Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for S Spokane AVE S / Parcel ID 7666205660 / Inv # SCL018

Historic Name: South Rectifier Substation Common Name: Style: Art Deco - Streamline Moderne, Modern Neighborhood: Duwamish Built By: Year Built: 1952   Significance This rectifier substation was constructed in 1951-52 in order to convert conventional Alternating Current (AC) to the Direct Current (DC), which powered the Seattle Transit System’s electric trolley buses. More than a decade earlier, the City had converted its electric streetcar system of public transportation to the trolley buses. Since the City’s purchase of the rail lines of the Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Company in 1919, the Municipal Street Railway System had experienced severe financial difficulties, culminating in bankruptcy by 1938. By this time, the system, which consisted of 26 electric streetcar routes, three cable car lines, and 18 gasoline-powered bus lines, was considered archaic and in need of extensive modernization. Under the auspices of the newly created Seattle Transportation Commission, the new Seattle Transit System replaced the streetcars with trolley buses with a loan secured from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1939. The first trolleys began carrying passengers in April 1940, and the last streetcar ended its last run a year later on April 13, 1941. By 1943, the new trolley system had been finalized and used City Light’s inexpensive hydroelectric power. This conversion required an upgrade in the equipment used to power the system, resulting in the construction of the Roxbury and University rectifier substations and the installation of additional equipment at existing City Light facilities, including the North Substation. The difficulty of transmitting Direct Current over long distances required multiple rectifier substations distributed throughout the City. Within ten years, further modernizations were necessary to supply Direct Current to the Transit System with higher efficiency and reduced conversion costs. The modern Mercury Arc rectifiers, which replaced the obsolete rotary equipment, also allowed non-attended operation of conversion facilities. From 1951-1955, City Light added equipment at the new Broad Street Substation and constructed new substations at South, University, North, Avalon, Fremont, Leary, Gatewood, and Olympic Hill. At South, the new rectifier substation was constructed between 1951 and 1952 with one 1000-kilowatt rectifier, providing the 600-volt Direct Current. The electric trolley buses operated throughout the City for another decade until 1963, when diesel buses replaced them north of the Ship Canal and south of Spokane Street. Ten years later, the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) took over the Seattle Transit System, ending over fifty years of municipal control of the City’s public transportation system. This modest utilitarian building is significant for its associations with the municipally owned public transportation system and its modernization during its years of operation.   Appearance Completed in 1952, this typical one-story rectifier substation is situated at the northwest corner of a large site roughly bounded by South Spokane and South Dakota Streets and by 2nd and 4th Avenues South. Now known as the South Service Center, this site contains a number of additional buildings, including a much-altered 1924 warehouse and shops complex located at the northeastern corner and a 1937 receiving substation located along 4th Avenue South. Electrical equipment fills large portions of the fenced site, which covers several city blocks. This reinforced concrete building has a rectangular plan, which measures approximately 38 feet by 34 feet. The Modern design of this flat roof building displays some Streamline Moderne stylistic influences. These include a smooth concrete exterior incised with lines to create strong horizontal bands and a shallow curved roof over the single entrance door on the principal north elevation. Each elevation features two concrete piers, which divide the facade into three bays. This is the only substation with piers on all elevations. The other similar substations have this feature on only two elevations. The coping of the roof parapet is lined with sheet metal. On the north elevation, a tapered diagonal bracket supports the shallow roof over the entrance door within the western bay. The north elevation also has a window opening in the upper section of the eastern bay filled with glass blocks. The west elevation has a similar window opening in the upper section of the northern bay also filled with glass blocks. On the south elevation, the window opening in the lower section of the western bay has been filled with concrete block. The east elevation displays the greatest level of alteration. A modern canopy obscures the streamlined flat roof over the large opening in the center bay. A modern glass and metal entrance door set in a glass wall has replaced the original doors within this opening. An "APPRENTICESHIP ELECTRONICS TRAINING" sign installed on this elevation indicates that the building no longer functions as a substation. Despite these alterations, the building retains good physical integrity.

Detail for S Spokane AVE S / Parcel ID 7666205660 / Inv # SCL018

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Concrete Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat Roof Material(s): Unknown Building Type: Government - Public Works Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Concrete - Poured No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Science & Engineering, Transportation Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Extensive Major Bibliographic References King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Seattle Department of Lighting. Annual report / City of Seattle, Department of Lighting. Seattle, WA: 1910-1974.

Photo collection for S Spokane AVE S / Parcel ID 7666205660 / Inv # SCL018

Photo taken Oct 22, 2000