Annual Reports
Did you know SMA holds annual reports from multiple city departments, some going back to the late 1800s? They can be excellent sources for researching departmental projects and priorities over time, revealing the successes and struggles of city work as Seattle grew year by year.
One unique early example is a 1900 Parks Department annual report written by Parks Board commissioner Melody Choir. Containing a mixture of prose, poetry, lamentations, proposals and opinions, and written in flamboyant script using red and black ink, the report pushed for more support of the city’s park system after years of minimal expansion and investment. A second report for that year was filed by a different commissioner, C.D.C. Williams, which was shorter and more sedate but also emphasized the need for more support for the city’s fledgling parks system. Later Parks Department reports contain details like maps, photos, and summary updates on each park, and the 1930 report includes a handy history of the department up to that point.
Engineering Annual Reports are treasure-troves of information tracing the city’s infrastructure development, describing projects like paving work, sewer repair, bridge construction, and street design. Reports from the 1930s cover the depression-era Works Progress Administration projects in Seattle, and 1940s reports include photos of the seawall construction along Harbor Avenue SW. Also included are Traffic Division reports covering traffic surveys, planning, signals, signs and markings, and various graphs of traffic accidents.
Early Seattle Police Department Annual Reports include annual statistics on arrests, noting the occupations, nativity, and age of persons arrested. Also included are some Police Court reports, Police Telephone and Telegraph System reports, as well as reports from the Women’s Protective Division. Health Department Annual Reports from 1918 and 1919 give valuable insights into how the influenza pandemic at that time affected the city, and the 1939-1943 report contains a 433-page history and survey of public health in Seattle that also includes brief descriptions of city departments.
Sometimes annual report cover art is also pretty impressive!
These are just a few examples – there’s much more in the archives! Just let us know if you’d like more information or have questions, or would like to stop by and take a look.
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