The City Planning Commission was created in 1924 to prepare plans and gather data for the development of the City, to advise City Council on current problems and long range planning, and to participate in administration of the City's Zoning Ordinance. An independent nine-member commission was established with adoption of a new City Charter in 1946. It was provided with authority to hire as needed to carry out its planning and advisory functions. The Planning Commission also administered the Board of Adjustment following its creation in 1957.
The city planning process was reorganized in 1980 and the Commission's planning function was transferred to the Department of Community Development. The current Commission is an advisory agency that reviews development plans and reports to the Mayor and City Council. It is composed of 15 members, all of whom must be Seattle citizens.
The Planning Commission photographs date from 1945 to 1957; most of the photographs are undated. The photographs depict neighborhoods, homes, parks, highways, moorages and marinas, and aerial views of Seattle and surrounding areas. Some photographs are related to land use. A selection of photographs of a display is included; the photographs show display materials on the topic of city and neighborhood planning. Some display materials in the collection may be related to the 1953 convention of the American Institute of Architects, which was held in Seattle. Also included are photographs of Kitimat, B.C., and highway photographs made in California. Very few images in the collection are specifically identified.
Photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Records are open to the public.
[Title of image, date. Item number.] Planning Commission Photographs, Record Series 1650-14. Seattle Municipal Archives.
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.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Photographs may have been part of an exhibit or display.
Negatives correspond to prints in 1/8. Notes on box: "City Planning, Albright Show, B.C.P.A. studies, Radburn etc."
Images show maps, including a map of Paris and two German maps; also pictured are aerial views of cities and buildings. Photographs may have been part of an exhibit or display.
Photographs are dated and identified by street name or neighborhood.
Photographs are undated, but in some cases are identified by street names handwritten on prints.
Negatives may correspond to prints in folders 2/6 or 2/7. "Shot with focal-plane shutter."
Included are several items of correspondence, as well as a copy of an architectural drawing of the proposed Civic Center.
Photographs of display materials showing population studies, land use, and topography for Seattle, as well as a map showing data for the Comprehensive Plan.
Included are aerial photographs, images of parks and streets, and traffic images from the California Highway Department.
Included are photographs of people, neighborhoods, homes, parks, roads, and Seattle views.
Included are photographs of people, neighborhoods, homes, parks, roads, and various other Seattle locales.
Included are photographs of neighborhoods, homes, parks, roads, and various other Seattle locales. Some negatives correspond to prints in folder 2/15.
Several images are from the California Highways and Public Works Division; these photographs show traffic and roads in Los Angeles, Petaluma, and Walnut Creek.