Historical Note
Seattle 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 to
1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. In 1902,
Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar
River under the administration of the Water Department. Electricity from this
development began to serve Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910
created the Lighting Department. Under the leadership of Superintendent James
D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River hydroelectric project, which
began supplying power in 1924. Both public and private power were supplied to
Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the private electrical power supply
operations, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary
Project in northern Washington began operation in 1967 and currently supplies
over half of City Light's power generation. Approximately ten percent of City
Light's income comes from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the
Northwest and Southwest. The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978
when the Department was reorganized.
Lack of rainfall in the western Columbia Plateau meant its farmland was
difficult to work and yielded little. A plan for irrigation was necessary;
however, the question of how to irrigate generated controversy for many years.
While some favored a gravity canal irrigation system, others felt that a dam on
the Columbia River at Grand Coulee was the best option. The dam supporters
eventually won out when a 1932 Army Corps of Engineers survey supported their
position, suggesting several dams on the Columbia River -- including the Grand
Coulee Dam.
The dam was begun in 1933 with Public Works Administration funds.
Although its initial purpose was to irrigate Central Washington farmlands, upon
the dam's completion in 1942, it was used primarily to produce electricity
needed for the war effort. After the war, the initial function of irrigation
continued.
The 550-foot structure is North America's largest concrete dam and is
used both for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The Grand Coulee
Dam is a popular tourist attraction.
Content Description
The photograph album and accompanying map show proposed dam sites on the
Columbia River and other areas in the Columbia basin. Pictured are valleys,
plains, rivers, and gorges, an underground tunnel, and a footbridge across a
gorge; men appear in some photographs. Included are photographs of proposed
sites for Grand Coulee and "Z" Canyon dams, as well as "Z" Canyon, Latah Creek
Valley, the city of Spokane, the Spokane River, and the Clark Fork of the Pend
Oreille River. Several of the photographs are panoramas, and a detailed caption
accompanies each photograph.
A set of images at the end of the album are copies of photographs made
for Col. Hugh L. Cooper, circa 1916; many show the same or similar scenes as
the 1933 photographs.
The album appears to have been prepared for J.D. Ross.