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Seattle City Light Property Management Records, 1910-1992

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle City Light
Title
Seattle City Light Property Management Records
Dates
1910-1992 (inclusive)
Quantity
6.8 cubic feet, (8 boxes)
Collection Number
1202-07
Summary
Records of the division that manages Seattle City Light properties
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
Sponsor
Funding for processing this record series was provided through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

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 was 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 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.

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Content Description

Subject files, correspondence, maps and property records, including title information, agreements, leases, easements, appraisals, and photographs, regarding City Light power sites and other properties. Sites include Boundary Dam, Cedar Falls hydroelectric project and transmission lines; Kiket Island in Skagit County, the site for a proposed, but not built, nuclear power plant; a Tukwila site for a proposed, but not built, substation to serve the Southcenter shopping mall; the Lake Union Steam plant and its cleanup; Thunder Creek in the Skagit River basin, and Samish Island

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle City Light Property Management Records , Record Series 1202-07. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged into three series: Subject Files and Correspondence, Real Property Records, and Maps.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Boundary Dam (Wash.)
  • Electric lines--Washington (State)
  • Lake Union Steam Plant (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Overhead electric lines Right of way--Washington (State)
  • Real property--Washington (State)

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.) Lighting Dept.
  • Seattle City Light
  • Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation, Washington

Geographical Names

  • Cedar Falls (Wash.)
  • Kiket Island (Wash.)
  • Seattle (Wash.)
  • Tukwila (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Maps
  • Photographic prints

Finding aid prepared by Janet Ness
2010

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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