About 40,000 neighbors in Seattle were recently in the dark due to a raccoon “de-energizing” the Canal Substation.  De-energizing is Seattle City Light’s way of saying something caused a loss of power in the electric grid.  RIP raccoon.

Until the power outage, I hadn’t thought much about our neighborhood substation.  It had simply been an odd colored government structure tucked in the southend of the neighborhood. I didn’t know how many residents relied on the substation, or the building’s backstory. What I’ve discovered since the outage is that these two Ballard blocks hold several secrets waiting to be discover!

Location & History:

Canal Substation is located on 8th Ave NW, taking up two city blocks between NW 46th Street & NW 45th Street. It’s on the north side of 45th, making it part of the West Woodland neighborhood, with Fremont across the street.  I still wish locals called this area the Ross neighborhood.  Keep the memory alive!

Pink area is West Woodland, Ballard and grey area is Fremont.  Courtesy Google Maps.

The Puget Sound Power & Light Company constructed this transmission substation in 1928 as part of their private electric utility operations within the City of Seattle. It is the only transmission substation, of the original three constructed by Puget Sound Power & Light Company, still in existence and operation.  Today, Canal Substation is part of public powered Seattle City Light.  The previous owner, Puget Sound Power & Light, is doing business as Puget Sound Energy, providing electric and natural gas service throughout much of Western Washington.

With its mixture of Mission Revival and Neo-Classical Revival stylistic features, the architecturally distinctive Canal Substation is significant for its design and for its associations with the era of privately owned electric utilities in Seattle.  It also stands as a reminder of the evolution of Seattle City Light as the sole supplier of electric power in the area. The Canal Substation has been included on the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods list of Seattle Historical Sites.

The photo above of Canal Substation, with the Ballard Bridge in the background, is dated 1960 and courtesy Seattle City Light. An approximate current view of this same location, near the corner of 3rd Ave NW and NW 48th Street, can be found HERE.

Canal Substation Edible Landscape & Art: 

The station had a major remodel in the mid 1980s and the large switch yard and adjacent building were painted in unusual colors for a substation – mostly pastels. As required by City of Seattle ordinance, 1 % of the cost was for art that was incorporated into the project.

Visit the substation after dark and you’ll see some of the “activities” happening inside through the softly glowing windows. Six back-lit silhouettes in the large upper-story windows are part of Barbara Noah’s artwork Forms of Power, created in 1986.

For Forms of Power, Noah painted images of allegories of power on windows made of sandblasted, multi-colored translucent Plexiglas. The hand signs of the game rock-paper-scissors, representing physical power, are painted on three orange windows. A pink window shows a couple about to kiss, symbolizing the power of love. A scientist conducting experiments represents the power of the mind. And in a green window, a blindfolded figure with outstretched arms, evoking traditional representations of justice, stands for the power of the law. This visual play subtly alludes to the factors that impact the daily lives in the homes and businesses that depend on the Canal Substation for power.

Sitework by GAYNOR plays off the art with striped paving evoking former rail lines, edible ‘hedgerows’, checkerboard of colorful ‘walkable’ herb groundcovers, delicate-to-dense ‘living’ fence, salvaged substation lightning arrester stands repurposed as benches, observation hill and interpretive signage. The project was completed in 1986, with approximately $220,000 spent for landscape and site improvements.

More information regarding the artistic aspects of the redesign available HERE.

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Before the convenience of modern heavy machinery, road construction was a real challenge for communities, including the growing cities of Ballard and Seattle. Loggers cut the trees, and teams of horses and mules dragged the stumps out of the ground.  If the stump wouldn’t budge, the road would simply be built around it. Streets then had to be cleared of debris, plowed, harrowed, and graded. On these crude roadways, early neighbors navigated through ever present mud and wagon wheel ruts. Improvements in the form of gravel, brick, or wooden planks were laid along main streets to make travel less demanding for travelers.

Street Department Barns were used to house horses, wagons, and tools needed to build the boulevards and byways in our growing city.   In the ‘Then’ photo below, there are piles of planks that appear to be ready for one of Ballard’s many muddy lanes and piled, ready for work, outside the Ballard Barn once located at 1148 NW 54th Street, now the backside of the Koi Apartments. Planked sidewalks and roadways could be seen until the 1930s, when large scale concrete paving efforts began in the neighborhood.  For example, NW 65th Street received its first concrete paving improvements in 1934.

THEN (Above):  Street Department Barn #4, dated 1914.  Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, #57330.

NOW (Below):  Looking northwest at the Koi Apartments, dated 2016.

In the background of the ‘Then’ photo is Ballard Livery & Transfer Company Stables, located at 14th & Market Street.  At this location you could rent horses, tack, buggies, and more. By 1909, the same year as the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Ballard Livery began advertising “Automobile for hire”,  as seen in The Seattle Times advertisement below.  A sign of changing times.

Ballard Livery classified advertisement, dated July 7, 1909.  Courtesy The Seattle Times.

According to HistoryLink.org, between 1906 and 1916, the number of motor vehicles in Washington increased almost 100 times – to 70,000. Between 1915 and 1920, the number of automobiles in the U.S. quintupled to 10 million.  That is a lot of cars driving on dirt, gravel and brick roads.  Look down when you are walking in one of Seattle’s historic districts, some of those bricks can still be found peeking out from below the pavement.

When were the first roads in Washington paved?

In 1904, a survey showed that just 1 percent of the roads in the state were paved (likely brick and stone). Most of those were within cities. According to HistoryLink.org, these were the first paved roads in Washington.

Who was responsible for roads in early Seattle?

In the growing City of Seattle, the Department of Streets and Sewers was responsible for planning, construction, repair, and cleaning of the City’s streets, sidewalks, and sewers. City Council appointed the first Street Commissioner in 1875. The position came under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Works in 1890. The position of Superintendent of Streets, Sewers and Parks was established in 1896; authority over parks was removed in 1904. The Department was abolished in 1936 and became the Maintenance Division of the Engineering Department.

Then & Now (Above):  1148 NW 54th Street

Location of Street Department Ballard Barn.  Map courtesy Google Maps.

Every three years, the Ballard Historical Society showcases the solid craftsmanship of Ballard homes. The 2013 home tour was a success, and they’re doing it again this year!

Mark your calendars for Ballard Historical Society’s Classic Home Tour to be held on Sunday, June 26, 2016. This year’s slate of nine vintage houses were built between 1900-1931.  The homes will be open for public view from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. that day as a fundraiser to benefit Ballard Historical Society, a non-profit.

These well-maintained homes will draw you back to an era of solid craftsmanship, beauty, and style. Some on the tour exemplify the thoughtful integration of an older home’s necessary updates while still embracing the scale and period in which the house was built.

$20 tour tickets will go on sale in early June. For more information, keep an eye out for updates on their Facebook page and website.

Want to volunteer?

Are you interested in volunteering for the 2016  Ballard Classic Home Tour and touring the houses free of charge?  Please email our Classic Home Tour Coordinator, Lesli Cook.

Join the Ballard Historical Society!

The Ballard Historical Society relies on members to help preserve the history and culture of Ballard.  They compile archives of historical Ballard photos, hosts lectures and take on exciting new community project to improve our unique neighborhood.

Attending BHS events, visiting the web site and keeping in touch via their blog is a great way to honor one of the best things about our neighborhood — it’s colorful history!

Learn more about the benefits of membership HERE.