REPORT ON DESIGNATION LPB 107-1/03

Name and Address of Property: Seattle Monorail

Legal Description:

1. Guideway
Lot 5 of Block 21 in D. T. Denny’s Third Addition to North Seattle, as recorded in Vol. 1 of Plats, page 145,
records of King County Washington; together with that portion of vacated Fourth Avenue adjacent to said Lot
5 that was vacated by Ordinance 115773; plus . . .

2. Guideway
Lots 5, 6, and 8 of Block 56, and Lot 1 of Block 57, in D. T. Denny’s Park Addition to North Seattle, as
recorded in vol. 2 of Plats, Page 46, Records of King County Washington; together with that portion of
vacated Fourth Avenue adjacent to said Lot 8 that was vacated by Ordinance 115773; together with that
portion of Thomas Street adjacent to said Lot 6 and said Lot 1; plus

3. Seattle Center Station

a portion of the South 20 feet of Lot 4, Lot 5, the North 5 of the portion of the West 10 Feet of Lot 6, the
North 20 Feet of Lot 7, Lot 8, and the South 1 Feet of Lot 9, all in Block 51, D. T. Denny’s Third Addition to
North Seattle, as recorded in Vol. 1 of Plats, Page 145, Records of King County Washington; together with
that portion of the alley lying adjacent to said portions of Lots 4 through 9 that was vacated by Ordinance
90267.

At the public meeting held on April 16, 2003, the City of Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board
voted to approve designation of the Seattle Monorail as a Seattle Landmark based upon satisfaction
of the following standards for designation of SMC 25. 12.350:

(A.) It is the location of, or is associated in a significant way with, an historic event with a
significant effect upon the community, City, state or nation.

(D.) It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or of a

method of construction.

(E.) It is an outstanding work of a designer or builder.

Administered by The Historic Preservation Program, The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

“Printed on Recycled Paper”
(F.) Because of its prominence of spatial location, contrasts of siting, age, or scale, it is an easily
identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the City and contributes to the distinctive
quality or identity of such neighborhood or the City.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE:

The Monorail’s system consists of four distinct components. These include the two stations -- the north
station with the nearby Monorail Administration Building at the Seattle Center, the south station on the east
side of Westlake Center near the northwest intersection of Pike Street and Fifth Avenue, the raised concrete
guideway structure of pylons and beams which extends through the Denny Regrade neighborhood between
the two stations, and the two trains, which are each made up of two single-end articulated cars permanently
connected into a double-ended train.

The site of the Monorail is thus quite complex, and includes the current two stations and the guideway
structure, which covers a 0.9-mile distance between the stations.

The Seattle Monorail is an important element in downtown Seattle, as an expressive piece of urban
architecture and an outstanding work of its original designer and builder. For nearly forty years it has been a
well-recognized physical landmark in the city as well as in the Denny Regrade neighborhood through which it
runs.

The Monorail’s distinctive physical form is both a static and kinetic reminder of the Seattle’s Century 21
Exhibition. Construction of the Monorail provided a popular symbol of the World’s Fair and a solution to a
complex traffic problem for fair planners. It embodied the early 1960’s confident belief in the future, which
held that technology could solve urban problems. Its design and appearance in Seattle is a reminder of the
promise and influence that space travel held in the collective minds of previous generations.

Historic Context

Seattle’s Monorail System

Similar to the Space Needle, the Monorail symbolizes the city of Seattle to visitors and residents alike, and
represents a time when future innovation appeared limitless.

Early on Century 21 organizers envisioned a futuristic mode of transportation to the Fairgrounds and within
its confines. It was felt that a monorail could fit the Fair’s focus on modern technology as well as provide
answers to the region’s transportation future. In 1959 a variety of plans were presented including some from
such notable firms as St. Louis Car Company, Goodyear, Northrop and Lockheed Aircraft. Fair organizers
initially turned down the early plan that was presented by Alwac International Inc. for an Alweg monorail,
and Lockheed Aircraft was selected as the prime contractor with its “fighter plane” styled monorail.
Ultimately the City and Fair organizers could not even raise the cost of initial engineering let alone cover the
payments for the construction costs. It appeared that there would be no monorail in Seattle until Alweg
offered to cover the cost of the system early in 1960.

Rather than being a city transit initiative, construction of Seattle’s Monorail was a speculative venture
undertaken by Alweg International of Cologne, Germany. Seeking to promote the monorail as the ideal form

2
of urban rapid transit, Alweg used the occasion of Seattle’s 1962 Century 21 World’s Fair, to prove it. 1 Event
organizers, eager to showcase this future mode of urban transit, happily accepted Alweg’s no cost offer to
construct a monorail for the Seattle World’s Fair. Construction contracts were signed on December 21, 1960
with construction of the guideway beginning in April of 1961.

Disney had built a smaller (5/8)-scale monorail based on the Alweg concepts in 1959 at California’s
Disneyland, and the company was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to demonstrate a full-scale system in
the United States. The timing and space-age theme of the World’s Fair were opportune, and Alweg invested
$4.2 million of its own funds to create the pylons, rails, trains and stations that comprise the system.

In return, the company received considerable publicity and payment from collected fares, as well as a 25-cent
surcharge on each fairground admission. According to the agreement, the City of Seattle would acquire the
Monorail after the fair if Alweg’s receipts totaled $3.5 million or more (if less, the City would make up the
difference). This agreement assumed that the City wished to pursue this form of high-speed transit. There
was discussion amongst fair organizers regarding extending the Monorail south to Boeing’s Duwamish plant,
and then on to Tacoma after the fair 2.

The first Monorail test runs took place on March 3, 1962. Despite press reports referring to its bumpy ride 3,
the trains were an instant success, carrying over 179,000 passengers before the fair opened. The official
opening occurred April 19, 1962. Newspaper accounts stated “it took two swings before Mrs. Sixten
Holmquist, wife of the president of Alweg, Inc., shattered a champagne bottle to launch the Monorail.” Fares
cost 50 cents one-way and 75 cents round trip for adults, and 50 cents and 35 cents respectively for children.

On September 17, 1962, over one month before the Fair ended, the monorail system had paid for itself
through fares and the surcharge on each admission to the Fair. The two trains operated from 8:45 a.m. to
12:15 a.m., carrying more than eight million passengers over the duration of the fair. More than 90 percent of
visitors to the fair rode the Monorail.

Alweg International retained ownership of the Monorail until 1965, when the City of Seattle purchased and
placed it under the control of the Seattle Transit System. (Following the fair the Monorail was turned over at
no cost to the Century 21 Corporation (which produced the fair), before being sold to the City in 1965 for
$600,000.)

The City continues to own the Monorail. 4 Presently, Seattle’s Monorail is unique as the only public transit
system in the United States to return a profit.

1
At that time, Alweg became incorporated as Alweg Rapid Transit Systems of Washington State (NW 1962), a
branch of its European parent company. This initiative demonstrated the firm’s goal of generating further business in
Seattle and other North American cities.
2
“Take Me to the Fair,” p. 43.
3
Sunset Magazine, April 1962.
4
Metro Transit operated and maintained the Monorail after it assumed control of the Seattle Transit System in
January 1973. Between 1973 and 1994, the Seattle Center paid operational and maintenance costs, provided
janitorial services for the trains (washing, sweeping and waxing), set fare collections, determined operating hours,
and maintained the north and south stations. The City, acting through its Director of the Seattle Center, retains
ownership and control of the Monorail. The current concessionaire, Seattle Monorail Services, Inc., provides
operators for the trains, maintenance and repair of all moving equipment, beamway columns and mechanical and
electrical equipment. The shop facilities at Seattle Center Station, including tools and equipment, are the property of
the City, but remain under the control of the concessionaire. The concessionaire’s superintendent oversees
operators, maintenance, power maintenance, personnel training, safety, scheduling special and emergency services,
purchasing, and budget and expense monitoring.

3
Since its construction, a number of proposals have been made for extending the Monorail. Ideas have
included adding a Denny Regrade station, constructing an extension through portions of the Seattle Center,
and expanding the Monorail into a citywide or regional transit system. In 1977, the City applied for Capital
Grant Funding from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to construct an improved and
extended Monorail system based on the downtown “People Mover” demonstration program. A 1979 report
explored options for expanding the route and adding stations. 5
In November 1984, the City contracted with Raymond Kaiser Engineers to identify rehabilitation and
upgrading needs for the Monorail. To improve service, ride quality and carrying capacity, the primary goal
was to relocate the guideways, and design and construct a new station. This analysis included various
alternatives to relocate the southern station to integrate with the proposed Westlake Mall development in the
city’s retail core. After selection of a preferred alternative (named the George Benson Alternative after a City
Councilman), the preliminary engineering work commenced.

In June 1994, Seattle Monorail Services, Inc., then a joint venture with Railsafe Incorporated, a Seattle-based
private operator of railway systems, became the operator of the Monorail as a concessionaire to the City of
Seattle.

The Monorail, the Seattle World’s Fair and the Seattle Center

The Monorail was a vital component of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, as it provided a significant advantage
for fair organizers. The 74-acre fair site, which subsequently became the Seattle Center, was bordered by
water to the west and Queen Anne Hill to the north. No major arterial extended through the site, leading
officials to realize that they needed a mass transit system to connect the fair with the hotels, stores and offices
of the downtown retail core, approximately 1.2 miles south of the fairgrounds. The Monorail provided a
further advantage by reducing the need for adjacent parking spaces, as fairgoers could park downtown and
take the train to the fairgrounds.

The fair was originally envisioned as a “Gateway-to-the-Pacific” trade festival, with initial funding of $7.5
million raised through public bonds in 1957. Civic leaders justified this expense on the basis of the economic
benefits it promised: strengthening the local economy; asserting Seattle’s role as gateway to Asia, and
increasing local and state tax revenues. “World’s Fair” status was secured through additional local economic
investment in the site and federal appropriation of $9 million for the purpose of a United States science
exhibit. 6

The timing of Congress’s funding decision was opportune. By the end of the l950s, concern over losing the
space race to the Soviet Union was paramount in the minds of many citizens and politicians. Indeed, the
Federal financial investment in the fair served as one measure of America’s response to Soviet advances in
space.

5
UMTA did not choose Seattle to demonstrate a new-technology system, but it encouraged the city to study the
feasibility of improving the corridor, and to use UMTA grants geared toward rail rehabilitation. Produced by De
Leuw, Cather & Co., the 1979 report addressed the feasibility of expanding the route, adding stations and expanding
service hours (in response to projected residential and commercial growth, as well as an attempt to minimize
pressure on overburdened buses, parking, and street systems.) The report compared several alternatives, and
identified two as the best options for route extension. The first option would serve the Convention Center, the
Seattle Center garage, and the Opera House entertainment complex. Option two would complete the loop around the
Seattle Center, and add a station near the Coliseum to serve Lower Queen Anne.
6
This sum was then the largest allocation approved by Congress for a World’s Fair science exhibit.

4
The emergence of the “Man in the Space Age” theme led one 1961 report to note that “Come April 21, 1962,
Seattle’s World Fair will have the race for outer space won -- figuratively, that is.” Indeed, Seattle’s fair
continued the tradition of international exhibits in showcasing advancements in technology. Fair visitors
expected to see tangible evidence of how men and women would live, work and play in the twenty-first
century, or as one newspaper account put it, “space-age gazing in a crystal ball.”

Paired with the Space Needle, the Monorail was the ideal advertising vehicle for the technology-based fair.
Together the two structures followed technical initiatives exhibited in past World’s Fairs, such as London’s
1851 Exposition featuring the Crystal Palace, the Eiffel Tower erected in 1889 in Paris, and the Motorama
built by General Motors for New York’s 1939 World’s Fair. 7

Seattle’s Century 21 Exposition furthered this tradition with an emphasis on science and the future, attracting
worldwide attention while serving a national need. The tradition of celebrating technology continued after the
Century 21 Exhibition, with Buckminister Fuller’s “geodesic dome” design for Expo 67 in Montreal, and later
in Washington State with the Expo 21 in Spokane in 1972.

The master plan for the fair site and buildings, which called for its subsequent evolution into a regional civic
and cultural center, involved the expertise of planners, architects, landscape architects and contractors.
Several pre-existing buildings in the Denny Regrade were saved from demolition and adapted for use at the
fair, including the Washington National Guard Armory, the Civic Auditorium, Veterans Hall, and the High
School Memorial Stadium.

In 1957, Seattle architect and planner Paul Thiry became principal designer of the grounds. His design unified
the pedestrian precinct of approximately thirty city blocks and ordered the spaces into “the Five Worlds of
Century 21.” He organized these through a series of pathways, streets and plazas known as “the Boulevards of
the World.”

A linkage between the fair grounds and Seattle’s downtown core was consistent with the forward-thinking
theme of Century 21, highlighting a new system of elevated transportation. Indeed, the Monorail represented
the first large-scale venture of this mode of transport in the United States. Other transportation systems at the
fair also celebrated future technology. These included capsule-shaped elevators in the Space Needle, pedal
carts, suspended system of pod-like gondolas that made up the Skyway (which is now located at the Western
Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup), and amusement rides in the “Gay Way.”

Unlike the temporary structures of previous world’s fairs, many of the buildings on the Seattle site were
designed as permanent structures, and were later adapted as part of the Seattle Center complex. The long-
range vision of city planners allowed the appropriation of money for this purpose. The design of these
buildings occurred at the height of Modernism, and many of their original designs reflect this. Modernist
structures adapted for more contemporary uses after the fair included the Armory (used as the Food Circus for
the fair, and later the Center House); Minoru Yamasaki’s Science Pavilion, the Swedish Pavilion/Northwest
Crafts Center, and the Opera House.

Long-range planning and vision prior to the World’s Fair allowed the site to later become a permanent, multi-
purpose complex for both the city of Seattle and the region. In the master plan for the site, Paul Thiry and
Seattle landscape architect Richard Haag developed a scheme of covered passageways and tree-lined paths to

7
In the United States, the earliest international fairs included those in Philadelphia in 1876; Chicago, 1893; Atlanta,
1895; Buffalo, 1901; Portland, 1905; Seattle’s Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition, 1909; and San Diego, 1915.
Twentieth-century exhibitions celebrated the future as much as the present at the Chicago Century of Progress,
1933-1935; the San Francisco Exhibition, 1936-1937; the New York World’s Fair, 1939-1940; and the Brussels
World Fair, 1958.

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guide visitors to the various areas of the site and frame vistas of the surrounding city and horizon. They
treated the internal zones of the Seattle Center grounds individually.

The area of Memorial Stadium would become a plaza with underground parking, serving as a formal
landscaped link with a proposed convention center. The northwest court area would become an open space for
flower shows and other community events. (Subsequent construction of the Bagley Wright Theater
supplanted these uses.) A large, sculptural fountain, designed by San Francisco landscape architect Lawrence
Halprin, near the center of the fair has become a permanent amenity. The International Fountain and the Flag
Plaza, located at the center of the exposition grounds, were placed in the center to symbolize the “crossroads
of the world.” This placement aided in the formal arrangement of the grounds.

Paul Thiry envisioned the removal of the periphery walls after the fair to visually open the Seattle Center to
the public. This and other features of Thiry’s plan have been implemented since 1962, including landscaping
and permanent paving, which helped to make the site usable and enjoyable year round. Expansion and
addition of performance, exhibit and theater spaces have occurred in the last dozen years.

As a conveniently located and large recreation site in the city, the Seattle Center enjoys continued use for
major public events such as Bumbershoot, the Folklife Festival, and the Bite of Seattle. Its cultural facilities
are numerous -- the Opera House, Children’s Theatre, Bagley Wright Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet
headquarters, Coliseum/Key Arena, and the Pacific Science Center. These facilities, as well as the Monorail
continued to serve both residents and visitors to the Puget Sound region. They are cultural dividends from the
long ago fair.

A Modern Vision of Transportation

The rapid growth of America’s metropolitan areas following World War II was aided by, and limited to,
available transportation systems. By the late 1950s, traffic congestion had become a major urban development
problem, requiring the examination of new systems of mass rapid transit.

The proposal by Alweg International to construct a monorail system in Seattle occurred at a juncture in
American life when “travel of the future, both on the earth and off, [had] stimulated the imaginations of the
general public.” 8 The 1957 orbit launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 provided a catalyst for this interest,
igniting a “space race” between the Soviets and the United States. The U. S. responded by launching Explorer
1 in 1958. In 1961, the Soviet Union launched the first cosmonaut into space; in 1962, John Glenn became the
first American to orbit the earth.

To a nation eager to display its scientific and technological strength to the world, the Alweg Monorail system
symbolized the future of public transit (enthusiastically billed as “tomorrow’s transit today” by promoters and
fair organizers). By 1961, millions of TV viewers had seen Walt Disney’s monorail system on Disney’s
Sunday night television show, and many became convinced of its future role in public transit systems. To
many transportation planners, the Monorail was a prime candidate for solving the problems of congested a
metropolis. One report optimistically stated that the “Monorail in the future promises to do for urban
transportation what the jet accomplished in air travel and once again make mass rapid transit the popular way
to go.” Another newspaper report noted, “The Seattle fair may be remembered as the event from which a
solution for pressing problems of transit in many American cities was evolved” 9

8
According to an article “LA’s Worst Transit Decision,” by Kim Pederson. In 1963 Alweg offered the City of Los
Angeles a 40-mile system under similar terms as it provided the Monorail to Seattle, but city officials declined the
offer. See the Monorail Society web site www.monorails.org/tMspages/LA1963.html

6
Monorails Through History

An examination of the development of the Monorail system for passenger vehicles, begins with a definition of
the word “monorail.” Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: “1. A single rail serving as a track for trucks or cars
suspended from it or balanced on it. 2. A railway with such a track”. 10 The Monorail Society’s official
definition states: “MO*NO*RAIL n. 1. A single rail serving as a track for passenger or freight vehicles. In
most cases rail is elevated, but monorails can also run at grade, below grade or in subway tunnels. Vehicles
either suspend from, or straddle, a narrow guideway. Monorail vehicles are wider than the guideway that
supports them” 11

The idea of using a single beam or rail for the transportation of people or goods dates back over 180 years to
1821 with construction of a simple freight line on the docks of London, England. The first passenger-carrying
monorail, the Cheshunt Railway, began operations in 1825 in Cheshunt, England. Based on an 1821 patent by
Henry Robinson Palmer, the Cheshunt was intended to carry bricks, but it carried passengers at its opening.

A monorail specifically designed to transport people first appeared at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
in 1876. Created by General Le-Roy Stone, it was an ornate double-decker design, propelled along two main
wheels by a rotary steam engine (at the rear of the vehicle). A modified version of Stone’s design was used
along a four-mile line between Bradford and Gilmore, Pennsylvania. Built in 1878 to transport oil drilling
equipment and personnel, it soon began accepting local passengers. To increase power, a locomotive type,
piston-driven engine was added in 1879. During that year, a fatal crash occurred and the line ceased operation
a short time later.

Other designs followed. One, by Captain J. V. Meigs in 1886, boasted a curvilinear aerodynamic design.
Ahead of its time, it was never implemented on a large scale. The Enos Electric Company tested the first
suspended monorail (built of light, open steelwork) in Greenville, New Jersey in 1887, but did not build a
major system. A steel-railed, passenger- monorail 9.5 miles in length began operation in Ireland in 1888.
Named the Listowel & Ballybunion Railway (for the towns it linked), it ran until 1924, ceasing operations
due to road transport competition and rising operating costs.

Perhaps the best known of the early monorails is the Wuppertal Schwebebahn (“suspended railway”), the
world’s oldest operating system. Located in the Ruhr district of Germany, geography dictated that a portion of
this line would be above the Wupper River, rendering conventional railway options unfeasible.

In nearby Cologne, civil engineer Eugen Langen had successfully tested a double-track monorail system, and
impressed railway promoters selected his design. Construction began in 1898, and the Schwebebahn opened
to the public on March 1, 1901. Presently the route extends 8.3 miles with a carrying capacity of 3,500
passengers an hour and a top speed of 35 miles per hour.

Locally a variety of monorail plans surfaced between the late 1890s and the start of World War I. One plan
touted travel times between Tacoma’s Commencement Bay and Seattle’s Elliott Bay of 20 minutes. (This
plan resulted in construction of a test loop on the Tacoma waterfront.) Another scheme boasted an unlikely
trip time between Edmonds and Seattle of only 10 minutes. Most of these plans appeared to be no more than
elaborate stock swindles while others were whimsical fantasies.

Current Operating Monorail Systems

10
“What is Monorail?”, The Monorail Society web site.
11
“What is Monorail?”, The Monorail Society web site.

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The success of Seattle’s new Monorail generated interest on the part of transit engineers from North America
and abroad. A total of 43 monorail systems currently operate in North America, Europe, Japan, Asia,
Australia, and South America.

The system that brought recognition to the monorail concept in the twentieth century was designed, not for
urban transit, but as a visitors’ attraction to a new theme park in California. Early in the planning process for
Disneyland, Walt Disney envisioned a monorail that would represent the train of the future. Disney’s
designers installed a 5/8 scale Alweg monorail in 1959; its loop route extends 2.3 miles.

The opening of Walt Disney World, Florida in 1971 provided Disney with the opportunity to use its
Disneyland experience to design and build a more elaborate monorail system. Built in two phases (1971 and
1982), its 14.7-mile route incorporates six stations and carries 150,000 passengers per day. Smaller systems
soon followed the Disney and Seattle monorail systems, including an installation for Expo67 in Montreal. In
1969, the Philadelphia Zoo built a one-mile-long monorail. Known as the “Safari Monorail,” it commenced
service with three trains, two of which currently operate.

Other North American monorail locations include: Magic Mountain theme park in California (.6 mile-system;
built in 1971); Pearlridge Mall, Hawaii (0.3 miles; date unknown); the Miami Metro Zoo (two miles; 1982);
Tampa International Airport (0.6 miles; automated with eight stations; 1991); Las Vegas (one mile; two
“casino” stations; 1995); and Newark International Airport (3.9 miles; seven-stations; 1995). 12

The first monorail system in Japan predates its American counterpart by two years. In 1957, the Tokyo
Metropolitan government experimented with a monorail as a new way to alleviate traffic congestion, using its
Ueno Zoo site as a pilot project. Just 300 yards in length, this system was based on the Wuppertal
Schwebebahn, with cars suspended below the guideway.

Subsequent to this modest undertaking, Japan commenced on the Inuyama system, the first multi-station
Alweg monorail in that country. The Japanese Hitachi Company, impressed by Seattle’s Alweg installation,
purchased the technology that same year. (The Alweg Company sold old blueprints to the company, so it
would not have the latest improvements made to the system. Hitachi went on, however, to install more
Alweg-based transit monorails than anywhere in the world to date.) The original 1962 trains continue to run
over a 0.7-mile, three-station route.

Planning for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games led to the development of the Tokyo-Haneda line, completed
the same year. With ten stations situated along its 11.8-mile route, this privately owned and operated system
has carried over one billion passengers since opening.

Other Japanese monorails include: the Mukogaoka system (0.75-mile; 1965), co-developed by Kawasaki of
Japan and Lockheed Aircraft of California; a monorail in Shonan, twenty miles southwest of Tokyo (4.1
miles; six stations; 1970); an Alweg-based system in Kitakyushu (5.5 miles; built by Hitachi in 1985); a
suspended system in Chiba City (9.7 miles; eighteen stations; 1988); a system in Osaka that carries 150, 000
passengers a day (13.3 miles; fourteen stations; 1990); and a system in Tama, east of Tokyo (3.4 miles; seven
stations; anticipated to grow to 58 miles). Future proposed Japanese monorails include an extensive system at
Tokyo Disneyland (2001) and an 8.2-mile system on the island of Naha, complete with fifteen stations
(2002). 13

The Monorail's Designers

12
“Transit Monorails of the World,” Monorail Society web site.
13
ibid.

8
Alweg’s Founder: Axel Leonard Wenner-Gren
The creator of the Alweg monorail system was Axel Leonard Wenner-Gren (1881-1961), a Swedish
industrialist and scientist. Born in Uddevalla, Sweden and educated in Germany, he began his career working
for the Swedish Electric Lamp Company, eventually becoming its majority shareholder. In 1921 Wenner-
Gren founded the Electrolux Company to manufacture vacuum cleaners and, later, refrigerators.14 He then
acquired one of Sweden’s largest wood-pulp mills, as well as the Bofors Munitions Works. In 1941 Wenner-
Gren established and endowed the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Nordic Cooperation and Research, an
institute for the development of innovative scientific study.

Currently, the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s sphere of interest is the support of research in all branches of
anthropology, and closely related disciplines concerned with human origins, development, and variation.

The Designer, Alweg International

Wenner-Gren founded Alweg International in 1952, deriving its name from his own initials ([A]xel [L]eonard
[W]enner-[G]ren). To test the effectiveness of his monorail system, Wenner-Gren constructed a reduced-scale
test course outside Cologne, Germany. (A team of technicians, led by a Dr. Hinsken, was responsible for its
engineering.) The system design was a closely guarded secret, and the test course was off-limits to the general
public. Lacking photographs of the trains, some German publications used artist renderings, each depicting its
own vision of what became known as the “rail torpedo”.

Originally, Wenner-Gren promoted his monorail concept for both urban transportation and long-distance
industrial (freight) traffic. Early test results, however, indicated that economic viability was limited to
metropolitan (passenger) use. After five years of testing and revisions, the first public demonstration occurred
in 1957. Its co-developers and technicians, Willi Brose, Karl Lindlar and Willi Fusswinkel, were on hand to
operate the system. The test course consisted of two passenger trains, 36 feet in length, and a capacity of
approximately 200 persons. The emphasis was on comfort and safety; the trains operated at an average speed
of 50 miles per hour.

All components of the monorail system, including the stations, were to be standardized using the unit
construction system. This system, Alweg argued, would prove cost effective over conventional means of
public transport.

Reports indicate that Walt Disney and his wife had visited the Alweg test course while on a trip to Germany.
Believing the Alweg system to be a practical solution to transportation problems at home, Disney ordered a
5/8-scale system built for his planned theme park in Anaheim, California. When it opened in 1959, the
Disneyland monorail, which ran through Tomorrow-Land, proved to be one of the park’s most popular
attractions. Two years later, Alweg constructed a demonstration monorail at the World Exhibition and
Century Celebration in Turin, Italy. The following year, the Seattle World’s Fair showcased the Alweg
system, bringing worldwide attention to the firm.

In 1963, Cologne city officials and transportation planners established plans to expand the existing Alweg
system. Transfer points linked the system to underground connections, and station locations were located
every 800 to 1000 meters along the route.

The death of Alweg’s visionary, Wenner-Gren, in November 1961, negatively impacted the firm and control
soon passed to the Krupp Company. The expansion of the Cologne test system went unrealized. By 1967 it
had ceased operation, its system of pylons and guideways dismantled and trucked away. What was once a

14
Some may notice that the slide-base designed Electrolux model, ca. 1923 – 1956, is surprisingly similar in
appearance to a car of the Seattle Monorail.

9
center for transportation innovation underwent redevelopment as a recreational area. After fifteen years of
progress, Alweg was no longer in business.

Currently there are 15 manufacturers of monorail systems worldwide, including eight in the United States,
one in Canada, two in Japan and four in Europe. Their success in implementing monorail systems varies from
development stage to complete systems.

The Stations Designers and the General Contractor

Howard S. Wright Construction Company, the Contractor

Construction of Seattle’s Monorail took just ten months. Its general contractor, the Howard S. Wright
Construction Co., which was instrumental in this process, was also co-owner and general contractor for the
Space Needle. Howard Wright was a prominent developer in Seattle, operating a firm originally founded in
the 1890s by his grandfather and namesake. 15

Throughout its history, the company founded by Howard S. Wright, Sr., has been an active participant in
shaping the character of the built environment in the Puget Sound region. The company also participated in
the development and construction of industrial projects in the area. In 1935, the company completed the Puget
Sound Pulp and Timber Company Mill in Bellingham. This project represented the first $1,000,000 project
undertaken by a private firm in the Pacific Northwest. Howard S. Wright brought his son Howard H. Wright
into the business in 1923. Shortly after that he offered to sell the company to his son and his son-in-law,
George J. Schuchart.

As business partners Howard H. Wright and George J. Schuchart expanded the firm’s expertise with
construction of large commercial buildings in downtown Seattle and Everett, and work on the Washington
State University campus. The company, as Wright Schuchart, expanded into fields such as marine
construction and military projects. This included building structures such as bridges, cargo and oilrig deck
structures, pump mills, as well as military housing facilities in Port Orchard, and a B-52 bomber hangar at
Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake for the Boeing Company.

Howard H. Wright’s son, Howard S. Wright (1927 - 1996) joined his father’s company and eventually
assumed direction of the Wright Schuchart Companies along with George J. Schuchart’s son, George S.
Schuchart. For the World’s Fair, the company was responsible for construction of the Coliseum, the Skyride,
the Space Needle and the Monorail. The firm invested heavily in the Space Needle (with John Graham and
three other investors), eventually acquiring sole ownership of it. 16

The Howard S. Wright Company has played a significant role in the development of Seattle. It has
constructed eighteen major buildings and added more than seven million square feet of built space to the city.

15
The senior Howard S. Wright was born in Nova Scotia Canada, 1861 and worked as a carpenter. He arrived in the
U. S. in 1883 and moved to Port Townsend in Washington Territory in 1885, where he began building houses. In the
1890s he moved his home to Everett and became a contractor.
16
After the 1962 Century 21 World’s Fair the company formed Harbor Mechanical, Inc., Harbor Electrical, Inc. and
Schuchart Industrial Contractors, Inc. to serve additional construction markets. By the 1980s, the companies
included Howard S. Wright Construction, Wright Schuchart Harbor Company, and the General Construction
Company, each of which provided different construction services. Well known construction achievements in Seattle
by the Howard S. Wright Construction Company include the Columbia (Bank of America) Center, the Washington
Mutual Tower, the IBM Building, the Westin Hotel, and Northgate Mall (the first indoor mall in North America).

10
The company has helped to create the current skyline of Seattle, shaping its physical character and
contributing to its growth as an urban center.

Adrian Wilson, Architect of the original Westlake and Seattle Center Stations
Preliminary research has yielded limited information on the Monorail station architects, Adrian Wilson and
Associates. Based in Los Angeles, Adrian Wilson was in practice by at least 1941. That year, he joined
fellow architects, including Richard Neutra, in the construction of Los Angeles’ Hacienda Village, a 72-unit
public housing project inspired by suburban living and Ranch style design. Working with the same team, he
also helped design (in 1941-1942) the City’s Pueblo del Rio housing project, a series of 57 two-story units
placed on a 17.5-acre site – providing 400 living units. Of brick and reinforced concrete construction, they
expressed a subdued Modernism in their horizontal banding of windows, walls, and roofs. 17

The last documented project that can be attributed to Adrian Wilson and Associates is the Arnold Schoenberg
Institute (1978), located on the campus of the University of Southern California. Its exposed concrete walls,
metal and glass windows and roofs create a complex angular sculpture – set above a landscape of ferns and
trees.

Designers of the Later Westlake Station

The designers of the 1988 Westlake Station were Parsons Brinckerhoff, Engineers and TRA (the Richardson
Associates), with Metro as the client; and RTLK, the design team responsible for the Westlake Center
shopping mall and office building.

Parsons Brinckerhoff was established by engineer William Barclay Parsons, setting up its first office in New
York City (Lower Manhattan) in 1885. Major projects undertook by Parsons included New York City’s first
subway, the IRT, and charting a 1000-mile railroad in China, from Canton to Hankow. In 1906, Henry M.
Brinckerhoff joined the firm. He is best known as co-inventor of the “third rail” (which revolutionized rapid
transit), while also designing road and highway networks throughout the United States.

The company was primarily responsible for the Detroit – Windsor Tunnel (1920), conducted numerous rapid
transit projects (including San Francisco’s BART system) and is currently working on the Boston Central
Artery/Tunnel, the largest urban highway redevelopment project in the U.S. today. The firm focuses primarily
on providing planning, engineering, construction management and maintenance services.

DESCRIPTION:

The Original Monorail Design

Original Alweg Train Design

After four decades of service, the Monorail trains do not appear dated. Rather they have become a familiar
and cherished part of the Seattle cityscape. The two trains that currently comprise the passenger vehicles were
designed by an Italian automobile-building firm and manufactured in Germany. According to the Monorail
Society, Seattle’s Monorail vehicles are the only Alweg-built trains still operating today. Promotional
literature in 1962 touted the “interior comfort and eye-catching design” of these streamlined cars with wide
windows and contoured glass ceiling windows providing panoramic views.

The two trains operated originally on a two-beam guideway that was 1.2 miles long; currently it is 0.9 miles.
The original train’s design enabled them to operate at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, resulting in a one-

17
Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide, p. 278-280.

11
way trip between downtown and the Seattle Center of 95 seconds on the original system. (Currently the
typical train speed is 45 miles per hour.)

Each train consists of two, single-end articulated cars permanently connected into a double-ended train that
totals 122 feet in length, ten feet three inches in width, and fourteen feet tall. The trains are constructed of
lightweight aluminum, each weighing 100,000 pounds when empty. The cost of each train set, in 1962, was
$200,000.

Each train seats up to 124 people, although maximum capacity with standing room is 450. Up to 10,800
passengers can be carried each hour by both trains, assuming three minutes of waiting at each station, and six
round-trips per train per hour. Although Alweg designed the system for possible upgrade to completely
automatic system, the Monorail trains are operator-controlled. They feature driving controls at either end,
allowing for a two-driver system.

The four sections of each train contain control and operating equipment. Basically the trains operate in a
manner very similar to the subways of New York City in terms of propulsion, brake system, etc. The unique
difference with the monorail is the use of rubber tires on a concrete beam system, which assures a quiet
system, and a relatively narrow overhead track width. 18

The trains ride on 16, 39.5-inch diameter pneumatic rubber load tires. In addition there are 48, 26-inch
diameter horizontal pneumatic rubber tires that press against the sides of the guide beam for stability and
guidance. In total, each train uses 64 pneumatic tires, providing more than three times the traction of steel
wheels on steel rails. The expected performance of each tire is approximately 50,000 miles. Because each of
the trains straddles a beam, derailment is impossible.

Power switchgear stations, located at both stations, use 700 volts of DC power, fed from the Seattle City
Light Central Sub-Station. Eight General Electric 300-volt, 6,500 r.p.m. electric motors draw 700 volts DC
from an indented central rail running along the concrete beam to power each train. Side access flaps on each
car that provide quick and easy access for the maintenance of the trains’ electric motors, air compressors,
braking equipment, generators, and other equipment located below the floor of the trains.

Alweg designed the trains using heavy duty transit industry components. Most replacement parts are still
available from G. E, Westinghouse Air Brake (WABCO), Rockwell/Merrier and other equipment
manufacturers. Other parts, which are unavailable, are manufactured by Monorail maintenance personnel or
local fabricating shops.

Train Operation

Like many other mechanical devices, the Monorail requires a certain minimum levels of skill and knowledge,
attained primarily through training and education. A Commercial Drivers License CDL, which is required of
bus drivers, is required of all operators before they are given specific training. Fundamental to the trains'
operation are their directional lever, controller and brake handles. These are subject to a series of safety
checks and startup procedures. 19

18
The design of static components and the plug-in method of mounting reduced and simplified maintenance of the
static cam magnetic system, the control system for propelling the train. The arrangement of the system components
allows maximum accessibility (G. E. Instructions).

19
The operator’s first steps are to check the underside of the train for open panels or other
obstacles, and to verify the illumination of a red light (indicating power) on the Monorail beam.
Next, the operator conducts a test to confirm that maintenance personnel have activated all
required switches. The operator enters the train by releasing a safety latch and opening the

12
The trains currently operate daily as both an attraction and a method of transportation for Seattle residents,
commuters, and visitors to downtown and the Seattle Center.

One-way travel on the Monorail’s 0.9-mile-long route typically takes about two minutes to complete with
current speeds. From the commercial retail business district, the route begins at the third floor Westlake
Center terminus, located at Fifth Avenue and Pine Street, with elevator and stairway access from Fifth
Avenue. Seattle’s revitalized central business district serves an upscale shopping destination, both locally and
regionally. This, and construction of new amusement and cultural facilities at the Seattle Center have resulted
in the Monorail’s continued popularity.

The Route

Heading northwest along Fifth Avenue from the Westlake Station through the Denny Regrade neighborhood,
the system extends nine blocks to Denny Way where it turns north along Fifth Avenue. At the angular
intersection of Denny and Broad the guiderail system curves. It is supported by large steel beams and columns
and constructed over several low-scale masonry buildings dating from the 1920s – 1950s. Arriving at the
Seattle Center, the system curves west, and terminates at the Monorail Station approximately 30 yards north

second door from the end of the train. Once inside, the train operator proceeds to the desired
control end, inserting the directional lever into the controller (set to the “neutral” position) and
the brake handle into the brake valve (“handle off” position). The operator then depresses the
controller handle and turns the transfer switch to the “on” position, while deploying the transfer
button.

The controller is equipped with a “dead man’s switch” feature. Thus the controller handle must
be held down at all times while the train is motion. If the controller handle is allowed to pop up
the train’s emergency brakes activate and the train comes to a full stop. The brake handle then is
moved into “emergency” (locked) position, and then back to the “handle off” position. Moving
the brake handle into the “suppression” notch allows reservoir and brake pipe pressures to
equalize (indicated by white needles on both gauges). While in running position, the brake
cylinder pressure should be at zero, and the main reservoir pressure between 105 and 120 pounds
(red needle gauges). After checking the voltmeter for proper reading, the operator closes the
doors with a switch. This activates an amber dash light, indicating that the train is ready to
operate.

A main switch (as well as three-way switches at both ends of the train) controls interior lights, heaters and fans.
Roof vents (six per train) operate with the rotation of a handle below each vent (closed during periods of rain). Prior
to departing the station, the operator verifies that the loading platform is clear of passengers and closes the doors.
The controller has three positions or points of power, and is placed in the “first point” to initiate movement. After a
few seconds, the operator notches the controller to the “second point”. Full power is gained after completing the
first turn (when heading south towards downtown from the direction of the Seattle Center), the operator moves the
controller into” third point.”

At a marked spot, approximately halfway down the guideway, the controller is placed in the power off position, and
the train coasts the remaining distance. As the train approaches the station the operator uses the brake handle to
activate the train’s dynamic brakes which slow the train using its own electric motors. As the train enters the station
the operator uses the brake handle to activate the air brakes to bring the train to a full stop at a reference mark that
places the trains doors even with the station’s platform gates. When the train arrives at its destination station, the
operator follows a series of safety measures for disembarking of passengers.

13
of the Space Needle. Inside the Center grounds, the route becomes a tunnel within the recently constructed
Experience Music Project. The Seattle Center anchors the north end of the system.

The Stations

The Original Westlake Station

When opened in 1962, the two stations were very colorful and brightly lit. Plastic roofs allowed illumination
from within, and made them easily identifiable from a distance. The design intent for the original Westlake
station called for its suspension above the busy street without disrupting the normal flow of automobiles and
surface transit, thus the building was supported on columns. Originally, visitors could purchase tickets at
booths in ca. 1960 Westlake Mall, which was decorated with plants and trees around the station. With the
station elevated above the Mall and Pine Street, inclined moving sidewalks, known as “speed ramps,” were
constructed to provide access to the station.

The Original Seattle Center Station

The Century 21 World’s Fair Station (currently the Seattle Center Station) represented the main entry to the
fair; half of all visitors entered the grounds via the Monorail. Visitors entering the fair would purchase tickets
at the Alweg Building and travel via a doubled concrete ramp system to the upper level of the Station.

The Alweg Building was originally a temporary multi-story structure with administrative offices at the upper
level, supported by a partially open framework below. Ticket booths were placed at the grade level, allowing
ample access from the building to the adjacent Monorail station. The simple, rectangular, flat roofed, 27.7’ by
66.3’ building remains, but has been changed with the complete infill of the lower space. Originally the
building was characterized by concrete block lower walls, textured T-111 plywood cladding, and repetitive
aluminum framed windows. A large neon sign on the south facade that read, “ALWEG Century 21 Monorail
Entrance,” identified the original building.

Presently the building is not a functional part of the Monorail system. Current uses include an art gallery at
the lower level, which is accessed on the south from the Seattle Center grounds, and administrative offices on
the upper level for the system’s concessionaire. The upper level is linked to the southern platform of the
Monorail by a small, steel-framed pedestrian bridge.

The original two-level Seattle Center Station remains intact, with the upper platform level for passengers, and
the lower level for maintenance and repair of the trains. Maintenance tasks occur in the station, with the
exception of guideway maintenance, which is performed from an open aluminum cart that is lifted onto the
guideway system.

The lower level of the station is characterized by its utilitarian, industrial qualities. Open space predominates,
except for rooms on the west end and the cast-in-place concrete and concrete block walls, which serve as
enclosure and structure. Concrete beams support the two guideways. At the west end, there are several
enclosed offices, personnel locker and storage spaces, a toilet room, and cast concrete stair system leading to
the upper floor. A neon sign, reading “ALWEG,” is hung from the steel frame in the middle of the
maintenance space. (Originally it was integrated into the Monorail sign in the Station above.)

Loading and unloading operations designed within each of the original stations eliminated potential
congestion caused by using the same doors for both exits and entries. Passengers exited onto the outer
platforms, while boarding passengers entered on the center platform. This system still operates at the Seattle
Center where the Station retains both its center and outer platforms.

The loading platforms are surmounted by a frame of welded steel with angled and curved sections supporting
the multi-section roof canopy. The open canopy of corrugated metal and translucent panels recalls the

14
complex sectional profiles of early twentieth American industrial buildings, which were designed also to
maximize natural light. Currently the steel frame, expanded metal screen, and the steel surrounds which make
up the railing system are painted a deep turquoise. Other features of the station include the steel stem-
mounted globe light fixtures and the original Monorail sign, with a contemporary surround, located above the
south entry ramp.

Seattle Center Station Rehabilitation

This station rehabilitation occurred in 1988 at the same period as train car rehabilitation, and required separate
design teams and contractors to coordinate their work. Modifications in 1988 included provision of control
equipment, signage and lighting additions, and replacement of the ticket booths. Two enclosed, pod-like ticket
booths are placed at the west end, accessible on the south by a wide concrete ramp from the Center grounds,
or via a wide pedestrian bridge from the Center House.

A new, concrete block electrical vault was recently constructed at the northwest end, and the upper platforms
extended to the west. Symmetrically placed exit stairs were constructed at the west end of each outer
platform; these consist of cantilevered concrete treads supported by painted steel frames.

The ramp and station structure are one element, supported by curved, cast-in-place concrete walls and straight
concrete block wall sections that enclose the lower level. Mature landscaping on the south side these walls
include evergreen shrubs and trees. While the construction of the Experience Music Project (EMP) in 2000
obscured views of the station from the north and east, it afforded an additional unique experience of
transportation piercing through the new building.

The Monorail Route

The rail route line consists of parallel, reinforced concrete beams that are elevated 25 feet above grade and
supported by T- and inverted U-shaped, reinforced concrete pylons. Construction of the pylons along the
route required drilling of 4.5-foot shafts (to a depth of 25 feet below street level) for the foundations. Once
foundation work was complete, the tilt-up pylons were formed and cast horizontally on the street adjacent to
where they would eventually rest.

Cranes lifted each 54-ton T-pylon onto the four-foot-square foundation, secured by high strength, steel anchor
bolts. This process was repeated for the heavier U-pylons supporting the curved rail lengths. Squarely
centered within the street right-of-way and occupying only one lane of traffic, the T-pylons rest 85 feet apart
on straightaway route portions. The U-pylons sit 60 feet apart through the curves.

Trucks transported the pre-stressed concrete beams (train guideways) to the site. Measuring 3 by 5 feet, these
beams featured hollow cores to reduce weight. They were manufactured primarily in two lengths: 100 feet
for the straight-aways and 60 to 75 feet for the curved sections. The top surface of each beam was saw-cut to
improve tire traction during wet weather. Using two mobile cranes, workers positioned as many as eighteen
beams onto pylons (securing them with bolts) each day. The parallel beams are set about 12 feet apart.

Track and station structures were complete in December 1961 after only ten month’s construction. The entire
system was composed of 7,200 tons of pre-stressed concrete, 7,500 tons of reinforced concrete, 250 tons of
structural steel, 600 tons of reinforcing steel and 120 tons of pre-stressed steel.

Westlake Mall Station Modifications, 1967 – 1968 and 1977

To reduce the bulk of the original structure, modifications to the Westlake Mall station were completed in
1968, based on the designs of Durham, Anderson & Freed Architects of Seattle. The estimated cost for this
modification was $197,000. Changes to the design entailed the removal of many original design features.
These included the translucent vaulted roof material; the cantilevered outboard girder supports (four piers);
the north end platform handrails; the fourteen foot-wide east and west side platforms; the speed ramp at the

15
south end of the station (which was replaced with a return stairway); and the speed ramp at the north end of
the station (which was replaced by a fixed concrete ramp system).

Once the changes were complete, loading and unloading of passengers was restricted to the center platform.
Operators then adjusted new movable traffic control fences depending on traffic flow. Crowding at the
downtown station remained until it was relocated in 1988.

Beam and power rail repairs were completed in 1965 and 1977. ABAM Engineers, Inc., (formerly known as
Concrete Technology) of Tacoma, identified the necessary repairs that were undertaken. These included
reworking the power rail expansion joints, repairs to the top and side finger plates, cleaning of the insulators,
and bringing the power rail back into alignment relative to the guidance surfaces on the beamway.

The 1988 Westlake Station Relocation and Construction

The Westlake Station was relocated to a site north of Pine Street, and incorporated into the Westlake Center
Project in 1988. The new station was integrated into the design of the private shopping mall. The design and
location diminished the presence of the Station.
The removal and replacement of the original station represented a shift in public attitude toward the Monorail.
Whereas the 1962 era station was a bold symbol of technological progress and innovation, its current physical
presence is contextual rather than object-like. Removal of the former station also opened an east-west view
corridor along Pine Street, and eliminated a large shadow at the street level.

During construction, a temporary station was located within the Fifth Avenue right-of-way, north of its
junction with Stewart Street. This 140-foot long single elevated side-platform station occupied the space
above the western half of the right-of-way and was only capable of servicing the “Blue Train”.

Completed in 1988, the current Westlake station design evolved from the desire to maintain a two-track
system yet minimizes covering and shading of the street below (a much-criticized drawback of the original
station). Preservation of view corridors was also a goal. Thus the two guidebeams presently converge to
minimize obstructed air space, forming gauntlet tracks. This design allows only one train to approach and
enter the station at a time, and thus only one platform is available to load and unload downtown passengers.
To accommodate a single platform design, the station features eight retractable passenger boarding ramps,
allowing the loading and unloading of passengers from the easternmost train, No. 6202. The ramps retract to a
position underneath the platform when the westernmost train, No. 6201, enters the terminus.

The platform of the current Westlake Station is set within a long opening at the upper floor level in the east
façade of the Westlake Center. Framing is provided by a large, white concrete truss. The form and the
platform opening contrast with the reflective blue-green spandrel glass of the remaining portion of the
building’s wall.

Access to the station platform is provided through the Westlake Center’s multi-story retail shopping mall, via
a system of communicating stairs, exit stairs, escalators and elevators. Station-dedicated vertical circulation
consists of a ceramic-tile clad staircase and one elevator, with landings at the Metro tunnel mezzanine, the
Fifth Avenue street level, and the platform level. The design of the new station also provided a janitorial
room, public address system, and station furniture.

The terminus also features eight electric safety gates, which control passenger access to the edge of the
boarding platform. The gates align with the train doors, and the train operator controls the gates. 20 Despite
these innovations, riders at this station experience crowding, and longer loading and unloading periods than at
the Seattle Center Station. Due to its location within the building’s perimeter wall, the platform prevents
views of the arriving trains from the north or the dense urban corridor made up by Fifth Avenue to the south.

20
1988 Draft Operation Rules and Procedures

16
Changes to the Original Cars

Train Colors
In the late 1970s, the train exteriors were repainted resulting in changes to the traditional color schemes of the
original “Blue Train” and “Red Train.”. (Th “Blue Train” had been named the “Spirit of Seattle” during the
Fair. The “Red Train” was named the “Spirit of Century 21” during the Fair and renamed “The Spirit of ‘76”
in 1976 to commemorate the nation’s bicentennial.) The color changes prompted complaints from many
Seattle residents who fondly recalled the original colors. The red and blue stripes have been eliminated,
however, reducing the original identity of each car.

While Metro operated the system the trains were numbered No. 6201 and 6202 respectively for maintenance
tracking purposes. Later they were renumbered No. 601 and 602 then renumbered back to No. 6201 and 6202.
Recently the car exteriors have been painted or “wrapped” to promote specific events at the Seattle Center.

Train Car Rehabilitation and Maintenance

Coinciding with the removal of the Westlake Mall station and its reconstruction in 1988, both Monorail trains
underwent rehabilitation and upgrade to replace worn materials and improve technology. Twenty-six years of
service had amounted to 500,000 miles of operation per train. This continuous operation took and continues to
take its toll in the form of worn upholstery, soiled and discolored textured wall panels, chipped fiberglass
window frames, scratched and distorted curved Plexiglas end windows, leaking rubber window gaskets, and
deteriorated wood floors and floor tiles.

Prior restoration work, consisting primarily of repairs to three of the train car ends, was undertaken after
separate accidents in 1971 and 1979. In both incidents, repair and reconstruction work was not always
consistent with the Alweg’s original design, due in part to issues of expediency and lack of access to the
original manufacturer’s drawings.

Rehabilitation and subsequent maintenance treatments have included removal and replacement of worn and
faded finish materials, seats and bases, the driver control console, wainscot panels (replaced with rubber
base), windows and window retaining straps, the plywood sub-floor, floor tiles and hatches. Some of the
original materials were refurbished and then reinstalled.

In 1988, wiring and circuit protection equipment were replaced. Only one train underwent rehabilitation at a
time -- the west track (Train No. 6201, the earlier “Blue Train”) cars first, followed by the east (Train No.
6202, the earlier “Red Train”) cars. Since 1988, routine maintenance has included periodic re-upholstery of
train car seats, and changes to internal lighting and ceiling finishes. Recently, the ceiling finishes have been
replaced with new acoustic tile, and flooring with new linoleum.

Integrity

Although the changes to the south terminus in downtown Seattle have been significant, the physical integrity
of the Monorail appears intact. At the Seattle Center, despite lengthening of the platforms and revisions to
access routes, the station form retains its original character-defining features. The 0.9 mile guideway system
of concrete pylons and beams, which run from the Seattle Center south to Olive Way, is original with the
exception of the tunnel through the EMP.

While the guideway width has been changed, and reduced in width south of Olive Street, to accommodate the
new Westlake Station design, it remains a tectonic system of cast-in-place and pre-cast concrete elements.
The original Alweg trains remain having been preserved through a remarkably consistent effort at ongoing

17
maintenance. The impression gained by riding or simply viewing the Seattle Monorail in year 2002 is similar
to that in 1962: streamlined passenger travel, quietly moving through urban space towards a Modern future.

Bibliography

Reports and Correspondence

General Electric Instructions, Alweg Monorail Train. Locomotive and Car Equipment Department, Erie, PA,
March 1962.

Kreisman, Larry. “Monorail Rehabilitation Project.” City of Seattle Office of Urban Conservation, Seattle,
September 1, 1989.

Memorandum of Agreement for Metro Operation and Maintenance of Seattle Center Monorail, City of
Seattle, May 1973.

Monorail Operation, March 1984, Seattle Center.

Monorail Operation Procedure, September 1988, Seattle Center.

Monorail System Concession Agreement, April 1994, Seattle Center.

Operator’s Manual for the Monorail, Metro Transit 1979.

Peckham, Mark L. “Seattle Inventory Field Form – Monorail,” Office of Urban Conservation, June 1979.

Proposal for Services, Monorail Rehabilitation, Raymond Kaiser Engineers, June 8, 1984.

Seattle Monorail Improvement and Rehabilitation Plan – For the city of Seattle Draft Summary Report June
1979, De Leuw, Cather & Co., Seattle.

Seattle Monorail Inspection ABAM Engineers, Inc., Tacoma Washington October 1976. Prepared for Seattle
Center.

Seattle Monorail Rehabilitation and Upgrading Project Contract 3 by Guideway Relocation, November 1987.

Seattle Monorail Rehabilitation and Upgrading Project - Westlake Station Relocation Preliminary
Engineering Report, Kaiser Engineers, February 1986.

Seattle Monorail Rehabilitation and Upgrading Project - Contract 6, January 1986.

Seattle Monorail Maintenance Manual for the Safety Gates at the Westlake Center Station, Raymond Kaiser
Engineers, Seattle, May 5, 1989.

Seattle Monorail Rehab. Functional Specification, General Electric Transportation Systems, December, 1996.

Train Rehabilitation Contract 9, Kaiser Engineers, Seattle December 1987.

Westlake Monorail Station Design Criteria Report (Draft), Raymond Kaiser Engineers, 10/2/1985.

18
The features of the Landmark to be preserved, include: the Monorail cars and their interiors, the
concrete guideways/beams and pylons, the Seattle Center station, and exclude the following:
the Westlake Station, the concrete guideways/beams and pylons built in conjunction with the
Westlake Station alterations in 1988; the skybridge to the Center House, the Seattle Center
Administrative Offices/Alweg Building (exterior and interior), 1988 and later renovations including
the paving, ramp and stairs on the exterior of the Seattle Center Station, the electrical vault building,
and the two ticket booths.

Issued: April 30, 2003

Karen Gordon
City Historic Preservation Officer

cc: Virginia Anderson

Shelly Yapp
Susan Boyle
Andrew Philllips
Joel Horn
Roger Pearce
Lorne McConachie, LPB
Yvonne Sanchez, DON
Diane Sugimura, DCLU
Cheryl Mosteller, DCLU
Ken Mar, DCLU

19