by Ariel van Spronsen
When we first moved to Georgetown, my partner and I were delighted to see flyers posted around the neighborhood about a science fair being hosted at the steam plant. Memories of late nights spent perfecting the projects we built as kids flooded our brains, and we knew we had to attend.
That was the first time we visited, and it won’t be the last. Upon walking in you feel like you are in a steampunk dream. Window panes that extend from the ground to the top of the building fill the space with natural light during the day, highlighting a maze of turbines and pipes and valves and gauges. And in the belly of the space, coal stoves evoke a very real connection to our forebears who worked daily to fill them.
The plant was built in 1906, and provided power for the city’s streetcars throughout the early 1900s until it was decommissioned in 1972. The building went through several uses after that, including hosting the last performance of seminal punk rock band Big Black in 1987. In 2021, the Georgetown Steam Plant Community Development Authority (GSPCDA) leased the building from owner Seattle City Light in order to create a public space with a science, history, technology, engineering, art, and math (SHTEAM) focus.
It’s open to everyone on the second Saturday of every month from 10 am to 2 pm, with hourly tours led by a docent starting at 10:30. For the sheer scale and architecture of the space, it’s well worth a visit.
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