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Building History

The Boston engineering firm of Stone and Webster designed this reinforced-concrete industrial building operated by the utility, the Seattle Electric Company. The former brick layer and later efficiency engineer, Frank B. Gilbreth (1868-1924), supervised the construction process. The municipal utility, Seattle City Light, bought the plant in 1951 and operated it until 1972.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) listed the Georgetown Steam Plant on its Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks inventory in 1980. It said of this facility: "The Georgetown Steam Plant, a surprisingly complete and operable steam power plant after a career of nearly seventy-five years, was built in the early 1900s when Seattle's inexpensive hydroelectric power attracted manufacturers. Much of the power produced at this plant operated the streetcars. It marks the beginning of the end of the reciprocating steam engine's domination in the growing field of electrical energy generation for lighting and power. The plant's three Curtis turbines, manufactured by the General Electric Company between 1906 and 1917, represent the first two generations of this American innovation. The design of the Curtis turbines established the steam turbine as a practical and compact prime mover, capable of producing large amounts of power. The Curtis steam generator was smaller, had three times the power, and operated more cheaply and smoothly than current-day generators." (See American Society of Mechanical Engineers.org, "#45 Georgetown Steam Plant," accessed 08/29/2022.)

The Seattle Electric Company erected the state-of-the-art steam plant in 1906. Six years later, the Puget Sound Traction and Lighting Company purchased the Seattle Electric Company and took over control of this facility. According to the ASME website: "The [Puget Sound Traction and Lighting Company] plant supplied power to the Seattle-to-Tacoma Interurban and Seattle streetcars as well as residential and industrial power to Georgetown. Unlike many early boiler plants originally designed to burn coal and later converted to oil or gas, the Georgetown Plant began as an oil-fired plant only to be converted to a coal-fired plant in 1917 when oil had been in short supply. Fortunately, the plant had already made provisions for coal firing in the original design so all that was needed was conveyors and ash removal facilities." (See American Society of Mechanical Engineers.org, "#45 Georgetown Steam Plant," accessed 08/29/2022.)

Building Notes

The Seattle Electric Company's Georgetown Steam Plant was named a National Historic Landmark in 07/05/1984.

Alteration

Efforts led by Paul Carosino and Lilly Tellefson to renovate the Georgetown Steam Plant and to reuse it as a museum began in 04/1995.