Industrial Museum: The Georgetown Steam Plant, Seattle, Washington (Sea 13)

 

Georgetown Steam Plant, July 2019 (from Google® Maps)

Early in 2026, some Seattle-area film photographers posted an invitation on the Photrio forum to meet at the Georgetown Steam Plant. That was a nice idea to meet other photographers from the Puget Sound area.   

The Seattle Electric Company built the Georgetown Steam Plant in 1906-1907 to provide electricity for the city's electric streetcar system and for the interurban trolley. The plant was built near the Duwamish Waterway in the Georgetown area of Seattle. 

The Steam Plant is a National Historic Landmark, a National Mechanical Engineering Landmark, and a City of Seattle Landmark. According to the GEORGETOWN STEAM PLANT Community Development Authority (CDA), "We use SHTEAM (Science, History, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) to inspire the Community to envision and create a future where we all belong, and this historic building  generates Community Power." HistoryLink has a detailed history. 

Six or seven of us wandered around in the fascinating setting of pipes, machines, valves, ladders, and catwalks. It was like time travel to another era. My friends had a variety of cameras, mostly medium format. I used Kodak Tri-X 400 film in my Hasselblad 501CM camera with 40mm, 50mm, and 80mm lenses. My compact Linhof ProfiPort tripod supported the camera for all interior exposures. The light was directional from high distant windows, so all my exposures were in the ½ to 2 second range.

 

The mid-level catwalk may be the best way to get a sense of the scale of the machinery and piping.

 

One of two vertical Curtis steam turbines (40mm Distagon lens)

Near the base of the Curtis turbine

Access gantry

Boilers (40mm Distagon lens)

Steam piping. Is that asbestos sheathing?

 

Steam piping with access ports (80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens)

 

Dear Readers, maybe I showed you too many pictures. But I love the shapes, shadows, and textures of old industrial sites. And it is rare that you can enter a place like this legally. 

 

My 40mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens was very handy for this setting because of the tight spaces.  

 

Northeast Photographics in Bath, Maine, developed the film and scanned it. The files were very contrasty. Tri-X 400 should have handled the range of exposures with normal development, but I could have specified N-1 to reduce the contrast. Regardless, the TIFF files contain plenty of data to manipulate with a curves tool. 

 

When you visit Seattle, take time to see the Georgetown Steam Plant at 6605 13th Ave. South. The Steam Plant is open to the public every second Saturday.

Looking for Grunge in Olympia, Washington (Oly 28)

Near the Thurston County Food Bank, Thurston Avenue, December 2025

I like to wander around looking for urban (and rural) decay and the detritus of our modern consumer society. Olympia, Washington, is not as rich with subjects as Jackson, Mississippi, or other southern cities, but one can find material here. 

Olympia Downtown

 

Unused tracks and view of Thurston County Food Bank
(Hasselblad 501CM camera, 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

No camping on Chestnut Street, but some swine left a bag of trash.

Black cat and mold

Parking lot off Columbia Street NW

Parking lot off Columbia Street NW

(Ilford XP2 film, Pentax 28mm ƒ/3.5 shift lens, yellow filter)

4th Avenue near Plum Street

 

West Bay 

 

West Bay Drive passes along unused former industrial land. There is one city park and unused flat terrain once occupied by Hardel plywood and Reliable Steel.  

 

Former Reliable Steel shed, 1218 West Bay Drive

(Fuji Acros II film, 35mm ƒ/2.8 Pentax-A lens)

Free office chair

"Pacific Titan" crane barge moored at Port of Olympia

(Fuji Acros II film, Pentax MX camera, 50mm ƒ/1.4 Pentax-M lens) 

Tumwater

 

Cars painted here?

Former Olympia Brewery 

(Kodak T400CN film, Pentax MG, 35mm ƒ/2.8 Pentax-A lens, med yellow filter)

 

This is the former Olympia Brewery ("It's the Water"). Year after year, these ugly tan buildings molder away in the Deschutes River valley. They are an eyesore. Who will ever use these buildings again?

 

Skookumchuck

 

Skookumchuck (Presto 400 film,Leica M2, 35mm Summicron)

When I bike on the Chehalis Western trail, I often stop at the Monarch Sculpture Park for a rest and drink. The sculpture park has some excellent work on display; highly recommended. Immediately north of the park, railroad tracks end in the woods. For months, these petroleum tank cars loomed over the bike trail. 

I took these photographs with Kodak Panatomic-X (120 size), Kodak T400CN, Ilford XP2, Fuji Presto 400, and Fuji Acros II films using Leica, Pentax, and Hasselblad cameras. 

Mid-Century: The General Administration Building of Olympia, Washington (Oly 25)

The now-empty 1956 General Administration Building is a significant International Style building on the Washington Capitol Campus in Olympia. According to the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places,  

The building is also historically significant…as an intact example of Modern architecture in Olympia, Washington. The building was designed by prominent Tacoma architect, A. Gordon Lumm, in the International style distinctive for its horizontal cubical form and spare ornamentation. Its exterior minimalist appearance and interior architectural flexibility, including movable aluminum wall panels, demonstrate a growing aesthetic for modular space able to easily accommodate changing space and technology requirements. In this case, a building that needed to serve a diversity of state agencies housed in one structure. 

The building has been unoccupied since 2018 for many reasons. The wiring, plumbing, and structure no longer meet building codes. And more important, it is not seismically stable. During the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake (M_w = 6.8), the building developed cracks, and some employees refused to enter. It was not built to modern seismic standards and is close to the bluff overlooking Capitol Lake. Considerable liquefaction occurred during the earthquake along Deschutes Parkway and at the southern end of the lake.  

The state determined that it was not cost effective to renovate the GA building and would demolish it, despite its architectural significance. As of this writing (January 2026), no work has started. For now, the state plans to replace it with a parking lot and toilet (yes, really!). Eventually, a new executive office complex may be built on the site. But will they save the toilet?

Poor George has mildew, Nov. 19, 2025 
(Fuji Acros II film, Pentax 28mm ƒ/3.5 shift lens, yellow filter) 

2024 view from Columbia Street SW (Leica M2, 21mm ƒ/4.5 Zeiss Biogon-C lens)

Compared to some mid-century architecture that I have seen, this one does not look bad to me. The eye is drawn horizontally along the windows and the concrete panels with the corrugated pattern running sideways. I prefer this to most 1960s brutalism concrete buildings. 

Visitors during the No Kings protest (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

These two photographs are from the east side of the building from Columbia Street SW. I used Panatomic-X film in my Hasselblad 501CM camera with the 40mm ƒ/4 CFE FLE lens, tripod-mounted.

The building is closed, but I took two interior views by placing my Samsung phone against rather dirty windows. I like the tubular lights in the 2nd picture above.

Status: Unknown. I will monitor progress.

Update May 6, 2026:  A tractor is crunching part of the north side. Demolition is underway. The demolition company saved the limestone panels above the former front door and saved the circle with George Washington's outline. 

On the Waterfront: Browns Point, Tacoma, Washington (Tac 06)

April 2004 view of Browns Point and cottages below Marine View Drive
(Hasselblad XPan panoramic camera, 45mm lens, Fuji Reala film)

Let us continue our quick September 2025 tour of Tacoma's waterfront. After exploring the commercial harbor on an overcast September day, I drove along Marine View Drive (Rte 509) to Browns Point. The bluffs rise steeply up from the road, but some new suburban developments have been carved into the hillside.

(Click any picture to enlarge details.)

Tank Farm vista and Double-brested cormorants, northeast Tacoma
(Kodak Panatomic-X film, 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

I think I would not opt to live above a tank farm, but they do have a nice view to the west of the harbor and downtown Tacoma.

Trucking company, 1749 Rte 509 (80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens)

Unknown chemical storage, 1749 Rte 509 (100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar lens)

Chipping machine, 1748 Rte 509

The southern part of Marine View Drive is lines with industry and material handling companies. 

Further north, the bluff rises steeply to the east, but the narrow beach has some cottages and year-round housing. Former pullouts with a view of the bay are now blocked and signed with "No Parking Any Time." I assume this was to keep off the homeless RVs and cars. 

Beach cottage, Marine View Drive

Watch kitties on patrol (100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar lens)

Hubcap heaven? Or just good stuff?

Cranes at Washington United Terminals from Marine View Drive
(250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

I took these phots on Kodak Panatomic-X film with my Hasselblad 501CM camera and various lenses. Glazer's Camera in Seattle developed the film. I scanned it with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner. 

On the Waterfront: Port of Tacoma, Washington (Tac 05)

I like Tacoma more and more. There is so much interesting photographic material there. On an overcast day in September (2025), I drove to the Port of Tacoma with my Hasselblad and Kodak Panatomic-X film (yes, the real Panatomic-X). We will start with two photographs from the Foss Waterway and move east into the more industrial part of the port. 

Foss Waterway

Foss Waterway and East 21st Street Bridge and Tacoma Dome (Rolleiflex 3.5E Xenotar lens)

The Foss Waterway is the channel closest to downtown Tacoma. Because of its proximity to the city, most people only see this waterway, not the ones in the industrial port further east. There is less industrial activity on the Thea Foss now than 20 and 30 years ago, and marinas occupy some of the channel. More photos of the Foss Waterway are in my 2024 article.

Foss Waterway and Murray Morgan Memorial Bridge
(Kodak T400CN film, Leitz 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow filter) 

Port of Tacoma

Heavy lift cranes, Lower Turning Basin (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Former boat yard launch rails, view looking northwest to Commencement Bay
(80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens, yellow filter)

Alexander Avenue E at E 11th Street
(250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

Tank cars, Alexander Avenue E, view northwest
(250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

Cranes from Lincoln Avenue (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Landscape Bark Company, Lincoln Avenue (50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

Landscape Bark Company, Lincoln Avenue (50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

This company crushes and grinds a lot of bark. It was Sunday, so I could set up my tripod on the sidewalk in front of the property.

Standby for more Tacoma waterfront and industrial in the future.

Tech Note

This is my 1960s Carl Zeiss 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar-C lens. It compresses the view, as you see in some of the photographs above. This was one of my most amazing bargains: $87 for a magnificent piece of West German mechanical and optical engineering. This is a 1960s single-coated version with chrome barrel. It uses Bay 50 filters, which are inexpensive now compared to the Bay 60 filters that fit most of the newer Hasselblad lenses. 

Even the shutter on my bargain lens did not need an overhaul. The slowest speeds are probably a bit slow, but it barely affects exposures (i.e., 1 sec. may be 1.5 sec. - so what?). When using this lens, I always mount the camera on a tripod. With Panatomic-X film, the exposures are in the 1/4 or 1/2 sec. range.