Gorge High Dam, and Ross Dam. Other generating facilities depicted are Cedar Falls, Diablo Dam, Lake Union and Georgetown steam plants, and the Newhalem hydroelectric plant. A wide selection of images relating to the construction of the Boundary Dam are scanned and online but additional negatives and negatives depicting construction of the Diablo, Gorge, Ross and High Ross Dams are unscanned. From the late 1940s onward, subseries "P" and "C" depict employee events, substations, facilities, employees, and uses of electricity as well as additional images of the dams. Highlights include the control room at the Power Control Center, Seafair and other parades, Seattle City Light Employee Association (CLEA) events, employee sports teams, and substations across the city. The "P" series is scanned through the early 1960s and the "C" (color) series through the early 1970s; other negatives in these series are unscanned. In addition, this series includes personnel photos. Over 28,000 images have been digitized, cataloged, and are available for download on the digital platform.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

SMA

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Negatives, Record Series 1204-01 Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 5 Diablo Dam. DD 821 negatives 1949-1962
2 5 Diablo Incline. DI 26 negatives 1951-1960
2 5 Hollywood. H 435 negatives 1951-1956
2 7 Ross Dam construction 121 RD negatives 1939
2 7 Personnel and Office Interiors negs 4451-4667 4/1/55 to 2/24/56 1955-1956
2 8 Ross Power House. RPH 905 negatives 1950-1951
3 1 Gorge GL and G' 58 negatives 1948-1959
3 1 Gorge Surge Tank negatives GST 90 negatives 1949-1950
3 1 Gorge Tunnel GT 429 negatives 1949-1950
3 1 Devil's Elbow Bridge Newhalem 8 negatives 4/20/1966 1966
3 1 Ross Power House GPH 1022 negatives 1949-1962
3 2 Gorge Diversion Dam 4x5 b/w GDD 491 negatives 1949-1956
3 2 Copper Creek b/x CC 195 Negatives 1954-1958
3 2 US Forest Service Aerials of Copper Creek 3 negatives 1963
3 3 Ross Dam Second Step RD2' 311 negatives 1946-1949
3 3 Ladder Creek negatives 1949-1957
3 3 Diablo Power Modernization DPM 263 negatives 1957-1963
3 4 Ross Power House RPH 906-1789 negatvies 1951-1952
3 5 Ross Power House RPH 1790-3832 negatvies 1952-1953
3 6 Ross Power House RPH 3833-5182 negatvies 1953-1956
4 1 Skagit Project General - SP - 1022 negatives 1949-1962
4 1 Gorge Tunnel negatives - GT - 429 negatives 1949-1950
4 1 Gorge Surge Tank - GST - 90 negatives 1949-1950
4 1 Gorge - GL 48 negatives 1948-1949
4 2 Gorge Diversion Dam - GDD - 491 negatives 1949-1958
4 2 Thunder Creek / Copper Creek - 198 negatives 1954-1963
275 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives
1204-01
1961-1969
276 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
277 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
278 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
279 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
280 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
281 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
282 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
283 1 Boundary Dam / BPD 4440-5230 negatives 1962-1969
284 1 Boundary Miscellaneous BPM 1-442 negatives 1966-1967
285 1 Boundary Miscellaneous / BPM 424-1155 1965-1967
286 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
287 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
288 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
289 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
290 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
291 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
292 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
293 1 Boundary Project Power House BPPH 1584-2432 negatives 1962-1968
294 1 Boundary Project Power House BPPH 2434-4030 negatives 1962-1968
295 1 Boundary Project Power House BPPH 4031-4867 negatives 1962-1968
296 1 Boundary Project Power House BPPH 4868-5624 negatives 1962-1968
297 1 Boundary Project Generators BPG 3-576 negatives 1962-1968
298 1 Boundary Generators. BPG 577-929 negatives 1966-1967
298 2 Boundary River Geology. BPRG 1-139 negatives 1965-1967
299 1 Boundary River Geology. BPRG 140-470 negatives and Pend Oreille River Photo Album and Rolls 1965-1967
300 1 Gorge High Dam. GHD 3752-4263 negatives 1957-1961
301 1 Gorge High Dam GHD 4264-4807 1954-1960
302 1 Gorge High Dam GHD 4808-5373 1954-1960
303 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 5374-5888 1954-1960
304 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 5889-6411 1954-1960
305 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 6412-6934 1953-1960
306 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 6935-7451 1953-1960
307 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 7452-7986 1953-1960
308 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 7987-8502 1953-1960
309 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 8503-8964 1953-1960
310 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 8965-9456 1953-1960
311 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 9457-10,006 1953-1960
312 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 10,010-10,341 plus unnumbered 1953-1960
313 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 1-515 1953
314 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 519-1021 1954
315 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 1022-1527 1954-1960
316 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 1528-2023 1954-1960
317 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 1954-1960
318 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 2560-3100 1954-1960
319 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 3101-3634 1954-1960
320 1 Gorge High Dam negatives GHD 3635-3732 plus misc 1954-1960
343 1 Boundary Drill Core. BPDC 201 negatives, January-May 1962
344 1 Boundary Dam / BPD 2414-3243 negatives 1962-1969
345 1 Boundary Dam / BPD 3307-4410 negatives 1962-1969
Box 346 1 Boundary Project Processed Negatives 1961-1969
Box
284 2 Boundary Dam / BPD 5231-5558 negatives 1962-1969

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Boundary Project
  • Diablo Dam
  • Diablo Dam (Wash.)
  • Lake Union Steam Plant
  • Ross Dam
  • Skagit Project
  • Transmission lines--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Ross, J. D. (James Delmage), 1872-1939

Corporate Names

  • Seattle City Light

Geographical Names

  • Ross Dam (Wash.)
  • Seattle
  • Seattle (Wash.)