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Overview

This electric substation received power from the Cedar Fall Dam, the first municipally-operated hydroelectric power system in the United States. Erected in 1904-1905, it circulated electric current from the dam in a suitable voltage for domestic uses. This facilty operated until 1963, when it was demolished to make room for US Interstate 5.

Building History

This was the first power substation transmitting electricity from the Cedar River Dam hydroelectric plant to consumers in the city. By 1900, Seattle had been growing very rapidly for a decade, and its needs for electrical power were being met by a private entity called the "Seattle Electric Company," controlled by the Boston streetcar, infrastructure construction and power company, Stone and Webster. During the 1890s, Stone and Webster had been enticed to expand into the Pacific Northwest because of its great abundance of river water, uneven terrain and waterfalls to dam for hydroelectric purposes. It came to own eight Seattle electric street car lines by 1900, and in that year obtained a 50-year contract from the City of Seattle to generate private electricity to its inhabitants.

Popular dissatisfaction with the service and prices of the Seattle Electric Company led public advocates during the Progressive Era to argue for the development of a city-owned electric utility. In 03/1902, a city referendum passed by a seven-to-one vote chartering the existence of the Seattle City Light and Power Company to challenge the hegemony of Stone and Webster's monopoly.

In 1893-1894, Seattle's City Engineer, Reginald Heber Thomson (1856-1949) and his deputy, George Cotterill (1865-1958), began scouting locations for a sufficient mountain river to utilize for the city's water supply. Thomson recognized that the 45-mile Cedar River, that flowed from its source in the Cascade Mountains past Maple Valley and Renton into the southern end of Puget Sound, could provide both clean drinking water and hydroelectric power well into the future. He convinced Seattle authorities to purchase approximately 90,000 acres of land composing what became the "Cedar River Municipal Watershed." Development within the watershed was forbidden in order to maintain the volume and purity of Cedar River water for the Seattle citizens.

Thomson, who began to regrade the City of Seattle's street system during the 1890s, never shrank from a large infrastructure task, and the construction of dams, reservoirs and 30 miles of pipes to carry water to the city qualified as a big job. Added to this, he convinced city authorities in 1899 to build a first dam from which inexpensive hydroelectric power could be generated. This was followed by a second in 1902. Construction of these two dams laid the foundation for the ambitious establishment of the Seattle City Light and Power Company in 1902.

Seattle City Light erected this substation as the high voltage power lines emanating from the Cedar River dams neared the city in 1904-1905. The substation transformed the high-voltage current generated at the Cedar Falls Power Plant to 120-volt current usable in domestic and most commercial settings.

Building Notes

This small substation had an exotic look, with domes (each with a cupola) set at the square structure's four corners. On the main floor, openings were arched. The second story had Gothic arches. It was designed to be noticed, not to disappear into its urban contect.

Prior to 09/14/2020, PCAD provided an erroneous date for the first Seattle CIty Light and Power Substation of 1910. It should have dated to 1905. (Thank you to Joe Mabel for pointing out this mistake to the author via email, 09/13/2020.)

Demolition

The Seattle City Light and Power Substation #1 stood in the direct path of US Interstate 5 as it snaked its way through Downtown Seattle. It was razed in 1963, when another, nuclear bomb-proof, Seattle City Light Operations Control Center was built near Seattle Center to replace it.

PCAD id: 14582