The Georgetown Steam Plant was originally created to provide power to some of Seattle's first electric streetcar lines, including the Interurban Railway between Seattle and Tacoma. KOMO photo.

SEATTLE - An open house was held Saturday at Seattle City Light's Georgetown Steam Plant to celebrate its 110th anniversary.

The historic steam plant, near Boeing Field in South Seattle, hails back to the early 1900s and is a National Historic Landmark.



It generated energy for the first time on June 22, 1907 and was built to power Seattle's first electric streetcar lines, including the Interurban Railway between Seattle and Tacoma.

The plant was built by a Boston-based utilities conglomerate, Stone & Webster, which held a dominant position in electricity generation and public transportation in the Seattle area during the early twentieth century.

In 1951, Seattle City Light purchased Stone & Webster's Seattle properties, including the Georgetown facility. The plant has remained largely idle but was kept in operating condition for decades.

The plant was one of the first reinforced concrete structures on the West Coast. Seattle City Light crews are working to restore the building and protect it from inclement weather.



The plant was designated a National Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1980 and was designated a National Historic Landmark and a Seattle Historic Landmark in 1984.



City Light staff and volunteers host free open houses for the public on the second Saturday of each month.