Guide to the Seattle Engineering Department Court Engineering Records
1890-1967

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Table of Contents
  Overview of the Collection
   
  Historical Note
   
  Content Description
   
Use of the Collection
   
Administrative Information
   
Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Seattle Department of Engineering Court Engineering Records

  Subjects

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Seattle (Wash.). Engineering Dept.
Title: Court Engineering Records
Dates: 1890-1967 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 6.0 cubic ft. ((15 boxes))
Collection Number: 2608-05
Summary: Records of the Seattle Engineering Department's Court Engineering Department. Records include annual reports, maps, drawings, correspondence, and documentation of legal proceedings.
Repository: Seattle Municipal Archives

PO Box 94728
600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3
Seattle, WA 98124-4728
Phone: 206/233-7807
Email: archives@seattle.gov
http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives

Languages: Collection materials are in English. 
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical Note

The Engineering Department (SED) maintained the City's streets and bridges, designed and oversaw construction of public works projects, provided traffic and transportation planning, and operated the sewer and solid waste utility. The position of City Surveyor was created in 1873 to survey the City, establish boundaries and street grades, and administer condemnation processes. This position was renamed City Engineer in 1890. In 1931 the Engineering Department absorbed part of the Department of Public Utilities and in 1936 it assumed the responsibilities of the Department of Streets and Sewers and the Traffic Department. In 1997, the water, solid waste, drainage, and wastewater utilities from the Engineering and Water departments were merged with the Engineering Services Division of SED and the Customer Service Call Center and Construction Engineering Sections of City Light to form Seattle Public Utilities. The traffic and transportation functions of the Engineering Department were consolidated in the Seattle Transportation Department.

Court Engineering, a division of the Engineering Department, provided engineering services primarily to the Law and Legislative Departments until the early 1990s. Court Engineering researched condemnation ordinances, damage suits, appeals from assessment rolls, and suits to quiet title. In the early years of the Engineering Department, Court Engineering was also responsible for surveying land for various purposes such as the Cedar River Watershed and land around Newcastle for a water reservoir. Work relating to condemnations included regrades, widening, sewers, and street extensions. As the City grew, court work related to bridges, city facilities, and arterial highways became a part of the scope of their work. Also known as the Legal Engineering Division, or the Court and Right of Way section, the division worked with City Council and Corporation Counsel to draft agreements with other governmental agencies and researched legislation pertaining to Engineering Department functions. Work also included obtaining necessary franchises and permits and assuring compliance with environmental laws.

Content Description

The records of Court Engineering section measure 6.0 cubic feet and document the court work carried on for the department as well as, to a lesser degree, administrative work of the department. The records date from 1890 to 1967, although the bulk of the records date fom the 1920s and 1930s. The records include a large number of maps.

Annual reports from 1909 to 1958 describe the work of the section, and information on salaries and classification of engineers is especially well-documented from 1932 to 1938. Court work is documented through maps, reports and correspondence. Documentation of legal proceedings and legislative history is also included in some cases. Maps and drawings are included in almost every folder. These are not mentioned in the folder title unless the folder includes only maps or drawings.

Of note are records documenting the proposal to build a bridge from Seward Park to Mercer Island in the 1920s, a report on the South Sewer Tunnel from 1925, and negotiations between the City and railroad companies in several parts of the City. Legal issues associated with several bridges and viaducts are well documented, including: the West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1, the Spokane Street Drawbridge, the University Bridge and the Albro Place Viaduct. Also notable are maps pertaining to the dredging of the Duwamish River, dating from 1917 to 1927.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

Records are open to the public.

Preferred Citation :  

[Item and date], Seattle Engineering Department Court Engineering Records, Record Series 2608-05. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Records are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Seattle Department of Engineering Court Engineering Records, 1890-1967
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Court Engineering Annual Reports 1909-1915
1/2 Court Engineering Annual Reports 1922-1929
1/3 Court Engineering Annual Reports 1923-1940
1/4 Court Engineering Annual Reports 1941-1958
1/5 Appraisals: Miscellaneous 1941-1953
1/6 Appraisals: Charles Street Shop Site; Lot 6, Block 7, Terry's 5th Addition by J. Carroll Shoe and Associates; Aurora Ave N and 130th Street by Butler and Walls 1963
1/7 Appraisals : Talks given at Department of Highways Right of Way Division Educational Seminar in Olympia, September 13, 1956 1956
1/8 Aetna Street Vacation (includes photographs) n.d.
1/9 Airport Way (includes dredging Duwamish) 1933-1943
1/10 Argo Crossing: Overhead Construction 1927-1953
1/11 Argo Crossing Overhead Construction: Maps and Drawings 1927
1/12 Albro Crossing/Albro Place Viaduct: Transcript of City Council Special Hearing 1930
2/1 Albro Crossing/Albro Place Viaduct: Maps and Drawings 1928-1930
2/2 Albro Crossing/Albro Place Viaduct: Construction 1929-1930
2/3 Albro Crossing/Albro Place Viaduct: Construction 1930-1932
2/4 Arterial Highway Corners: General 1935-1936
2/5 Arterial Highway Corners: Miscellaneous 1935-1936
2/6 Arterial Highway Corners: 22nd Ave SW 1935-1936
2/7 Arterial Highway Corners: Fairview Ave N and Mercer St 1935
2/8 Arterial Highway Corners: 20th Ave N, E John, and E Thomas Streets 1935-1936
2/9 Arterial Highway Corners: E Boston Street and 12th Ave N 1935-1936
2/10 Arterial Highway Corners: 3rd Ave W and W Florentine St. 1935-1938
2/11 Arterial Highway Corners: E Greenlake Way and Bagley Ave 1935-1938
2/12 Alaskan Way / Railroad Avenue: Transfer Track 1932-1939
2/13 Alaskan Way / Railroad Avenue: Transfer Track - Maps and Drawings 1934-1936
3/1 Aurora Avenue: Construction 1930-1931
3/2 Aurora Avenue: Tunnel under Dexter Avenue Lake Union Brick Company (includes photographs) n.d.
3/3 Avalon Way 1913-1915
3/4 Ballard Trunk Sewer 1920-1936
3/5 W. Barton Street (between 21st SW and 24st SW) 1935
3/6 Beach Drive: Replatting of Shore Lands 1925-1938
3/7 Board of Public Works 1923-1936
3/8 Bow Lake Airport 1942
3/9-10 Campus Parkway: University of Washington Approach - Right of Way 1946-1948
3/11 Campus Parkway: University of Washington Approach - Right of Way 1947-1956
3/12 Cascade View Addition Proposed Replat 1932-1933
4/1 Cemeteries (includes Odd Fellows Cemetery) 1938-1950
4/2 Century 21 1959-1960
4/3 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway 1927-1934
4/4 City Boundaries (Ravenna): includes 1946 map of City boundaries 1939-1946
4/5 City Charter Amendments 1918-1946
4/6 City Engineer Communications 1908-1949
4/7 City Engineer Communications 1950-1959
4/8 City Light 1945-1954
4/9 City Planning Commission 1925-1957
4/10 Cleopatra Place 1925
4/11 Coal Creek 1910
4/12 Condemnations 1955-1960
4/13 Condemnations 1954-1959
4/14 Connecticut Street Viaduct (includes grade separation study/drawing) 1926-1930
4/15 Copyrights and Patents (ornamental light post) 1927-1928
4/16 Corporation Counsel 1909-1957
4/17 Cowell, T. J. / University Bridge (includes drawing of bridge clearances) 1927-1932
4/18 Craver, L. H. / Lakeview and Ballard 1913-1917
5/1 Datum Elevations 1891-1933
5/2 Dearborn Street / 12th Avenue S 1938-1946
5/3 Dennett, Elizabeth (Broadway) 1923-1933
5/4 Deeds and Dedications 1919-1953
5/5 Denny Blaine Park 1931-1982
5/6 Douglas Place 1931-1946
5/7 West Dravus Street 1910-1940
5/8 Duwamish Avenue and Hardy Street (watermain permit under railroad tracks) 1920
5/9 Duwamish Waterway Dredging 1923-1927
5/10 Duwamish Waterway Dredging 1928
5/11 Duwamish Waterway Maps 1917-1925
6/1 Eagle Heights Addition 1930
6/2 Eastlake Ave Bulkheads 1917-1923
6/3 Eastlake Ave Vacations / Brody Petition 1921-1927
6/4 8th Ave S Bridge 1925-1946
6/5 Engineers: Salaries 1910-1932
6/6 Engineers: Classification Committee 1937-1939
6/7 Engineers: Classification Committee 1932-1936
6/8 Engineers: Classification Questionnaire 1936
6/9 Engineers: Classification Report 1937
6/10 Engineers: Classification and Reclassification (includes organization charts) 1936
6/11 Engineers: Classification and Reclassification (includes Civil Service and Salary Information) 1929-1938
6/12 Engineers: Classification 1908-1934
7/1 Emerson St. Bridge 1931-1932
7/2 Emerson St. Bridge 1933-1949
7/3 Emerson St. Bridge (includes maps and drawings) 1930-1931
7/4 Emerson St. Bridge (includes maps and drawings) 1930
7/5 Emerson St. Bridge (includes maps and drawings) 1929-1930
7/6 Empire Way No. 2 Construction / Dredged material from Duwamish 1928-1931
7/7 Firlands Sewer Easements 1918-1956
7/8 Fitch Reports (Henry M. Fitch) re: Landslides (Perkins Lane, Laurelhurst Drive, WPA work) 1938-1946
7/9 Fremont Bridge 1930
7/10 Fort Lawton 1964
8/1 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): General 1929
8/2 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Communications 1927-1930
8/3 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Engineer Joseph Jacobs 1928
8/4 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Board of Public Works 1928
8/5 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): City Comptroller 1927-1928
8/6 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): City Council 1919-1930
8/7 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): City Engineer W. D. Barkhuff 1927-1930
8/8 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Ernest B. Hussey 1929-1930
8/9 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Public Utilities 1927-1929
8/10 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company 1927-1930
8/11 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Great Northern Railway Company 1927-1930
8/12 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Northern Railway Company 1927-1930
8/13 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Oregon, Washington Railroad and Navigation Company 1927-1930
8/14 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Pacific Coast Railroad Company 1927-1930
8/15 Grade Separation Commission (tidelands south of Jackson Street): Publications: Railroad Franchise Ordinances, 1929; Grade Separation between Public Ways and Railroads by Ernest B. Hussey, 1928; Report on Separation of Grades in South End Industrial District, 1930 1928-1930
8/16 Gravity Retaining Wall: Drawing n.d.
8/17 Lake Sammamish 1927-1929
8/18 Lake Washington Ship Canal Watermain Tunnel 1926
8/19 Lake Washington Shorelands 1910-1936
8/20 Lake Youngs Overflow: Right of Way 1930-1932
8/21 State Legislation: State (including squatters on tidelands) 1958-1959
8/22 Lenora Street Viaduct 1930
9/1 Local Improvement Law (State and City) 1917-1933
9/2 West Florida Street Easement between blocks 404 and 405 Seattle Tidelands 1960-1962
9/3 Longacres Racetrack Pipeline 1934
9/4 Loyal Homes Addition 1930
9/5 Madrona Way 1927
9/6 Mapson Road (Northern Pacific Railway Company) 1930-1941
9/7 East Marginal Way Watermain 1936
9/8 Marine Drive: Alki West Seattle 1924-1941
9/9 Matthews Beach 1948-1952
9/10 Mercer Island Bridge/ Proposed Seward Park Toll Bridge 1928-1930
9/11 Mercer Island Bridge / Proposed Seward Park Toll Bridge: Maps and Drawings 1928-1930
9/12 Metropolitan Municipal Corporation 1956-1957
9/13 W. Michigan Street Towers 1930-1931
9/14 Military Road 1918-1931
10/1 Miscellaneous Correspondence (includes "traffic tubes" and sidewalks) 1921-1956
10/2 Miscellaneous Information (includes paper given by Philip Royal on improving City Streets & Sewers) n.d.
10/3 McKinnon Road 1924-1929
10/4 E Montlake Trunk Sewer 1935-1936
10/5 Montlake Bridge 1913-1924
10/6 Montlake Bridge 1925-1930
10/7 Montlake Bridge: Lake Washington Ship Canal - Maps and Drawings 1921-1923
10/8 Alley south of Myrtle Street and east of Seward Park Avenue 1956-1957
10/9 Northern Pacific Railway Right of Way 1954
10/10 Pacific Highway / Aurora Avenue Bridge 1926-1929
10/11 Pacific Highway / Aurora Avenue Bridge 1929-1930
10/12 Pacific Highway / Aurora Avenue Bridge: Maps and Drawings 1926-1929
10/13 Pacific Highway / Aurora Avenue Bridge: Reports 1929
11/1 Perkins Lane Curbs and Gutters 1926-1941
11/2 Permits - Federal (to parties other than the City of Seattle) 1939-1957
11/3 Rainier Avenue Improvement / Grading (Louis Kahn) 1914
11/4 Rainier Avenue Repaving: Lucile to Brandon 1932
11/5 Redisctricting 1944-1946
11/6 Roy Street 1917-1943
11/7 Salmon Bay Breakwater 1930
11/8 Sauk Suiattle Water Power Development 1914-1946
11/9 Sawdust Pile 1943
11/10 Schmitz Park Bridge: Easement and retaining wall J. V. Kidd 1936
11/11 School Board Alley Vacation Petitions 1926-1950
11/12 Seaplane Base: Lake Washington 1936
11/13 Sears Tract 1936-1942
11/14 Seattle Boulevard Improvements LID 4881 (Seattle Water Main Construction Company 1929-1930
11/15 Seattle Lighting Company: Property Sales 1925-1932
11/16 Seattle, Renton and Southern Railway / Seattle and Rainier Valley Road: includes Polk's Guide Map of Seattle (amended 1908) and history of Rainier Avenue 1919-1936
11/17 Seattle Switching Case ICC 14563 1929-1930
11/18 Second Avenue Extension 1928
11/19 Second Avenue Extension 1929
12/1 Set Back Ordinances 1927-1928
12/2 Sewers 1912-1957
12/3 Sewers: South Sewer Tunnel 1925
12/4 Shilshole Avenue Assessment Roll LID 2601 1914-1918
12/5 Shilshole Avenue Assessment Roll LID 2601 1916
12/6 Shilshole Avenue Assessment Roll LID 2601 Maps and Drawings: includes Polk's Guide Map of Seattle 1908 1908-1928
12/7 Shilshole Avenue Assessment Roll LID 2601 Maps and Drawings 1916-1928
13/1 Sixth Avenue NE Undercrossing / Pacific Place: includes correspondence with Northern Pacific Railroad 1913-1940
13/2 East Sixty-Fifth Street and Sand Point Road (NE 65th) 1931-1950
13/3 Slides (includes copy of 1897 report by R. H. Thomson) 1955-1956
13/4 Smoke Prevention / Air Pollution (includes correspondence with businesses regarding smoke emissions) 1924-1951
13/5 Boiler Smoke Chart of Seattle Gas Company's Lake Union Plant 1936
13/6 Special Investigations (including drainage and other issues) 1910-1944
13/7 Special Investigations: Reports on Street Widths, Tenth Ave. Northeast Bridge, Shilshole Ave., Surplus Electric Power, Jackson Street Regrade 1910-1927
13/8 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1 1922
13/9 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1 1923
13/10 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1 1924
14/1 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1 1925-1930
14/2 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1: Maps and Drawings 1923-1924
14/3 Spokane Street and West Spokane Street Grade Separation 1933-1941
14/4 Spokane Street and West Spokane Street Grade Separation: Maps 1938-1941
14/5 West Spokane Street Deeds 1914-1916
14/6 West Spokane Street Bridge Approaches 1924-1927
14/7 West Spokane Street Retaining Wall 1924-1927
14/8 West Spokane Street Substation 1918-1919
14/9 West Spokane Street Bridge Number 1: Cleaning and Painting 1930
14/10 West Spokane Street: Street Railway Bridge 1925-1927
15/1 West Spokane Street Swing Bridge / Drawbridge (Old Howe Truss span) 1924-1928
15/2 West Spokane Street Swing Bridge or Drawbridge: Report n.d.
15/3 State Highway System within Seattle: Maps 1957-1961
15/4 State Highway System (includes amended 1929 Kroll maps and undated King County maps) n.d.
15/5 State Highway System 1929-1953
15/6 State Highways: Educational Seminar Papers 1957
15/7 Stimson Triangle (Pine Street at Fourth and Westlake) 1929-1935
15/8 Street Name Changes: Ordinances and Maps 1935-1962
15/9 Streets: "Definitions and Standards for the Urban Highway and Street System" 1960
15/10 Sultan River Project 1929-1931
15/11 Tax Title Sales 1952-1954
15/12 Tax Title Sales 1955-1957
15/13 Tax Title Sales 1958-1959
15/14 Tax Title Sales 1960-1962
15/15 Twenty-third Avenue West and West Garfield Street Trestle Bridge 1924-1925
15/16 North Thirty-Fourth St. from Fremont Avenue to Stone Way: Widening Bridge 1924-1927
16/1 University Bridge 1918-1932
16/2 University Bridge Approaches 1929-1933
16/3 University Bridge Approaches: Maps and Drawings 1916-1929
16/4 University Bridge Widening 1932
16/5 West Spokane Street Deeds 1914-1916
16/5 University Street Viaduct / Trestle 1945-1967
16/6 University of Washington Approach 1924-1945
16/7 Variance: Zoning (including map of Montlake Interchange) 1961
16/8 Veterans Housing (includes photographs) 1946
16/9 Volunteer Park 1940
16/10 Washington Park: Arboretum Agreement 1946-1959
16/11 Westlake Avenue Grading (from 7th Ave North to Mercer St.) 1918-1919
16/12 Westlake Avenue Grading Maps 1903-1910
16/13 Westlake Avenue North: Watermains 1929-1930
16/14 Westlake Avenue: Filling 1930
16/15 Works Progress Administration: WPA Slide Control Work Report 1955
16/16 Yesler Way 1890-1911
16/17 Youngstown Place Grade Separation 1929-1930
16/18 Youngstown Place Grade Separation 1930
16/19 Zoning: NE 50th St Widening 1964-1965

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Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

  • Corporate Names :
  • Seattle (Wash.). Engineering Dept.
  • Geographical Names :
  • Seattle (Wash.)
  • Subject Terms :
  • Bridges--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Municipal engineering--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Public utilities--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Roads--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Viaducts--Washington (State)--Seattle
    • Form or Genre Terms :
    • Annual reports
    • Correspondence
    • Drawings
    • Maps
    • Occupations :
    • Municipal engineers--Washington (State)--Seattle

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    Finding aid prepared by Anne Frantilla
    ©2004