| Historic Name: |
SW Spokane Street Pump Station |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts, Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
West Seattle Junction |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1929 |
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| Significance |
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The Seattle Water Department constructed this brick pump station in 1928-29 as a replacement for an older pump station located down the hill to the east at West Spokane Street and Harbor Avenue SW. By 1910, the Water Department had completed a pumping station at the base of the West Seattle ridge. This facility was built to pump water from the Beacon Hill reservoirs still under construction up to the six new wooden tanks located at 40th Avenue SW and SW Charleston Street also completed by 1910. In 1918, three more wooden tanks were built on the SW Charleston Street site. Around the same time, an additional 50,000-gallon wooden tank had also been erected for emergency purposes on SW Thistle Street between 37th and 39th Avenues SW. In 1919, a new 500,000-gallon steel tank was constructed at 36th Avenue SW and SW Myrtle Street. As early as 1916, the Water Department had recognized the need for two reservoirs in West Seattle and had acquired a large tract of land in the vicinity of SW Cloverdale Street and 8th Avenue SW for the purpose of constructing one of them. Despite the purchase of the land in 1916, the first reservoir at 8th Avenue SW and SW Trenton Street was not completed until 1932.
By the early 1920s, it was apparent that West Seattle had the poorest and most unreliable water supply of any portion of the city more than ten years after its 1907 annexation. The Water Department began a program of improvement in order to give West Seattle an adequate and reliable supply of Cedar River water. This included a tunnel under the West Waterway near Michigan Street, new steel water mains, two new standpipes for low and intermediate service, and a new pump station at 6th Avenue SW and SW Kenyon Street. After the completion of the above improvements, the Water Department decided to replace its first West Seattle pump station. In early 1928, the Water Department acquired a suitable site at 33rd Avenue SW and SW Spokane Street, and put a new pump station into service the following year. The automatically controlled electric power pump station doubled the capacity of the existing pump station. Within five years, however, a new hydraulic pump station at 4th Avenue SW and SW Trenton Street had taken over the primary pumping functions of this facility.
The hydraulic pump station had been completed in 1934 on a site adjacent to twin 1,1930,000-gallon standpipes constructed in 1932 in conjunction with the 68,000,000-gallon West Seattle Reservoir. After the SW Trenton Street Pump Station was put into service in June of 1934, it resulted in significant savings for the Water Department in electric power formerly used by the SW Kenyon Street and SW Spokane Street Pump Stations. The SW Kenyon Street Pump Station was eventually retired while the SW Spokane Street Pump Station was used for partial capacity operation during the summer. Although mostly devoid of exterior ornament or embellishment, this building exhibits Craftsman stylistic features, similar to the 1925 Queen Anne Pump Station. The SW Spokane Street Pump Station is significant for its design and for its association with the growth and development of Seattle’s water system.
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| Appearance |
| Completed in 1929, this one-story brick building occupies a flat area at the base of a grassy slope on a corner lot at the intersection of SW Spokane Street and 33rd Avenue SW. Set on a steep hillside, this site is accessible via a narrow winding road on the eastern side of the West Seattle ridge. Featuring a rectangular plan, this side gable building rests on a concrete plinth outlined with brick soldiers. A similar band of brick soldiers lines the top of the wall below the roofline on the north and south elevations and continues on the end walls, creating an intermediate cornice of sorts. Two double-hung windows with brick lintels and sills originally flanked the center entrance on the principal south elevation. Later alterations converted the eastern window to a single entrance door and filled the western opening with a smooth brick in contrast to the rough wirecut brick of the walls. The original double entrance doors were also replaced with modern equivalents set in concrete, however the original brick lintel remains. The rear north elevation has two similar window openings filled with the same smooth brick. The identical east and west elevations have three slightly wider window openings at the ground floor level, which have been filled as well, and a single covered opening in the gable end, which originally contained a multi-paned wood window. A large vent extends from center window opening on the west elevation. This building exhibits slight Craftsman stylistic influences, including wide bargeboards with flared ends and exposed trusses overhanging the end and side walls. Despite these alterations, the building is well maintained with good physical integrity. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Industry/Processing/Extraction - Waterworks |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Masonry - Unreinforced |
No. of Stories: |
one |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Science & Engineering |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Extensive |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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McWilliams, Mary. Seattle Water Department History, 1854-1954: Operational Data and Memoranda. Seattle, WA: Water Department, City of Seattle, c1955.
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Seattle Water Department. Annual report / City of Seattle, Water Department. Seattle, WA: 1908-1965.
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