City Light Moving Images
Series, 1204-05
- Record Group
- 1200-00
- Dates
- 1925 – 2011
- Extent
- 1,000 items
- Description
- Moving images created by or for Seattle City Light depicts various activities and facilities at the department. The footage includes finished productions, raw footage, and outtakes. Public service announcements are also included and cover subjects about electricity conservation and safety, and City Light's apprenticeship training program.
Other content documents the history of Seattle City Light along with the planning and construction of various projects including substations, transmission towers, and the Lighting Design Lab. Of note is footage covering the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, including history, construction, tourism opportunities, promotional materials, facility operations, as well as the employees living and working in the region.
Workplace culture at the department is illustrated through a variety of mediums including training videos, employee recognition, awards programs, celebrations, employee forums, and video newsletters including Switches, Connections, Network on TV (NTV) and Netline.
Finished productions by City Light include "Million Horsepower Skagit" (1941) about the Skagit dam and power system, and "More Power to You" (1950) about the Skagit and the making of hydroelectric power. Several films document annual golfing outings of the Electric Golf League (1952 to 1978). An outside production entitled "How will You Rate in '58 on the 'Live Better Electrically' Selling Scale?" (1957) is by Jack DeNove Productions and stars Ronald Reagan.
Film and videotape formats include primarily 16mm, 1-inch Type C, 3/4" U-matic, Betacam SP, DVCAM, MiniDV, DVCPro and VHS. Item-level description and digital content, when available, is on the Digital Collections site.
The Seattle City Light Communications Division supported preservation and access to many items in this record series.