Seattle Municipal Archives Office of the City Clerk

Overview

The Seattle Municipal Archives is the official archive of the City of Seattle, managed by the Office of the City Clerk within the Legislative Department. Located in Seattle City Hall at 600 Fourth Avenue, the Archives preserves, manages, and provides public access to the historical records, photographs, maps, moving images, and audio recordings of Seattle's city government from the late 19th century to the present.

History and Founding

The Seattle Municipal Archives was formally established in 1985 with a two-year grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Initially housed in the Municipal Building as a program of the City Clerk Division of the Office of the Comptroller, the Archives was transferred to the Legislative Department following a City Charter amendment effective 1 January 1993. In 2004, the Archives relocated to its current facility in the new City Hall building, which includes a research area overlooking Elliott Bay and a large storage area with moveable shelving and film preservation conditions.

Collections and Holdings

The Archives holds textual records, photographs, maps, moving images, audio recordings, and born-digital materials produced by Seattle city government agencies and elected officials. The photographic collection includes over 1.5 million images. Moving image holdings date primarily from the 1940s forward, created by Seattle Channel, Seattle City Light, the Engineering Department, and other agencies. Audio recordings of full City Council meetings are available from 1955 to the present. City websites have been harvested quarterly since 2012 through Archive-It, and social media archives are maintained through ArchiveSocial.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

The Archives holds records documenting Seattle's civic history including materials related to local media, press photographs, and municipal communications. The Museum of History & Industry holds the photo archives of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. SMA itself holds legislative records, ordinances, and resolutions searchable online, as well as city council audio records that document public discourse over seven decades.

Access and Usage

The research room is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:45 pm. Appointments are recommended; researchers can email archives@seattle.gov or call (206) 684-8353. Records are open to the public for research. Digitized and born-digital materials are freely searchable and downloadable through the Digital Collections site at archives.seattle.gov. All city records are in the public domain and may be used at no charge with attribution.