Steam Plant Facility: The Beginning
The original Hydro House, 1914
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In 1905, Seattle's increasing use of electricity was about to outstrip its capacity to supply power for the growing city. City Light Superintendent, J. D. Ross, proposed building a new hydroelectric plant that would "furnish an abundance of power at the lowest rates in order that we may bring new industries, both large and small, to Seattle." Gathering financing for the new City Light Steam Plant would take some time. Meanwhile, a new Hydro House was designed to meet the city's growing demands for power.
City architect and Hydro House designer, Daniel Huntington, devised a system whereby water from the Volunteer Park Reservoir would be harnessed to spin turbines that would power the generator. In only eleven months, and at the approximate cost of $30,000, the Hydro House was built as an emergency power source on the south shore of Lake Union. Reservoir water plunged down a 412-foot vertical drop through a 40-inch pipe that ran to the small wooden structure below.
Steam Plant site on Lake Union, 1914
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In 1908, Seattle announced plans to construct the new Steam Plant adjacent to the Hydro House, wedged into the busy industrial corridor that included the Ford Motor Assembly Plant (the present Shurgard Building), the Lake Union Dry-dock, the Coolidge Propeller Company, and William Boeing's seaplane hanger.
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