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Seattle
Municipal Light and Power Plant's initial capacity of 3500 kilowatts was increased to 13,500 kilowatts by 1910, and further improvements brought capacity to 40,000 kilowatts. Residents of the city paid one of the country's lowest electrical rates per kilowatt hour, more than half the rate charged by the private firm Seattle Electric Company (renamed
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although a serious forest fire in 1922 burned many of its structures. Two bungalow-style dormitories and a boarding house replaced the bunkhouse, kitchen, and mess hall in 1912. The streets of the City Light company town were lit by five-globe cluster street lights. In the 1910s, a gymnasium with a pool was built near the community gardens.
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The district is within the Cedar River
Watershed which provides two-thirds of Seattle's water. A 37-mile transmission line connects the power station to Seattle. The primary components of the historic district are the masonry dam build in 1914, the hydro-generating station added in the 1920s, and the
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In 1912, voters approved $ 1.4 million in bonds to construct a masonry dam which would collect more water and stabilize seasonal fluctuations in the flow. The dam was approved by the Board of Public Works at Ross's urging, despite concerns from geologists about the integrity of the north side of the
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added a sawmill at the lake mouth to provide milled lumber for the dam and other components, cutting about 2,000,000 board feet of lumber. When the natural level of Cedar Lake was raised 18 feet in 1903, it created a reservoir, and a secondary reservoir, Masonry Pool, was formed when the masonry dam
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Automation reduced the number of on-site employees needed. Houses and outbuildings were removed throughout the 1960s as the number of on-site employees decreased. The 1913 log shelter for fire patrols and timber cruisers was relocated in 1963 to serve as an interpretive display. In 1996, only three
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The population of
Seattle grew rapidly from 3500 in 1880 to 237,000 in 1910, and the city needed to provide power to its population. Electricity was first used for street lights, and then for electric railways. Ultimately, private customers were provided electricity for lighting and appliances. The
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The power plant site was cleared in 1902. The original plant was a timber-framed powerhouse with seven bays. Behind it was the transformer house, built of concrete and stone. The transformer house was equipped with nine step-up transformers. The concrete and stone switch house was built behind the
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The early construction camp in 1908 included a kitchen, mess hall, bunkhouse, cottages, a foreman's house, and outbuildings. Camp Two was established in 1911, housing around two hundred workers at the height of construction. It remained in service, housing employees and loggers, into the 1930s,
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A second penstock pipeline, two larger generators, two inflow turbines, and a second transmission line to
Seattle were added by 1908. The powerhouse was enlarged to 50 by 200 feet (15 m × 61 m) to house the new equipment, and a second switch house was built.
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residences and two large garage structures remained. The Cedar River
Watershed Education Center had a groundbreaking ceremony in March 2000. The power plant is owned and operated by the City of Seattle. The Seattle Water Department owns and operates the townsite.
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during a major project to improve the masonry dam. It took four years to build the masonry dam which had a height of 215 feet (66 m) and width of nearly 1,000 feet (300 m). The crib dam was breached after a new overflow dike was built downstream.
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that turned two 1,200-kilowatt generators. The generators supplied power to the light bulbs in the powerhouse for the first time on
October 7, 1904, and to the city of Seattle by January 31, 1905, through the newly established Seattle City Light.
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The first timber dam on the Cedar River raised the river's level by 18 feet (5.5 m). The water was directed by the dam into an 49 inches (1,200 mm) diameter pipeline that was 15,407 feet (4,696 m) long and connected to a steel
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developed blueprints for the infrastructure and submitted them to
Thomson. In 1903, Ross was appointed assistant city engineer and chief electrical engineer for Seattle, developing both the Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant and the
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The demand for power grew beyond the capacity of the original dam, power plant, and single transmission line, even though the amount produced by Cedar Falls by 1908 was four times the amount established in its original design.
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In 1921, a 15,000-kilowatt unit expanded the capacity of the original units. Another 15,000-kilowatt unit was added in 1929. In 1930, the original generators were removed and sent variously to
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was constructed in 1914. Camp One was relocated in 1914 due to rising water in the
Masonry Pool. There are no structures remaining at either of the Camp One sites. Cedar Lake was later renamed
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company town. More recent additions, such as administrative buildings for
Seattle Water, are within the district boundaries but do not contribute to its historic status.
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was the first publicly-owned electrical generating plant for
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transformer house. Northwest of the powerhouse was a wood-framed workshop. An oil house on the hill above the plant provided oil to the transformers via
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Seattle eventually purchased 91,000 acres of the upper Cedar River watershed to protect the water supply by prohibiting public access.
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in 1902. The crib dam was 250 feet (76 m) long with a central spillway. In the 1980s, the crib dam was used as a
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In 1902, city engineer Thomson proposed a hydroelectric plant below Cedar Falls that could eventually provide 25,000
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573:"National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant"
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631:"Cedar Falls hydroelectric plant begins lighting Seattle streets on January 10, 1905"
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University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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701:. Seattle, Wash: History Ink, in association with University of Washington Press.
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Hydroelectric plant sources that contribute to the historic registration are:
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732:"Visiting Seattle's off-limits watershed to learn about climate change"
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Penstock valve house, also known as the lower gate house, built in 1914
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Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
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List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
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Penstocks and supports built in 1920s with material replaced in 1950s
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Townsite sources that contribute to the historic registration are:
778:", 36 photos, 21 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
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in honor of a longtime Seattle Water Department superintendent.
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National Register of Historic Places in King County, Washington
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Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Works, Cedar Falls, King County, WA
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Power for the people : a history of Seattle City Light
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Historic American Engineering Record in Washington (state)
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Transformer yard and switch yard foundations built c.1920
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The first component of the hydroelectric works was a
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
873:List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state
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500:Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
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464:lake bed. In 1915, the new dam caused a rise in
348:Open spandrel concrete arch bridge built in 1914
1265:National Register of Historic Places portal
486:The first construction camp became the town of
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413:Bridge remnant at the power plant from c.1940
443:. The water flowed from the penstock to two
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239:, is a public hydroelectric plant near
233:Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant
27:Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant
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523:"National Register Information System"
360:Concrete powerhouse built in 1921-1928
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404:Howe truss bridge remnant from c.1915
401:Circulation pattern from 1904 to 1932
772:Historic American Engineering Record
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571:Florence K. Lentz (September 1996).
528:National Register of Historic Places
410:Charles Thompson House built in 1922
398:Tennis court added in the late 1910s
357:Powerhouse foundations built in 1904
339:Controlling gate house built in 1914
253:National Register of Historic Places
730:Alcorn, Jason (September 9, 2015).
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375:Three early penstocks built in 1908
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1228:National Historic Preservation Act
660:"Cedar Falls -- Thumbnail History"
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433:Skagit River Hydroelectric Project
383:Allen Thompson House built in 1929
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389:Warehouse and stable built c.1910
369:City Light building built in 1932
197:City of Seattle Engineering Dept.
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658:Stein, Alan J. (June 27, 1917).
629:Lange, Greg (January 10, 1905).
498:, Seattle Water Department, and
386:Heavy timber garage built c.1920
366:Stone switch house built in 1908
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766:Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Works
407:Fred Harman House built in 1917
342:Power tunnel built in 1912-1914
1181:Federated States of Micronesia
827:Architectural style categories
336:Masonry dam built in 1912-1914
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79:Show map of Washington (state)
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237:Cedar Falls Historic District
104:Show map of the United States
16:United States historic place
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261:Puget Sound Power and Light
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1233:Historic Preservation Fund
1212:American Legation, Morocco
606:Invention & Technology
602:"Cedar Falls Water Supply"
445:Pelton impulse waterwheels
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117:20030 Cedar Falls Rd. SE,
52:Cedar Falls crib dam, 1903
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1321:Cedar River (Washington)
1155:Northern Mariana Islands
774:(HAER) No. WA-15, "
590:74 accompanying pictures
392:City cabin built in 1913
202:Architectural style
147:47.419298°N 121.781868°W
1306:Seattle City Light dams
1316:Dams completed in 1904
1150:Minor Outlying Islands
1133:Lists by insular areas
847:Keeper of the Register
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328:Contributing resources
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241:North Bend, Washington
152:47.419298; -121.781868
119:North Bend, Washington
852:National Park Service
832:Contributing property
697:Wilma, David (2010).
577:National Park Service
533:National Park Service
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205:industrial vernacular
174:88 acres (36 ha)
1207:District of Columbia
768:at Wikimedia Commons
535:. November 2, 2013.
289:Reginald H. Thomson
247:. The plant on the
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496:Seattle City Light
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428:James Delmage Ross
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294:Chester Morse Lake
245:Seattle City Light
226:September 11, 1997
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837:Historic district
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708:978-0-295-98576-3
490:. It was a joint-
477:Ketchikan, Alaska
315:Employee cottages
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741:February 12,
739:. Retrieved
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667:. Retrieved
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640:February 10,
638:. Retrieved
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611:February 10,
609:. Retrieved
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1200:Other areas
1160:Puerto Rico
994:Mississippi
909:Connecticut
669:January 24,
582:January 23,
488:Cedar Falls
267:Description
249:Cedar River
150: /
137:121°46′55″W
125:Coordinates
1290:Categories
1109:Washington
1029:New Mexico
1024:New Jersey
899:California
509:References
459:1915 flood
424:horsepower
156: (
134:47°25′09″N
1119:Wisconsin
1084:Tennessee
989:Minnesota
964:Louisiana
717:613433169
255:in 1997.
1275:Category
1104:Virginia
1054:Oklahoma
1034:New York
1009:Nebraska
999:Missouri
984:Michigan
974:Maryland
959:Kentucky
939:Illinois
914:Delaware
904:Colorado
894:Arkansas
470:Edgewick
441:penstock
217:97001077
194:Built by
114:Location
1221:Related
1124:Wyoming
1099:Vermont
1004:Montana
944:Indiana
924:Georgia
919:Florida
889:Arizona
879:Alabama
418:History
184: (
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1014:Nevada
954:Kansas
929:Hawaii
884:Alaska
820:Topics
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481:Brazil
281:coffer
1191:Palau
1089:Texas
969:Maine
934:Idaho
588:With
179:Built
1145:Guam
1094:Utah
1049:Ohio
949:Iowa
743:2021
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