Favorite Archival Object: Project Weathervane Photographs, 1975

Journey back to Seattle City Light's 1975 pioneering eco-living experiment

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In this installment, Seattle Municipal Archives' Photo Archivist Jules Irick presents photographs of Project Weathervane, a test home created by Seattle City Light in 1975 to collect data on the feasibility of using solar and wind energy in the Pacific Northwest.

View more from the "Favorite Archival Object" series here.

SMA MATERIAL CITATIONS
– Solar house model. [Project Weathervane -- experimental solar powered home -- 5161 S. Creston St.], 1975, Items 192916 & 192917, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– Site of condemned house [Project Weathervane, experimental solar powered home -- 5161 S. Creston St.], 1975, Item 207004, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– [Seattle City Light Superintendent Gordon Vickery and Senior Engineer Al Yamagiwa with group at Project Weathervane, experimental solar powered home -- 5161 S. Creston St.], February 1976, Item 207014, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– [Seattle City Light Superintendent Gordon Vickery and Senior Engineer Al Yamagiwa at Project Weathervane, experimental solar powered home -- 5161 S. Creston St.], February 1976, Item 207015, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– House being fixed for Project Weathervane [experimental solar powered home -- 5161 S. Creston St.], September 11, 1975, Items 192910, 192911, 192918, 192919, & 192920, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– Item C-4286, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– Item P-6242, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– [Portrait of Alan Yamagiwa], 1986, Record Series 1204-01: City Light Negatives
– Project Weathervane brochure, 1975, Seattle City Light
– Project Weathervane brochure, 1980, Seattle City Light
– Employee Newsletter, 1975, Seattle City Light
– Seattle City Light Newsletter, 1975
– City Light Annual Report 1975
– City Light Annual Report 1976
– The Symbol of Better Living, 1960, Item 43, Record Series 1204-05: City Light Moving Images

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Taussig, R., Lockett, J., Storie, M., Isakson, J., and Levy, B.. 1978. "Analysis and simulation of performance data for residential solar heating and heat pump system in Seattle, Washington. Final report, Volume II". United States:
-https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5648540/
-https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5648540/

All of the videos from the "Favorite Archival Object" series feature the following:
– Footage in introduction titles: Seattle Channel, Item cs_112119_3071924V
– Music: "The Plan's Working" by Cooper Cannellis from YouTube's Audio Library (Creative Commons)

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