Fremont Bridge before re-decking, 1936. Engineering Dept. Photographic Negatives. Seattle Municipal Archives.
The Seattle 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.
The images in this collection, taken by the Seattle Engineering Department, illustrate bridges, overpasses, and viaducts in the Seattle area as well as work that the Engineering Department performed on the structures. Structural materials, signs, neighboring businesses, Engineering Department employees at work, streetcars, and waterways are depicted in the photographs. Neighborhoods include the Industrial District, University District, and Downtown.
Photographs are pasted on black paper and each page is labeled and
dated. The sizes of the prints vary from 3 1/2 x 5 to 5 x7. The majority of the
images are available online.
Photographs are grouped according to neighborhood and arranged alphabetically by neighborhood name.
Records are open to the public.
[Title of image, date. Item number.] Seattle Engineering Department Bridge Photographs, Record Series 2613-23. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.
Pages were removed from albums and placed in folders.
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.