Renton, WA— The building that once helped power the city and region, now will help preserve it. As Renton marks its 125th anniversary, a piece of its earliest infrastructure is getting a new chapter. The Renton Historical Society & Genealogy (RHS) has announced the purchase of the historic Snoqualmie Falls Power Company Substation at 1025 S. 3rd Street, one of downtown Renton’s oldest standing structures.
Built in 1898, the brick building is older than the city itself. At the time of its construction, it served as a critical relay point in what was then a remarkable feat of engineering: electricity generated at Snoqualmie Falls, 38 miles away, was transmitted over newly constructed power lines to Seattle, passing through substations at Issaquah and Renton along the way. When the plant went fully online on July 31, 1899, it became the first hydroelectric facility of its kind in Washington State, producing 6 megawatts— a tremendous output for the era.
The Renton substation sat at the junction where those power lines split to serve both Seattle and Tacoma, fitting for a place that was establishing itself as a regional access point for coal, rail, and now electricity.
The building changed hands over the decades. Holmes Electric occupied it beginning around 1950. It later became a youth center, then home to the Renton Area Multi-Service Center, and received significant renovations, including a third-floor addition and elevator, in 1986.
Now, the Society is writing the next chapter. The new facility will serve as RHS’s permanent home, housing its main office and providing dedicated storage for a collection that has grown to more than 40,000 artifacts. The move also expands the Society’s capacity to offer historical education programs, genealogy research assistance, and scanning services to the public.
“This expansion is a vital step in protecting Renton’s historical legacy,” said Society President Carrie Bergquist.
It’s a sentiment that lands with particular weight in 2026, a year when the city is actively reflecting on where it’s been as it looks toward where it’s going. What better anchor for that reflection than a building that has witnessed all of it?
Interested community members are invited to the Annual Member Meeting on Sunday, May 31, at 2 p.m. Details on location will be shared by the Society.