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

Overview of the Collection

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

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.

Arrangement

Records are arranged alphabetically by subject.

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.

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.

Seattle (Wash.). Engineering Dept.

Seattle (Wash.)

Bridges--Washington (State)--Seattle

Municipal engineering--Washington (State)--Seattle

Public utilities--Washington (State)--Seattle

Roads--Washington (State)--Seattle

Viaducts--Washington (State)--Seattle

Annual reports

Correspondence

Drawings

Maps

Municipal engineers--Washington (State)--Seattle

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

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

Overview of the Collection

Repository Name:

Collection Number:

Creator:

Title:

Dates:

Quantity:

Languages:

Summary:

Historical Note

Content Description

Arrangement

Use of the Collection

Subjects

Detailed Description of the Collection

Seattle Department of Engineering Court Engineering Records, 1890-1967

Container(s)

Description

Dates