A City at Work: Images from the Seattle Municipal Archives Photo Collection

Public Transportation: Introduction

In 1902, voters in the City of West Seattle approved the first municipally-owned streetcar line in the United States. The streetcar line was later sold to private investors, but the City of Seattle assumed ownership of its own streetcar network in 1918 upon the purchase of Puget Sound Traction, Light, and Power Company's system. The Municipal Street Railway System transitioned to an all-bus network in 1940, and the agency reorganized as the Seattle Transit System. The City's public transportation system was absorbed into the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) in 1973.

Municipal Street Railway, Formal Opening. Arrival in Market Street, Ballard. 1918. [Item No: 46824]

The Photograph Collection contains over 4,000 transit related images viewable from the Photograph Collection Index. These include photos of streetcars, street railway tracks, electric trolleys, and buses.

Next image -->