Historical Note
The Public Utilities Department was created in 1908 to regulate utility
companies -- including telephone, telegraph, railway, gas, sewers, and electric
utilities -- doing business in the City of Seattle. A Superintendent of Public
Utilities was appointed to oversee all franchise work in the City, keeping
records of start and end dates on jobs as well as maps and drawings showing the
location of each utility. The Superintendent also dealt with franchise
applications, submitting applications regarding each to the Board of Public
Works.
The department also administered the Municipal Street Railway System
from 1919 until 1932, when the Public Utilities Department was abolished.
Content Description
Annual reports are quite lengthy and include reports on railroad
franchise applications as well as other franchise obligations, including street
railways and cable lines. Power lines and telephone service are also discussed.
Included as appendices are lists of related legislation (both pending and
passed) relating to public utilities, as well as other statistics on telephone,
lighting, and heating systems.
The 1912 report, which is published, contains photographs of the Weights
and Measures Division. Pictured are scales and scale testing, short weight milk
bottles, relative weight of packaged and bulk goods, and relative weight of
ten-cent loaves of bread. Weights and Measures are discussed in every
report.
The 1913 report also includes photographs of the business district and
testing gas meters. The 1915 report includes photographs of the Holgate Street
Bridge, Pike Street Footbridge, Seattle Boulevard Viaduct, Lander Street
Bridge, and Wheeler Street Bridge. The reports for the years 1918-1922 contain
discussion of jitney services. In the 1923 report, traffic regulation and speed
of street railway transportation are discussed, as are telephone, traffic and
gas issues.
Superintendents of the Public Utilities Department included: A.V.
Bouillon (1908); A.L. Valentine (1908-); Thomas Murphine (1918?-); Carl H.
Reeves (1919?); George Russell (-1923); C.R. Jackson (1923-); and A.E. Pierce
(acting superintendent; 1931?).
Researchers should note that Municipal Street Railway System annual
reports are in a separate series.