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Seattle Municipal Archives Finding Aids

Seattle

 Subject
Subject Source: Nwda

Found in 262 Collections and/or Records:

Adolph Krug Audit Records

 Series
Identifier: 1802-J8
Scope and Contents note Adolph Krug was elected City Treasurer in 1892. On September 12, 1893, he left town with over $100,000 in City funds. The City hired legal assistance three days later in an effort to find Krug and recover the funds. Ordinance 3029 passed on September 27, providing for his prosecution, and noted that that $295,292.70 was entrusted to Krug "over and above all sums lawfully paid out by him as said City Treasurer." The money was deposited in banks, loaned, converted to cash, and some of it...
Dates: 1891-1916

Air Pollution Control Advisory Board Minutes

 Series
Identifier: 1802-L1
Abstract

Meeting minutes from the Air Pollution Control Advisory Board, which served in an advisory capacity to the City Council on air pollution issues.

Dates: 1955-1967

Annexation Certificates

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1803-02
Scope and Contents note

Certification by the Secretary of State that abstracts of proceedings relating to annexation have been filed with the State. Includes abstracts of Seattle City Council meetings, petitions, resolutions, ordinances, and votes cast in annexation elections.

Dates: 1908-1909

Appointments and Oaths of Office

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1802-A3
Scope and Contents note

Samples of appointments and oaths of office for officials, employees, and board/commission members whose positions required this formal process. About half the oaths are for "special policemen," who were often people who worked in amusement places or taverns, or who handled money or valuables as part of their jobs. Large numbers of special policeman and emergency patrolman appointments were made during periods of labor unrest such as the 1919 general strike.

Dates: 1911-1936

Assessed Valuations

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1802-A4
Scope and Contents note

Reports of assessed valuations and tax rates for cities, towns, and special taxing districts in King County; and certificates of assessed valuations for the City of Seattle.

Dates: 1902-1984

Assessment Roll Index

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1804-07
Scope and Contents note

Index to Treasurer's Local Improvement District assessment rolls including districts for the annexed cities. Contains alphabetical listing of street or addition, district number, ordinance, and assessment roll volume number.

Dates: 1891-1911

Building Code Advisory Board Minutes

 Series
Identifier: 1802-L3
Scope and Contents note The Building Code Advisory Board was established by ordinance in 1953 to provide public review and comment on a major revision to the city's building code. It continued to research code issues and give recommendations to the City Council throughout its existence. Board members included architects, engineers, contractors, building managers, and representatives from organized labor and the general public. In 1992, the board merged with the Electrical Code Advisory Board to become the...
Dates: 1954-1972

Campaign Finance Reports

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1802-A6
Scope and Contents note Financial and public interest reports filed by candidates for political office, PACs, or other organizations actively working in political campaigns. Reports are arranged chronologically by election and then alphabetically by candidate name. The only substantial gap in records is from 1908-1913. Prior to 1976, candidates were required to file statements of campaign expenses immediately following the election. Later reports are under jurisdiction of the Ethics and Elections Commission and are...
Dates: 1907-1967

Carolyn Hamilton Collection

 Series
Identifier: 9935-01
Scope and Contents note

Two photographs of Carolyn Hamilton's father, Arthur Herman Vagts with a Wallingford streetcar in 1918.

Dates: 1918

Cedar River Watershed Cooperative Agreement Records

 Series
Identifier: 1802-K4
Scope and Contents note Seattle began exploring the use of the Cedar River as a water source in the 1890s. A dam was built at Landsburg and water sent through a 29-mile pipeline to reservoirs in Seattle's Volunteer Park and Lincoln reservoirs. The first water from the Cedar River was delivered to Seattle in 1901. A second pipeline was built in 1909 and a third in 1923. In 1924, the City began the process of managing the watershed with the goal of ensuring water quality for the long term. In 1962, landowners signed...
Dates: 1961-1987

Certificates of Nomination

 Series
Identifier: 1802-B1
Scope and Contents note

Certificates identifying candidates nominated to run in city elections. Elections up through 1910 were partisan and certificates were filed by political parties. Following a charter amendment in 1910, all municipal elections were non-partisan.

Dates: 1896-1924

Chauncey W. Ferris Correspondence

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1800-08
Scope and Contents note

Correspondence of Chauncey W. Ferris, the first Comptroller of Seattle. Also includes correspondence from Ferris' tenure as City Clerk (1889-1890).

Dates: 1889-1892

City Council Bill Books

 Series
Identifier: 1801-77
Scope and Contents note Council Bill Books are materials before Council during Full Council Meetings to assist in the decision making process. The Bill Books can contain lists of council bills for introduction and referral, copies of council bills, exhibits for council bills, and analyses prepared by central staff on specific issues. Background materials for Clerk Files and Resolutions can also be included. Additional non-legislative items may be included as well, depending on the agenda; biographical data on...
Dates: 1997-2020

City Employees Retirement System Board of Administration Minutes

 Series
Identifier: 1802-L5
Scope and Contents note

The Board of Administration of the City Employees Retirement System (CERS) oversees the city's pension program for its employees. The retirement system, including its Board of Administration, was established by ordinance in 1929. Meeting minutes discuss benefits, insurance, investments, disability stipends, and program administration.

Dates: 1953-1992

City Light News Clippings Scrapbooks

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1201-04
Scope and Contents note These scrapbooks are a collection of newspaper clippings in date order about Seattle City Light as well as national and international news regarding hydroelectric power and electricity. Some repeated topics include: City Light rates, wages, Works Progress Administration funding, advertisements, the proposed consolidation of City Light and Puget Sound Power and Light, promotions, retirements, and the Skagit River Project. Volume 1 contains clippings from 1935 to 1936. Volume 2 contains...
Dates: 1924-1970; 1935-1949

City Officials Project

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1802-07
Scope and Contents note

This project was designed to compile lists of all department heads and elected officials, including dates of service, from creation of a City agency to the present. Completed lists include Mayors, City Council, City Attorney, Comptroller, Treasurer, Police Chief, Parks Superintendent, and Superintendent of Lighting. Also included are notes from City Charters relating to City officials and departments.

Dates: 1869-1988

City Operations and Utilities Committee Records

 Series
Identifier: 4630-03
Scope and Contents note

Committee agendas, voting records, background materials, and draft legislation relating to municipal utilities and other city-wide municipal operations.

Dates: 1982-1983

City Seal Documents

 Series
Identifier: 1802-E9
Scope and Contents note

Correspondence, copies of ordinances, newspaper articles, and graphic materials related to the official seal of the City of Seattle. Included are records of proposals for new official seals, previous seals, and the art work from a City-sponsored contest to create a new seal. The current official seal was adopted in 1937.

Dates: 1899-1982

Civil Service Classification Commission Study

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1802-A9
Scope and Contents note

Correspondence, minutes, salary schedules, and job descriptions related to "properly" classifying the positions in Seattle's civil service system. The commission met for nearly three years before submitting its final report.

Dates: 1915-1917

Civil Service Commission Classification Specifications

 Series
Identifier: 1802-A7
Scope and Contents note

Job classification specifications compiled by Public Administration Service for the Civil Service Commission. Includes a schematic list of civil service job titles and a set of classification specifications that defines, illustrates, and evaluates the duties of the positions in each class.

Dates: 1938

Clerk File Index

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1802-02
Scope and Contents note An automated index is maintained by the Office of the City Clerk. It includes Clerk File number, title, date introduced to City Council, date filed with the City Clerk, and, if applicable, City Council committee reviewing the file, date of City Council action, and vote. The old manual back-up indexes date from 1904-1992 and include five volumes for the years 1904-1947 and a card file for 1947 to the present. The volumes are indexed alphabetically with five subheadings for each alphabetical...
Dates: 1904-2017

Clerk File Logbooks

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1802-03
Scope and Contents note

This numerical log beginning with CF number 1 (1895) includes number, description of the file, filing date, disposition of the file when City Council action is required, and, more recently, committee referrals. Formerly called Comptroller File Logbooks.

Dates: 1895-1992

Code Collection

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1801-88
Scope and Contents note

Collection of various City codes filed with the City Clerk. Includes building, plumbing, electrical, fire, zoning, boiler, flammable liquid, and mechanical codes, among others. Also includes standard specifications and the 1936 compilation of general ordinances.

Dates: 1901-1991

Robert Moran Correspondence

 Series
Identifier: 5255-01
Scope and Contents note

Mayoral correspondence dealing especially with fire protection services and equipment. Moran was mayor during and immediately after the fire that destroyed Seattle's commercial district in 1889.

Dates: 1889-1890

Clerical Department Correspondence

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 1810-01
Scope and Contents note

Correspondence of Comptroller Will H. Parry in his capacity as City Clerk. Includes an index. Also included in the volume is an inventory of records and equipment stored in the City Clerk's records' vaults.

Dates: 1896