mills and industrial buildings, mostly in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
trestle bridges, mostly in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Bridges of various types along the Spokane Street corridor
Although the focus is on structures built over water, this list also includes some terminals etc. built on fill. Especially in the early years, it can be difficult to make a distinction between the two. "[O]ne of ... [the] basic practices," writes David B. Williams, "was to drive a double row of pilings out from the shoreline, lay timbers across the tops of the pilings to form piers and wharves, and build out atop the wood. They could then dump material under these structures, undertaking the land-making practice known as wharfing out."[1]
It is not possible for a list like this to be complete. In the late 1880s and 1890s, a lack of legal clarity about ownership of lands between the low- and high-tide lines resulted in a massive number of structures on the tideflats, mostly poorly built and short-lived.[2] "The craze for salt water," remarked Judge Thomas Burke, had "broken out again with greater violence than before ... [with] lunatics of high and low degree ... like so many cawing crows on the mudflats."[3] Even today, there are numerous small, anonymous piers and ruins of piers.
The geography of Elliott Bay has changed considerably in the period since people of European ancestry first settled in the Seattle area in the mid-19th century. In particular, virtually all of the Industrial District and Sodo, as well as all of Harbor Island are built on landfill; also, there have been a series of smaller adjustments to the terrain of the Downtown waterfront, including the construction of the Alaskan Way Seawall.
In general, when listing variants of names we have not listed minor variants such as "Yesler Wharf/Yesler's Wharf".
Besides what is listed below, there is the following from Daily Pacific Tribune, January 15, 1877: "Last year the Seattle Coal Company pushed out a new dock, as also the Seattle Gas and Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad Companies."[4] The Seattle and Walla Walla later became the Columbia and Puget Sound.[5] This suggests either slightly earlier dates for the Columbia and Puget Sound piers than given by other sources, or that they were begun in 1876 and not rapidly completed, or that short-lived piers were quickly replaced; similarly for the coal pier (presumably the one at King Street). Conversely, it suggests a slightly later date than given elsewhere for the "Gas Cove" gas works, although this could have been the addition of a pier to an existing operation. Also, that same 1877 article refers to a pier "for Mr. Isaac Parker, in the rear of his lot on Commercial Street [First Avenue South], and immediately alongside the Craig & Hastings Wharf."[4] That suggests two structures south of Yesler's Wharf, neither mentioned below, at least not by those names. Even if the Parker wharf was never built, the Craig & Hastings Wharf appears to have already existed in January 1877.
West Seattle Machine Works, visible at upper left of photo shown here, is described in the 1916 Polk's Directory as located "Alki Av[enue], [at the] f[oo]t [of] Maryland Place", which puts it at the present site of Hamilton Viewpoint Park.[7] In this general area, a 1910 listing of piers in 1907 lists "King & Wing Shipyard (leased of West Seattle Land and Improvement Company)" and "city docks (partially occupied by Calhoun & Krauss Lumber Company)."[8] ("King & Wing" is certainly a typo, should be "King & Winge".) The 1912 Baist maps show four unnamed piers of various sizes in this area; the second from the north shows a "machine shop" on a pier at the foot of Maryland St.[9]
The West Seattle end of the West Seattle Ferry run.[6][10] The ferry started running December 24, 1888.[10] In 1907 this was still owned by the West Seattle Land and Improvement Company.[8] A 1918 map by the Port of Seattle Commission indicates this as property of the Port: "Port Commission, W. Seattle Ferry Landing".[11]
3
Wheat Elevators and Warehouses
Seattle Terminal and Railway Elevator Co. circa 1891.
West Seattle,[6] extending south from site of present-day restaurant "Salty's on Alki Beach" (which is not on Alki Beach)
The 1890 Anderson map says "Wheat Elevators and Warehouses" but gives no specifics;[6] given that it shows rail lines in that area that were definitely not yet built, it is possible that this represented structures that were merely proposed or under construction. An 1891 map shows the extensive Seattle Terminal Railway and Elevator Company facility at this site.[14] Salty's is on the site of the Novelty Mill, "a working flour mill from the late 1890s to the mid 1950s."[13]See further discussion of these structures in the section "Since the Great Fire".
Mudflats south of King Street
Prior to the Great Seattle Fire, anything south of King Street and west of roughly Eighth Avenue was on mudflats.
Name (Alternative names in parentheses)
Image
Year completed
Year destroyed
Type
Location
Notes
1
Hemrich & Co's Brewery[15][16] Bay View Brewery[17]
West of Grant Street on east shore of Elliott Bay.
Most of the Hemrich/Bay View facility (today's Old Rainier Brewery) was always on solid ground, but planks on pilings extended past the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad (C. & P.S.R.R.), then across Grant Street, to the bottling plant pier. Grant Street was roughly along the same route as today's Airport Way S., but was a causeway over water: the area had not yet been filled. Between Grant Street and the shore, also on pilings, was the C. & P.S.R.R.[15][16] By 1905 the area was solid ground.[17]
2
Palouse Feed Mill Warehouse
c.1888
?
Feed mill on pilings
East of Grant Street, but west of the C. & P.S. R.R. on east shore of Elliott Bay, "about 13⁄4 miles south of Mill and Front Sts."[19]
Between Judkins and B Streets, extending across C. & P.S. R.R. and Grant Street on east shore of Elliott Bay.[20]
The 1888 Sanborn map notes that the mill is "not in operation...building and mach[iner]y becoming impaired...Tatum & Bowen (owners)". The map shows over a dozen structures on a complex of connected piers, with the mill being the farthest from dry land, some 200 feet (61 m) from shore.[20]
This is right in the path of today's Interstate 5, with the mill falling roughly along the line of Royal Brougham Way.
south of Jackson, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues[21]
Seattle's first gas works was built partly on land and partly on a pier extending south from Jackson Street over the salt water that became known as "Gas Cove". Fourth and Fifth Avenues were then known as Fifth and Sixth Avenue, respectively.[21]
The 1884 Sanborn map shows several buildings of the Hall and Paulson Furniture Manufactury on planks extending about a block south from King Street, extending from Second Avenue in the east to the railroad tracks beyond the line of Commercial Street (later First Avenue South) in the west; on the other side of the tracks was the Stetson & Post Mill.[27] The 1888 Sanborn map shows this much expanded. Hall and Paulson has packed in more buildings and has extended south onto another small pier; extensive C. & P.S. R.R. rail infrastructure has been added between Commercial and Second Avenues in the west and Third Avenue in the east. The area extending roughly a block-and-a-half south of King Street includes a railway turntable, a locomotive house, car shop, machine shop, etc.[28] A distinct rail line on planks continues south several blocks roughly along the line of Second Avenue, where the Oregon Improvement Company Mill is located on another large planked pier.[28] (The 1890 Anderson map does not detail this area.[6]) This either incorporated or replaced Atkin's Wharf.
Central Waterfront
Name (Alternative names in parentheses)
Image
Year completed
Year destroyed
Type
Location
Notes
1
(no known name for the pier as a whole)
Seattle Dry Dock and Ship Building Company, circa 1889; however, this may be a picture of the post-Fire replacement for this dock.[29]
The east edge of this was Railroad Avenue, running due south from King Street, a block west of Commercial Street (today's First Avenue South), along the line of today's Alaskan Way South. Very little of Plummer Street remains anywhere as of 2019; it is a block south of Charles Street.[6]
Seattle Dry Dock and Ship Building Company was owned by the Moran Brothers and Bailey Gatzert. The Moran Brothers had been repairing boats in Seattle since 1882. At the beginning of 1888 they built this sectional floating dock at the foot of Charles Street on the tideflats. They would go on to found a major shipyard after the fire.[30]
There were various structures on this pier over time, and there were multiple occasions when much of the pier burned and was rebuilt: 1879,[34] 1885,[33] and 1887, before the major destruction of the Great Seattle Fire[34] (after which nonetheless another Yesler Wharf was built and lasted slightly over a decade).
The east edge of this was Railroad Avenue, running due south from King Street, a block west of Commercial Street (today's First Avenue South), along the line of today's Alaskan Way South.[6]
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company Ocean Dock (O.R.& N. Co. Ocean Dock,[6] Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad's Ocean Dock, C. & P.S. R.R. Co's Ocean Dock Warehouse[38])
Just north of Washington Street,[38] foot of Washington[6]
A Seattle Public Library Special Collections photo caption refers to a "Harrington and Smith" dock at the "foot of Yesler Way" (presumably a minor error; certainly Yesler Wharf was at Yesler) that burned July 26, 1879.[39]
The caption of an 1882 Theodore Peiser photo on the University of Washington Libraries site suggests that Crawford's and Harrington's Wharves were distinct.[40] Given the sign "Talbot Coal Yard" in that photo, Harrington's Wharf must be the same thing as "Talbot Coal Dock".[41]
Begun as a stubby pier when Yesler set up his mill, the pier was extended in 1859.[42] In 1875, a branch to the northwest was added, initially as a coaling pier[42] but later serving other purposes.[45]
Significant structures, roughly from shore outward, 1888:
Moran Bros. Foundry
Mechanics Mill
Mach[iner]y Depot
Seattle Boiler Works
Soda Water Fac[tory]
Soda Water Mfy. Storage
Ice House & produce building
spur running from the middle of the dock to the northwest
From here north, the 1888 Sanborn maps show an extensive planked area over the water, partially interrupted at Madison and Spring Streets, but extending as far north as a bit past Seneca Street, so it is a bit difficult to entirely separate out the next several piers.[48] Some of that planking, and a few small buildings, seems to exist at the foot of Columbia as early as the 1884 Sanborn map. At that time, this is shown as the northern terminus of the C. & P.S. R.R.; there is no connection north to the tracks that would constitute Railroad Avenue north of this.[49]
One of these boathouses was the pre-fire Budlong's Boathouse, which existed by 1886.[46]
11
Colman's Hay Warehouse ("Coleman's [sic] Hay W.Ho."[45])
Sawmill and lumber yard. The 1888 Sanborn map shows this considerably expanded from the 1884 map; in particular, a pier with "Commercial Mills No. 2" extends further out away from shore.[50]
A January 1877 article in the Daily Pacific Tribune says that work had begun on what was to be "the largest wharf in the city… From Madison Street to Seneca, a distance of 546 feet… reaching west… 60 feet, and from that will extend two long piers… [one at Madison] built by Mr. R. W. Pontius and… [one at] Seneca by J.T. S[t]ewart and M. B. Maddocks. The [546-foot wharf] along the bank, will be owned by Messrs. M. Stacey, Amos Brown, John S. Hill, and M. B. Maddocks, and will be used as a roadway…"[54] Two weeks later, the same newspaper described the Stewart & Maddocks pier as "well nigh finished" and the 60-foot-wide planking along the shore as to be "commenced this week", with the Pontius wharf expected to be completed the following month.[4]
Visible but unnamed on maps showing 1884 and 1889 configuration. No way to know for certain whether this remained the same structure.[6][52] 1888 Sanborn map shows planking between Madison and Spring that would seem to eliminate this as a distinct structure.[50]
The 1884 Sanborn map shows an unmamed wharf; 1888 Sanborn shows Scott's Wharf and the 1890 Anderson (which shows a pre-Fire configuration) shows Badere Milling Co. Wharf. Some of these could have been distinct structures in the same location a few years apart.[52][50][6]
The 1884 Sanborn map shows a boiler works and some unnamed warehouses. The 1888 Sanborn map shows (roughly from south to north):
This may or may not be an extension of the structure shown on the 1884 Sanborn map and/or it may be the same structure shown on the 1888 Sanborn map. The 1884 map shows a small pier at this location with "Star B[ui]ld[in]g" built at the foot of the pier.[52] The 1888 map shows a continuation of the planking that extended north from around Marion Street (though there is a partial interruption at Seneca Street, where there were some openings in the planking).[60]
Going roughly from land to open water, structures on the pier included:
The 1888 Sanborn map shows a shorter wharf with the Seattle Soap Works, which may or may not be part of the longer pier shown on the Anderson map.[6][60]
The 1888 Sanborn map shows an unnamed plank wharf at this location, with no structures,[60] presumably Schwabacher's Wharf under construction. See below for post-Great-Fire history.
25
Pike Street Coal Pier,[66] S.C.&T.Co's Wharf,[22] S.C.&T. Coal Wharf[67]
This pier was connected by a roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) railway to Lake Union.[68] More than 200 feet (61 m) long and 70 feet (21 m) high. The end of the pier collapsed June 11, 1877, although it was partially repaired and continued to be used[34] until it was abandoned when the King Street Coal Wharf was built.[66]
26
Columbia Wharf[6] (Columbia Canning Co. Wharf[60])
Left of center: Columbia Canning Co. c. 1888 or slightly earlier
As discussed below in section Trestle (and other) bridges, italics indicate structures shown on one or more maps, but little other evidence that they actually existed.
Foot of Lake Street (now Broad Street), Belltown.[49][73]
The Seattle Barrel Manufactury (a.k.a. Seattle Barrel Manufacturing Company[72]) stood on dry land between Lake (now Broad Street) and ran northwest along the shore past Eagle to Grant (now Bay), west of West St.(now Western Avenue). The pier was at the south end of their shoreline.[49][73] This is now entirely filled, and is roughly the eastern half of the Olympic Sculpture Park, between Elliott (roughly the old shoreline) and Western. This may or may not have been the same structure as Coffman's Wharf, attested a few years later.
These correspond to piers 38/88 and 39/89. Daryl C. McClary implies that although these appears on the 1890 Anderson map, they were not actually built at that time, and instead were part of the Great Northern Railway's construction of a route north out of Seattle in the early 1890s.[74]
just offshore near South Washington Street[76][77]
Ballast Island, developed more or less by accident starting in the 1880s and survived into the post-Fire era, from ships dumping their ballast. During that time, it was home to numerous displaced people, including many Native Americans.[75] This was later the site of the circa 1900 Pier A, owned by the Pacific Coast Company; part of the remainder of Ballast Island was the site of a brick railroad station for the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad, completed 1905, also owned by owned by the Pacific Coast Company.[78] A present-day historical marker places Ballast Island at the intersection of Alaskan Way South and South Washington Street.[77]
Trestle (and other) bridges
Italics indicate structure shown on one or more maps, but little other evidence that they actually existed. As Matthew Klingle has written, "paper railroads... crisscrossed Puget Sound, routes planned and licensed but never built..."[79]
Name (Alternative names in parentheses)
Image
Year completed
Year destroyed
Type
Location
Notes
1
Portland & Puget Sound Railroad / Union Pacific trestle
The 1890 Anderson map shows this as a rail line coming in from the south along the Puget Sound coast, cutting inland near Alki Point, then continuing around Duwamish Head, coming onto land again and ending in the harbor area a bit south of the ferry terminal.[6] However, while it is possible that some rights of way were secured, this line was never built.[80]
The 1890 Anderson map shows this as a rail line close to the shoreline running slightly east of south from the West Seattle wheat elevators and warehouses, crossing relatively open water (now filled) roughly along the line of Spokane Street to Pigeon Point, and continuing slightly east of south, partly on trestle over water and partly on land, to roughly Kellogg Island, then continuing in a similar direction on land.[6] This is on the 1890 Anderson map, but may not yet have been built. There are few, if any, references to a "Seattle & Southern Railroad" as anything beyond the planning stage. At least one of these references seems to preclude it being an existing railroad in Seattle in 1889-1890.[81]
3
Railroad Avenue
On a planked area over water near Pioneer Square in the 1910s.
On the Central Waterfront, just south of Broad Street in 1934.
Farther south, the 1890 Anderson map (which, as indicated above, shows rail lines that were not yet completed), shows Railroad Avenue beginning on the West Seattle shore of the bay near the wheat elevators and warehouses, heading roughly east across the bay, then turning to run due north to King Street, a block west of Commercial Street (today's First Avenue South), along the line of today's Alaskan Way South, where it meets the abovementioned line opened in 1887.[6]
According to the 1890 Anderson map, this line carried the Portland & Puget Sound Railroad (which appears never to have been built[80]), Northern Pacific Railway's Seattle Terminal Railway, and Seattle & Montana Railroad,[6] an enterprise of James J. Hill's[85][86] that began construction in May 1890 with construction north of Seattle, incorporated the S., L.S. & E. R.R., and began running north from Seattle October 12, 1891, providing a link to the Canadian Pacific Railway.[86]
The east–west line across the bay was completed by 1893.[84] A map from that year shows two significant structures built adjoining the trestle in otherwise open water:
P.H. McMaster Shingle Mill, south of the Downtown waterfront, at the turn in the trestle.[84]
American Lumber Co's Shingle Mill, west of that, a bit east of the middle of the bay.[84]
This trestle built by Joe Surber ran south from the King Street Coal Wharf, carrying trains through what has now been filled as part of Seattle's Industrial District; the lines continued to the coal mines at Renton, Washington. It was short-lived because shipworms attacked the pilings.[88]
Coming out of the King Street Coal Wharf, this trestle ran mainly south just off of the then-shore at the foot of Beacon Hill, carrying C. & P.S. R.R. trains through what has now been filled as part of Seattle's Industrial District, eventually re-joining the prior C. & P.S. R.R. route.[6][90]
6
Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad trestle (3)
This pre-Fire photo shows a pair of trestles along the C. & P.S. R.R.(3) route, as well as one along the C. & P.S. R.R.(2) route. more images
Coming out of the King Street Coal Wharf, this trestle rapidly turned south over the mudflats, carrying C. & P.S. R.R. trains on a line not far from today's First Avenue South through what has now been filled as part of Seattle's Industrial District, eventually re-joining the prior C. & P.S. R.R. routes. According to the 1890 Anderson map, the northern portion of this coincided with Railroad Avenue over the mudflats, separating when Railroad Avenue headed west across the bay; from there, this trestle ran slightly east of south, carrying Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad (C. & P.S. R.R.) and Northern Pacific trains.[6]
Since roughly 1900 there have been a series of bridges of various types running east–west roughly along the line of Spokane Street; see List of bridges in Seattle.
A 1918 Port of Seattle map shows three narrow, unnamed piers between the Municipal Bathing Beach (Alki Beach) and Duwamish Head, as well as several others around Alki Point facing onto Puget Sound, outside Elliott Bay.[11] One such pier is visible in the distance in the third photo of a Seattle Now & Then article by Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard.[93]
Construction began in 1906; the amusement park was open 1906-1913; the natatorium remained open until it was destroyed by arson, April 14, 1931.[94] A small portion of the former Luna Park site is now solid land behind a seawall, as part of the line of parks along the West Seattle waterfront; there is a 2.5-ton anchor at this site.[96] A 1910 listing of Seattle docks refers to the "Mexico street dock (used by Luna Park; this park is built on piles extending into the harbor, the site being leased of the West Seattle Land Improvement Company)."[8]
4
(unnamed piers)
King and Winge Boat Shop, circa 1906
In 1918, in this area, there were at least two identifiable structures and a third unnamed pier. From north to south: King & Winge Shipbuilding Co.; City of Seattle Marine Iron Works; unnamed pier.[95][97]See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above. West Seattle was not directly affected by the fire.
5
West Seattle Ferry Slip
West Seattle Ferry Slip circa 1920.
A 1918 Harbor Department map calls this "Port of Seattle West Seattle Terminal".[95]See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above. West Seattle was not directly affected by the fire.
6
(unnamed piers)
The northernmost of these piers is visible at right in this c. 1911 photo (centered on the ferry slip). A sign on the building in the pier says "Elliott Bay Yacht & Engine Co. Inc"
between West Seattle Ferry Slip & Seattle Yacht Club
The 1912 Baist map shows an unnamed pier adjoining the south side of the West Seattle Ferry Slip, then three unnamed piers (the northernmost labeled "Boat Wks." as you go south toward the Yacht Club.[9] In this general area, a 1910 listing of piers in 1907 lists the "Ericson Dock and Shingle Mill" and the "Arrow Lumber and Shingle Company dock," both described as "leased of West Seattle Land and Improvement Company."[8] A 1918 Harbor Department map shows all piers here as being within the anchorage of the Yacht Club.[95]
The Elliott Bay Water Taxi, started its run from Downtown to West Seattle in 1997.[98] In April 2009, the route was renamed from the Elliott Bay Water Taxi to the King County Water Taxi,[99] and dock was upgraded.[98]
The 1892-1918 Yacht Club site was just south of the terminal for today's King County Water Taxi.[9] Since 1920, the club has been located in Montlake.[101]
Seattle Terminal Railway and Elevator Co. (in 1907: Northern Pacific Railway grain and coal elevators;[8] in 1913 and 1918: West Seattle Elevator;[100][95] in 1918: Northern Pacific Railway Grain Elevator and Wharf[11])
Seattle Terminal and Railway Elevator Co. circa 1891. more images
It not clear whether this predates the Great Fire of June 1889. The 1890 Anderson map says "Wheat Elevators and Warehouses" but gives no specifics;[6] given that it shows rail lines in that area that were definitely not yet built, it is possible that this represented structures that were merely proposed or under construction. An 1891 map shows the extensive Seattle Terminal Railway and Elevator Company facility at this site.[14] This is the location of the "maze of old decaying and barnacle encrusted piers" between Salty's and Jake Block Park depicted in a 2014 YouTube video.[103]
Immediately northeast of West Seattle Elevators[95]
Possibly Pacific Coast Coal Co. There was apparently a second Pacific Coast Coal Co. bunker (besides the one on the east shore of the bay) somewhere in West Seattle as of 1913.[104]
13
Pier 2 (in 1912: Colmans Creosote Plant;[105] in 1913, 1918: Colman Creosoting Works[100][11] or Coleman Creosoting Works[95])
Fire at the creosote pier, 1947
Barges at Pier 2 in 2010
This recreational pier photographed 2019 in Jack Block Park is actually the east side of the former main slip of the creosoting plant. more images
There is quite a bit of disagreement in sources as to whether this is properly Colman or Coleman. However, File:Panoramic view of Harbor Island, between 1912 and 1917 (MOHAI 5199).jpg clearly shows a sign on the roof saying "Colman Creosoting Works". North edge of Industrial District West. A rail spur runs north under a bridge in Jack Block Park to reach this small pier northwest of Terminal 5. The 1912 Baist map shows "Colmans Creosote Plant" at this location.[105] A 2004 EPA report reports successive owners of the creosote plant: J.M. Coleman Company (1909); West Coast Wood Preserving Company (jointly owned by J. M. Coleman Co. and Pacific Creosoting) (1930); Baxter-Wyckoff Company (1959); Wyckoff Company (1964); Pacific Sound Resources (1991); Port of Seattle (1994)[106]
In 1963 the Baxter-Wyckoff property included an "East Log Wharf," "North Piers and Marine Slip," and a "West Barge Slip."[107]
Crowley Maritime's[108] PSAVL Hydro-Train ("Puget Sound Alaska Van Lines"), after 1969 Alaska Hydro-Train,[109] used Pier 2 from its inception in 1963[108] until early 1971.[109] Railroad cars would "roll onto 400-foot steel barges destined for Alaska."[109] Crowley retired the Alaska Hydro-Train name and others in 1992.[110]
north of Terminal 5; now part of site of Jack Block Park[105]
North edge of Industrial District West.[105] The 1912 Baist map shows this at a location within what the Southwest Harbor Cleanup and Redevelopment Project: Environmental Impact Statement shows as the "Lockheed Property".[112] A 1967 water pollution study attests a Nettleton pier shipping lumber by barge in 1963.[107]
north of Terminal 5; now split between Jack Block Park and Terminal 5[112] Bounded by Elliott Bay (north), West Waterway of the Duwamish (east), Terminal 5 (south), Wyckoff (former Coleman, west)[113]
Operated by Lockheed from 1959 to 1987.[113] A 1967 water pollution study attests two piers and three drydocks in 1963.[107] Its final configuration had five piers: west to east, the first was unnumbered; the others were numbered as Pier 24, 23, 22, and 21, respectively. All piers extended to the north. Just west of pier 21 was a drydock.[117] The western portion of the land had been the West Seattle Landfill, closed in the mid-1960s. There is also an adjacent reference to one "Puget Sound Dredging Co. Pier", which may or may not be part of the same property.[118] After Lockheed left, the land passed to the CEM Development Company, which leased portions to the Purdy Company (who stored scrap metal there) and Salmon Bay Steel (who stored scrap metal and slag).[118] By 1994, the site had been purchased by the Port of Seattle.[118]
"about 20 acres"[121] in Industrial District West, north of Spokane Street
This was located on part of the site of present-day Terminal 5. It included "a machine shop, blacksmith shop, boiler shop, plate and pattern shops, carpenter and coppersmith shops, and ... a large dining hall and hospital for its employees" and eventually the salmon-packing facility for Libby, McNeil and Libby Company.[121]
container port / marine terminal, mainly on landfill
86 acres[123] or 172 acres[122] in Industrial District West, north of Spokane Street
Container operations at Terminal 5 began in 1964[122] and were suspended in July 2014; as of 2019 activities are underway to rework the terminal.[123] A 1967 water pollution study attests a "Banana Terminal" here in 1963 (a year before the official opening of the container port), as well as "Receipt and shipment of general cargo including containerized cargo in foreign and domestic trade; receipt of automobiles and fuel oil; shipment of scrap metal."[124] In 1971: Salmon Terminals, Inc., Sea-Land Service, Inc., United Fruit Co. (Banana Terminal)[115]
Industrial District West, southwest corner of West Waterway
A 1918 Port of Seattle map shows this on the west side of the West Waterway, almost exactly at the south end of the part of the West Waterway that runs straight north–south. Below this point the Waterway angles southeast.[11]
22
Maritime Boat and Engine Works
Maritime Boat and Engine Works, 1920. Elliott Bay Shipbuilding Company circa 1918. 1917. Probably the West Waterway Lumber Co. in foreground. Fisher Flouring Mill on Harbor Island in background. Tugs from Island Tug & Barge on this site, seen from Harbor Island, 2023.
immediately north of Spokane Street on the West Waterway of the Duwamish, Industrial District West.[127]
Moved to Salmon Bay and renamed as Maritime Shipyards, 1936.[126]
Maritime Boat and Engine Works business is not indicated on the 1918 Port of Seattle map; southeast of the Iowa Street Ferry Landing it shows, from northwest to southeast (headed away from Elliott Bay to what is steadily more specifically the Duwamish River):
The 1971 harbor map lists West Waterway Lumber Co. here as Pier 7.[115]
Harbor Island
Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, when Harbor Island was completed in 1909 it was the largest artificial island in the world, at 350 acres (1.4 km²).[128] It appears that no substantial businesses had opened on the island in 1911.[129] Since 1912, the island has been used for commercial and industrial activities. Harbor Island was made from 24 million yd³ (18 million m³) of earth removed in the Jackson and Dearborn Street regrades and dredged from the bed of the Duwamish.[128]
This list goes clockwise around Harbor Island, starting from the south end.
Harbor Island, West Waterway, immediately north of Spokane Street[95]
(Nature of Nieder & Marcus is unknown, and the name wasn't perfectly legible and could be slightly different.) More recently, this site was Tilbury Cement.
In 1963, the mill was shipping and receiving grain, feed, and flour by barge.[136]Fisher Communications sold the mill to Pendleton in 2001, but Pendleton closed the mill a year later.[134] The mill soon passed into the hands of King County; sound stages for film and video opened there in 2021.[137]
Harbor Island near Seattle Bulk Shipping, West Waterway
A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 refers to "Puget Sound Bridge & Drydock Co., Plant No. 1", with four piers, in what appears to be a list going counterclockwise around Harbor Island.[136] The City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District, February 1918, shows six piers.[95] 1945 US Navy aerial survey:[139]
A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 refers to "Richfield Oil Corp. Wharf, Pier 11", in what appears to be a list going counterclockwise around Harbor Island.[136] 1971 harbor map also calls it "Pier 11" but refers to "Atlantic Richfield Co."[115] (reflectimg the 1966 merger).
northwest Harbor Island, West Waterway and north side
Tracing its history back to 1887 via Central Waterfront shipyards Moran Bros. Company, Seattle Construction and Drydock Company, etc.,[141] the company was acquired in 1916 by William H. Todd,[142] and moved to Harbor Island in 1918.[140] A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 indicates Todd as having seven active piers and four drydocks, as well as owning an unused "Plant A, Pier 18".[143] The 1971 harbor map shows Todd with several multi-vessel piers, Pier 12 on the West Waterway and Piers 13 & 14 on the north side of Harbor Island, as well as sharing Pier 15 with Mobil Oil.[115]Todd built 10 Gleaves-classdestroyers concurrently in 1941. In 2010 Todd was acquired by Vigor Industrial.[140] In July 2019, The Carlyle Group and Stellex Capital Management agreed to acquire and merge Vigor Industrial with MHI Holdings LLC.[144] 1945 US Navy aerial survey:[139]
12
Maxum Petroleum pier
Maxum Petroleum, 2011
?
extant
pier
Harbor Island, north side
Maxum may be the same facility that a 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 lists as "Mobile Oil Co." with two piers,[145] which in turn is certainly the same as Pier 15 that the 1971 harbor map shows as shared by Todd Shipyard and Mobil Oil.[115] At roughly this location, the 1918 Port of Seattle map shows a very small pier labeled "Harbor Island Manufacturing Co.",[133] also shown on that year's City of Seattle Harbor Department Map.[95] Kroll's 1920 map shows the site as "General Petroleum," with no pier.[146]
The company predates this particular shipyard, and lasted beyond its closure. It was founded in 1911, and built at least four ships before 1916; in 1928 the company name was changed to Wallace Bridge Company.[153]
Harbor Island, East Waterway just north of Spokane Street
The 1971 harbor map shows much of Harbor Island south of Spokane Street, along with the area across the East Waterway on the Seattle mainland, as Terminal 102, POS [Port of Seattle] Container Facility.[115]
Mudflats south of King Street
The mudflats south of King Street were filled in the early 20th century, forming present-day Sodo and the portion of the Industrial District east of the East Waterway of the Duwamish. Prior to that, contained numerous buildings on pilings.
For the post-Fire section, we are confining this to structures east of Commercial Street (later First Avenue South); structures to the west of that correspond more or less to the present-day waterfront. The mudflats south of King Street were filled in at various times starting July 29, 1895[157] and extending into the late 1910s or, possibly in some cases, the 1920s.[158]
This list runs roughly counterclockwise, first running north up the east shore of the mudflats then turning to include both the north and west shore of the mudflats, as well as a few buildings in the middle of the flats along the early 20th-century rail lines before landfill was complete.
Name (Alternative names in parentheses)
Image
Year completed
Year destroyed
Type
Location
Notes
1
Hemrich & Co's Brewery
This area was not directly affected by the fire. The brewery complex has continuity down to the present time, but the filling of the Industrial District left it far from the bay. Rainier was last brewed there in 1999; the buildings were renovated into offices, apartments, and (since 2011) a small brewery called Emerald City Brewing.[159]See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above.
2
Palouse Feed Mill Warehouse
See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above. This area was not directly affected by the fire.
3
Slaughterhouses, including Frye and Bruhn
Frye and Bruhn, meat packers, circa 1905
c.1888
?
slaughterhouses on pilings
West of Grant Street on east shore of Elliott Bay, between Stacy and Plum
This area was not directly affected by the fire. The single slaughterhouse of the late 1880s soon became an entire slaughterhouse district. Filling the Industrial District left this district far from the bay. The 1905 Baist map shows Frye Bruhn & Co. Port Packers west of 9th Avenue, south of Walker St., partly on pilings,[160] with three other unidentified slaughterhouses on pilings between Walker and Plum Street (a block south of Holgate)[161] This is now where Interstate 5 comes through. See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above.
See further discussion in the section "Before the Great Fire", above. This area was not directly affected by the fire.
6
(miscellaneous small buildings on pilings)
At lower right, this c. 1898 photo shows small buildings on pilings, the "Old Wharf" at southwest of Washington Iron Works, and part of the ironworks property.
between Judkins & Plummer, west of Seventh Avenue[161]
At the southwest of this property, the 1905 Baist Map indicates an "Old Wharf"[161] A 1909 photo shows it still clearly on pilings, and minus the old wharf.[163] The 1912 Baist map shows the ironworks still there, minus the wharf, and now spanning Seattle Boulevard; it does not indicate whether was still mudflat at that time, or filled.[164]
8
(no known name for the planked area as a whole)
Northern Pacific freight warehouse c. 1891.
Apartment buildings over the mud flats, just east of 6th on South Charles Street, 1908.
c. 1889
c. 1904
planked area over mudflats
south of King Street, east of Commercial Street
After the fire, the planked area south of King Street was rebuilt and expanded. The Northern Pacific rail facilities shown on the 1893 Sanborn map shows a similar configuration to the C. & P.S. R.R. infrastructure from the 1888 map: a turntable, a roundhouse, car repair and machine shops, warehouses.[165] East of the station between Lane and Weller, also on planks, were some additional structures: the Buchanan and Brooke Company Wagon and Carriage Works east of Fourth Avenue S, the Duwamish Dairy east of Fifth Avenue S, and a few smaller structures.[165] By 1905, this area was taken over by a new configuration of railroads running straight north–south.[164]
between Norman and Plummer Street, between Fourth and Fifth Ave S.[164]
This was along the Oregon & Washington Railroad tracks that, at that time, ran north–south roughly down the middle of the mudflats south of King Street.[164]
between Atlantic Street (now S. Edgar Martinez Drive) and Connecticut Street (now S. Royal Brougham Way) between Fourth and Fifth Ave S.[164]
This was along the Oregon & Washington Railroad tracks.[164]
Waterfront south of Atlantic Street / Edgar Martinez
The present-day east shore of Elliott Bay in the Industrial District and Sodo south of South King Street is entirely a product of landfill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[166] The list here runs approximately south to north, going north to about historic Atlantic Street (now S. Edgar Martinez Drive), just south of the present-day stadiums.
As of the 2010s, the vast bulk of this area between Spokane Street and S. Edgar Martinez Drive has been combined into a container terminal, Port of Seattle Terminal 30.[147] The only exceptions are:
a small disused area
Pier 28
At the north end of this area, the Coast Guard facility, Pier 36[167]
between Spokane and Hanford Streets, south of canal, East Waterway[105]
The company shows at this location on the 1912 Baist map, but the 1918 Port of Seattle map shows it as having moved to Harbor Island.[105][168] The canal is no longer there (and may never have been, beyond being a cleared spot on the right bank of the Duwamish: David B. Williams raises the possibility that maps from the era may be inaccurate in showing it[171]); this would now be roughly at E. Marginal Way, south of S. Hinds St. By 1940, the company had moved to Harbor Island[172]
4
Spokane Street Dock[173] (Port Commission, Spokane;[168] Spokane Street Terminal,[174][175][176] Port of Seattle Spokane St, Pier[95] [115] after May 1, 1944: Pier 24[173][115])
Aerial view, 1960. Spokane Street Dock below, Hanford Street Dock above.
between Spokane and Hanford Streets, south of turning basin between piers 24 and 25, East Waterway,[174] roughly the former Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company location.
Port of Seattle facility.[175] Seven-story concrete cold storage building.[175] In 1963, the terminal was mainly focused in fish and ice, and had piers on its north and west sides,[174] the north being the turning basin. 1971 harbor map shows the turning basin still there, mentions Auto Warehousing, Inc. and Rainier-Port Cold Storage.[115] At some later date, the turning basin was eliminated, and this was combined into Pier 25 as a container facility, the new Pier 25.[146]
5
Hefferman Dry Dock Company[104][177] (Hepperman Dry Dock Company [sic][105])
north side of mouth of canal, south of Hanford Street, East Waterway
6
Hanford Street Dock[173] (Hanford Street Terminal,[168][176] Hanford Street Wharf;[178] Hanford Street Grain Terminal;[146] Port of Seattle Hanford St. Pier;[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 25[173][115])
Grain terminal at Hanford Street; Sears (now Starbucks headquarters) in background, 1917. more images
north of turning basin between piers 24 and 25, south of Hanford Street, East Waterway[176]
Port of Seattle facility. In 1963, the terminal was south and west sides,[174] the south being the turning basin,[146] which is still there on the 1971 harbor map.[115] 1971 harbor map indicates Cargill, Inc. at the grain terminal.[115] When the turning basin was eliminated the grain terminal was torn down and this was combined with Pier 25 as a container facility, the new Pier 25.[146] Its function was effectively replaced by the Terminal 86 Grain Facility; they had a slight overlap in operation.[179]
7
Isaacson Iron Works[173] (after May 1, 1944: Pier 26[173])
The 1918 Port of Seattle map shows "Pacific Const'n & Engineering Co." at approximately this location;[168] Similarly, Pacific Coast Const. & Eng. Co. on the City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District of that year.[95]Frank Waterhouse & Company's Pacific Ports (1919) gives the address for that as 2917 Whatcom Avenue;[182] Whatcom Avenue was the extension of Railroad Avenue south through the newly filled lands, along the east margin of the Duwamish Waterway.[183] An image of J. F. Duthie & Company shipbuilders in the collection of the University of Washington Libraries, dating from roughly the same era, gives that identical address for that company.[184]
Isaacson Iron Works began as a blacksmith shop in 1907. During World War II, Isaacson Steel incorporated the Jorgensen Steel Works.[185] Eventually the largest steel mill in the Pacific Northwest,[181] the Isaacson Forge division was sold to the Earle M. Jorgensen Company in 1965.[186] The Isaacson plant closed in 1983, with all equipment shipped to China.[181] This area was eventually combined with into the new Pier 25 container facility.[146]
8
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) facilities (C.M.&S.P.,[95] R. R. Ferry Slip (C. M. & St. P. Ry.),[100][105] C.M.&St.P.R.R. Wharf & Car Ferry,[168] Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Car Ferry Slip,[146] C. M. & St. P. Ry. (Sound & Coast Dock),[100] The Milwaukee Road,[115] Milwaukee Ferry Slip,[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 27;[173] Milwaukee Ocean Dock,[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 28.[173])
Freight house on north side of Forrest, yard with sidings on south side, with a small waterway in between. A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 shows Pier 27 as "Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Car Ferry Slip"; it refers to the northern pier simply as "Pier 28".[174] A map in a 1973 Seattle government report shows "Milwaukee Road" still having a facility in this area.[187]
1971 harbor map shows American Mail Line at Pier 28.[115]
The currently designated Pier 28 may not correspond exactly to the area so designated in 1944. According to Paul Dorpat's 2005 book, the Lander and Stacy Street piers had been incorporated into Pier 28 before the big consolidation of Terminal 30.[146]
9
until 1913: Weiding and Independent Fisheries[105][188] (Wieding (sic) Fish Co.;[100] after 1913: National Independent Fisheries Co,[168][188] although the 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District still shows "Weiding Fish Co."[95])
immediately north of Milwaukee Road freight house, south of Lander
(Might have been part of the Milwaukee Road facility.) From shore to open water:
Western Iron Works
Seattle Machine Works
Commercial Boiler Works
A 1910 listing of piers in 1907 indicates Oregon & Washington Railway in this area; it might have been the same facility.[8]
11
Lander Street Wharf[191] (South Pier 2;,[192] Lander Street Terminal,[168] Port of Seattle Lander St. Pier & Stacy St. Pier[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 29[173]); Stacy Street Dock[173] (Stacy Street Terminal[168] after May 1, 1944: Pier 30[173]); and Port of Seattle Grain Terminal.
Lander and Stacy Street docks October 9, 1914... ...and in 1915. more images
Immediately before the piers in this area were all combined as a single container terminal, Terminal 30 served from 2003 to 2009 as a temporary terminal for Alaska cruises by Holland America Line and Princess Cruises, which relocated in 2009 to a permanent facility at Pier 91.[194]
12
San Juan Fish & Packing Ice Co.[105] (San Juan Fish Co.,[100][8] San Juan Fish & Packing Co.,[168] San Juan Fish Dock,[173] San Juan Fishing Pack Co.[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 31[173] 1971: Rothschild Int'l Stevedoring Co.[115])
Along with Albers and Centennial Mills, part of the "flour milling district".[105][198][199] A 1910 listing of piers in 1907 mentions Hammond, but lists them farther south, between Standard Oil and San Juan Fish Company; they may have had an earlier facility there.[8]
16
Telephone Pole Yard,[173] Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone[115] (after May 1, 1944: Pier 33;[173])
A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 does not mention this facility, so it may have been gone by then.[174] Paul Dorpat's 2005 book specifically says it has "disappeared".[146]
Along with Hammond and Centennial Mills, part of the "flour milling district".[105][198] Inland of the mill in 1912 were a hay and grain warehouse and "Plaster Co. Furniture Fact[ory] 3".[105][199]
20
Jack Perry Memorial Shoreline Public Access (Jack Perry Memorial Park)
Old pier, probably a remnant of the Albers Dock, 2007. more images
?
extant
shoreline access park
1700 East Marginal Way S., south of Massachusetts Street, East Waterway
north of Massachusetts Street, East Waterway, extending slightly north of the foot of S. Edgar Martinez Drive (formerly Atlantic Street); at times, this included about 10 acres north of Atlantic Street.
The 1912 Baist map shows a variety of buildings, including Golden Baking Co. (sic: actually Golden West Baking Co.), NW Dairy Co. an unnamed meatpacking company, Hofius Steel Equipment, and Letson & Burpee, besides Seattle Dock Company's own shipyard.[105] Interstate Fisheries Co. at this location (originally "Inter-State Fisheries") went public in 1902,[201] and in 1913 had 190 feet (58 m) of dock frontage,[100] and in 1907, prior to their opening of a large facility north of Broad Street, Union Oil Company of California had a facility here;[8] the facility is still shown on a 1911 map.[129] Beginning in April 1917, during World War I, the Skinner & Eddy Corporation first leased and (in June 1918) purchased all of this property, as well as further property to the north that was owned by Centennial Mill. However, by 1920, the war's end and economic depression resulted in an end to Skinner & Eddy shipbuilding operations. The property passed to the United States Shipping Board and, in 1923, was sold to the Port of Seattle, who, in turn, sold it to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, which soon thereafter merged into the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company, which then changed its name to the Pacific Steamship Company.[167]
1940-1958[167] or 1960:[202]U.S. Army Seattle Port of Embarkation[202] (before May 1, 1944: Piers A, B, C, D; after May 1, 1944: Piers 36, 37, 38, 39;[173] also, in September 1955 the port of embarkation was renamed Seattle Army Terminal[167])
This is the same location as the Seattle Dock Company's Re-plat and Skinner & Eddy's shipbuilding plant No. 2.[167]
Pacific Steamship's building (BLDG 1) was "a very modern passenger and freight terminal" when it was built in 1925,[146] and remains the hub of this facility nearly a century later.[202] At least part of the Pacific Steamship facility was abandoned and became part of a Hooverville in the late 1930s, before being repurposed as a Port of Embarkation. The Hooverville was bulldozed April 10, 1941.[167] Since 1965, the piers have belonged to the Port of Seattle, who lease it to the Coast Guard. It is the only substantial military facility left in King County.[202] Includes Coast Guard Museum Northwest.
1971 harbor map lists Pier 36 as "POS [Port of Seattle] general-cargo terminal".[115]
Pier 37, built 1941 for the Port of Seattle as a general cargo terminal was taken over in 1960 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as its District Headquarters[202] The Port of Seattle reacquired Pier 37 in 1965, but it continued to function as the Corps of Engineers District HQ at least until 1971.[115]
By 1971, Pier 38 was gone,[115] and Pier 39 was listed as a "POS [Port of Seattle] OCP terminal".[115]
The former S. Atlantic Street is now known as S. Edgar Martinez Drive. From here north, the waterfront faces the open water of Elliott Bay, rather than the channelized Duwamish River. Beginning in the early 1980s, the waterfront area roughly between S. Edgar Martinez Drive and King Street were combined into a 3-berth container terminal, Port of Seattle Terminal 46.[147][204] All of the waterways between the piers were filled in.[204] As late as 1971, the Port of Seattle still distinguished Piers 42 and 43,[115] and when the current three-berth configuration was first implemented, the southernmost berth was still known for a time as Pier 37 (see prior section), the other two both as Pier 46.[204]
Along with Hammond and Albers Mills, part of the "flour milling district".[164][198][199] In 1912, the Centennial Mill pier was also home to United Collieries Co. and Hammond Warehouse Co., with a furniture warehouse and an iron forge.[164] Torn down in 1917 for the northern part of Skinner & Eddy Plant No. 2.[167]
There were extensive structures on the pier besides the mill itself. In the 1903 view to the east shown here, only the iron works barely discernible in the background at top is on the far (east) side of Railroad Avenue.
"C.&P.S." is presumably Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad. That name had actually gone out of use in 1916, when that became the Pacific Coast Railroad Company.[206]
Buildings on the pier included (roughly from dry land to open water) "N.W. Iron Works, Alaska Boiler Shop, American Iron & Wire Wks, Elevators & Hoisting Machinery, Boiler Wks."[164] The 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District labels this area as "Steel Yard."[95]
5
Port of Seattle[173] (Central Terminal;[146] Alaska Steamship Company Terminal;[207][146]) after May 1, 1944: Pier 42[173][146])
The 1893 Sanborn map shows an area equivalent to five city blocks west of Commercial St (First Ave S) running east–west, south of Norman Street, as a series of planked areas over tide flats. The block from Commercial St to West Street is mainly tenements. The narrow strip between West Street and the Railroad Avenue tracks shows a small boatbuilder facing south onto the tideflats. Buildings in the next block west include the Cha's K. Zorn Furniture Factory and the McSorley Bottling Works. Then a block-long pier leads to Mechanics Mill and Lumber Co's saw mill.[211] A 1910 listing of piers in 1907 lists a "city wharf" in this area.[8]
north of Black's Replat, extending north roughly to the foot of Charles Street.[164]
The Moran Brothers began rebuilding at this site on the tideflats immediately after the Great Seattle Fire, opening for business just ten days later. The company expanded steadily, covering 15 acres (6.1 ha) by 1892, and building 14 paddlewheelers for the Yukon Gold Rush trade between January and May 1898 and going on to build the USS Nebraska (BB-14).[30] The 1893 Sanborn map shows the shipyard running mainly east–west in a single north–south block south of Charles Street. The area equivalent to five city blocks west of Commercial St (First Ave S) is a series of planked areas over tide flats. At the northwest corner of Commercial and Plummer is a dairy. At the northwest corner of the same "block" (most of which is unplanked tide flat), the southeast corner of Charles and West Streets, is P.V. Dwyer Bros. Foundry. Just west of West Street are the railroad tracks of Railroad Avenue, then, successively, Moran Bros. Co. (mainly a foundry) and Seattle Drydock and Shipbuilding Co., and a "deep water wharf." In the block west of West Street a "flask yard" extends a block south of Plummer Street. ("Flasks" are the frames used for casting metal in a foundry.)[211]
During World War I, from about 1916, this was an additional Skinner & Eddy facility.[214]
This street-like unnamed pier ran west from Commercial St (now First Avenue South) and gave access to numerous buildings on its south side, built on planking:
Puget Sound Steam Laundry, at the southwest corner of Commercial
a building vacant as of 1893 at the southwest corner of Railroad Avenue
San Francisco Bridge Co. storehouse, about another 0.05 miles (0.080 km) west
Then, at a distance of about 0.1 miles (0.16 km) west, the Allen & Nelson Land Co. storehouse, just southwest of Myers Meat Packing Co. on the next pier north.
A 1910 list of piers in 1907 refers to this pier at "Puget Sound Dredging Company (or San Francisco Bridge Company),"[8] and a 1911 map as "S.F. Bridge Co."[129]
foot of Weller, narrow wharf to west, then angling southwest[211]
The wharf was contiguous with Stetson & Post. Just north of Weller Street was an east–west tramway, and north of that a block west of Railroad Avenue was Rock Plaster Co.'s Mill. West of that, a pier angled southwest and widened to accommodate the Myers Packing Co., and continued to the southwest.[211][215]
north of Wellington Coal Co. and Gen. Petroleum Co.
"C.&P.S.R.R." is presumably "Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad". That name had actually gone out of use in 1916, when that became the Pacific Coast Railroad Company.[206]
13
Seattle Coal & Fuel Co.[164] (P. C. Coal Docks (2) and Bunkers;[100] Pacific Coast Coal Pier;[173] Pacific Coast Coalbunkers;[214][146] Pacific Coast Coal Co.[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 43[173][146])
Wagons at Seattle Coal & Fuel Co.'s Dearborn Coal Wharf, c. 1909 US Army Transport Dix coaling up at the foot of Dearborn, 1912 more images
Coaling pier was moved south from King Street c. 1903 when the main line railroads finally reached Seattle from the south.[216] A 1967 water pollution study with data for 1963 breaks this into "North Pier 43: Mooring company-owned tugs and barges" and "South Pier 43: Shipment of drilling mud (barite); mill scale, ammonium sulphate (fertilizer material); magnesite, and coal.[207] It is not clear whether the 1963 structure is the same structure as in the first half of the 20th century. Paul Dorpat says this was combined into Pier 46 in the late 1950s,[204] but the 1971 harbor map shows a distinct Pier 43, described as "James Griffiths & Sons, Inc.[;] Washington Tug & Barge Co.".[115] The part of Dearborn Street nearest the waterfront is a bit north of the line of the rest of Dearborn, probably closer to Lane.
presumably between Dearborn St. and Elliott Bay Dry Dock Co.
This may or may not be the same pier that the 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District labels "U.W.K.&N.Co." and shows in this location.[95]
Combined the Oregon, Washington Railway and Navigation Co. Elliott Bay Dry Dock Co. piers.[146] Used by Matson in the 1930s.[146] Paul Dorpat says this was combined into Pier 46 in the late 1950s.[204]
The 1912 Baist map shows a largely empty planked area roughly between Dearborn & King Streets, with at least two distinct piers, corresponding to the Stetson & Post location from the 1893 Sanborn map. The more northerly, at the foot of King Street, is labeled "Sand Wharf" and shows a machine shop just west of Railroad Avenue.[164] (The line of Dearborn in 1912 is close to the line of Lane in 1893.) The 1918 Port of Seattle map describes the pier at the foot of King Street as "Boiler Works, Machine Shops & c."[214]
20
King Street Coal Wharf (Oregon Improvement Co.'s Coal Bunker[211])
Two long piers at a roughly 20° angle to one another.[211] Coaling pier was moved south to Dearborn Street c. 1903 when the main line railroads finally reached Seattle from the south.[216]
after 1944,[173] probably late 1950s,[146] almost certainly before 1963[218]
pier
foot of King
A 1910 document listing piers in 1907 refers to "King street wharf and Chesley tug dock, leased by Chesley Towboat Company of the Pacific Coast Company, and partly sublet to shops and boats."[8] A 1913 listing in Railway & Marine News refers to "Chesley Dock" with 635 feet (194 m) of dock frontage;[100] Chesley was a tugboat company.[222] From at least 1917 to 1929, the pier was owned by William Pitt Trimble, whose wife died there in an accident in December 1929.[221][220] Paul Dorpat says this was combined into Pier 46 in the late 1950s.[204]
Central Waterfront: King Street to Broad Street
Name (Alternative names in parentheses)
Image
Year completed
Year destroyed
Type
Location
Notes
1
in 1912, 1918: Pier D, Pacific Steamship Co.[223][224][95] (in 1913: Pier D (P. C. S. S. Co.)[100] before May 1, 1944: Luckenback Steamship Company, Pier D[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 46[173])
The sidewheel steamboat Idaho was berthed here from 1900 to at least 1909, and served from 1900 to 1907 as the "Wayside Mission Hospital".[226] Sources refer to it as "on pilings alongside the Pacific Coast Steamship Co.'s, Pier C,"[226] but judging by this photo of its opening it actually predates the pier.
3
Oregon Improvement Company Pier B ("B" Oregon Improvement Warehouse[227]); Lilly & Bogardus[69]
Oregon Improvement Co. Pier "A" at center, Pier "B" at right, c. 1892. Lilly Bogardus seed company at Pier B, 1900. King Street coaling pier in background at right. more images
The 1893 Sanborn map shows "A" and "B" Oregon Improvement Warehouse piers; the configuration shows waiting rooms, baggage rooms, a lunchroom, etc., indicative of passenger traffic.[227] Between the piers, that map shows a small "S.L.&R. Reading Room" (presumably Stevedores, Longshoremen and Riggers' Union) on a tiny pier at the exact foot of Main Street.[227] The 2006 Central Waterfront Context Statement prepared for the Department of Neighborhoods by Thomas Street History Services asserts that the 1893 piers "A" and "B" are distinct from the later piers with the same designations: "South of the central waterfront and Yesler Way, the Ocean Dock, located roughly between Main and Washington Streets, consisted of two piers, Pier A and Pier B (later Pier 48), adjoined to the south by Pier C, known as the City Dock. Previously Pier A had been located between Main and Washington Streets and Pier B between Jackson and Main Streets."[78]
4
Oregon Improvement Company Pier A ("A" Oregon Improvement Warehouse[227])
The 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District adds a note for Pier C that is not perfectly legible but seems to read "Tyres Storage and Distributing Co."[95]
The Oregon Improvement Company went bankrupt in 1895 and was succeeded by the Pacific Coast Company; both were owners of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad.[78]
Piers A, B, and C (completely distinct from the earlier Piers A and B) were all adjoined to one another.[78] Paul Dorpat indicates that "Pacific Coast Terminals Piers C and A were shortened [before 1944]" and that "some place in the [c. 1970] remodeling of Pier 48 the over-the-water parts [of both] were demolished and the land portions behind the bulkheads were incorporated into Pier 48"[208] (The 1971 harbor map shows these all as Pier 48.[115]) McCormick Steamship Co used Pier 48 in the late 1930s and after World War II. Around 1970 Pier 48 was remodeled; the north side became a ferry slip for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and was used until they moved to Bellingham, Washington[208] in 1989.[229][230] They also used the south side of the Pier 48 and the north side of Pier 46 to moor and overhaul their ferries.[208] The pier was the site of one of Nirvana's most famous performances on December 13, 1993. The pier shed was demolished in 2010.[231]
6
in 1912, 1918: Pier B, Pacific Steamship Co.[8][224][95][223] (with Pier A, Ocean Dock;[78] in 1913: Pier B (CP Railway Docks)[100] before May 1, 1944: McCormick Steamship Company, Pier B;[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 48[173])
Pier 48, 2010, shortly before shed was demolished more images
in 1911: Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad Pier A[232] (with Pier B, Ocean Dock;[78] in 1912-1913: Pier A, Pacific Coast Steamship Co., C.P. Line to Vancouver;[223][100] in 1918: Pier A, Pacific Steamship Co.;[8][224][95] Pacific Coast Company, Pier A,[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 49[173])
The 1893 Sanborn map shows an incline at the foot of Washington Street with a "scow gridiron" flanked by two small wharves;[227] a similar description is given in 1910 referring to "freight scows";[8] the 1918 Port of Seattle map refers to "City of Seattle, Wharf & Gridiron".[224] Presumably this is also the "City Slip" at the foot of Washington referred to in the 1899 Polk's Directory.[69]
Except for some pilings that survived the Great Seattle Fire, this was a completely distinct structure from the pre-fire wharf of the same name in the same location. Work on rebuilding the wharf began within days after the fire, while some of the city was "still smouldering."[235] The 1893 Sanborn map shows the wharf as containing a lumber yard and various woodwork-related businesses, as well as a depot, baggage room, and warehouses related to maritime commerce.[227]
11
In 1912, 1918: Pier 1, Northern Pacific Railway[224][8][223] (in 1913: Pier 1, N. P. Ry. Docks—C. P. R. Coast Service;[100] in 1918: Harbor Dep't City of Seattle, Pier 1, N.P.Ry Co., C.P.Ry S.S. Co.[95] 1918 and before May 1, 1944: Alaska Steamship Company, Pier 1;[173][223] after May 1, 1944: Pier 50[173])
Alaska Steamship Company, Pier 1, circa 1915 more images
Paul Dorpat says that this pier (which, along with Pier 2/51, replaced Yesler's Wharf) was first used by Luckenback/Luckenbach Steamship Co. (he gives both spellings) for their intercoastal service, then by Alaska Steamship Company (no start date given but they were apparently there in the World War II era[173]). Alaska Steam Ship Company was there as early as the first decade of the 20th century, when they shared the pier with the Port Angeles-Victoria Line and the Vancouver Line.[208] In 1917, Pier 1 was owned by the Northern Pacific Railway, and operated by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company, and the Port Angeles Transportation Company and was also the headquarters of the port warden.[236] In the late 1940s, Alaska Steamship Co. moved to Pier 42 and Nippon Yusen Kaisha used this pier until September 17, 1960 as port of call for the Hikawa Maru, the only Japanese passenger ship to survive the WWII.[208] In 1971, it was owned and/or operated by Seattle Piers, Inc. and, along with Pier 51, was the proposed site for a World Trade Center.[115] Torn down early 1980s to expand the Washington State Ferries terminal at Pier 52 (Colman Dock).[208]
In its early years this was port of call for the Whatcom Line, Joshua Green's LaConner T. & T Company line and the Port Orchard Line.[234] As with Pier 50, Alaska Steamship Company left in the late 1940s. The pier had various uses over the next three decades. Washington State Ferries moored ships there; eventually the pier lost its shed and became mainly a parking lot. In the early 1960s, the restaurant Polynesia was built there.[208] The pier was also home to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.[115] In 1971, it was owned and/or operated by Seattle Piers, Inc. and, along with Pier 50, was the proposed site for a World Trade Center.[115] Torn down early 1980s to expand the Washington State Ferries terminal at Pier 52 (Colman Dock).[208]
in 1913: Colman Dock (Inland Navigation Co.)[100][239] (in 1918: Colman Dock,[95] Colman Wharf;[224] before May 1, 1944: Colman Dock (Puget Sound Navigation Company)[173] (Puget Sound Navigation Company);[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 52[173] WSF Colman Dock;[240] Seattle Terminal[240])
James Colman's Colman Dock was rebuilt many times. In 1903, it had two sheds, each with a pitched roof, and a box-like office/storefront along Railroad Avenue similar to Pier 6/ 57. In 1905 it included a ship's chandler and a fish shop; in 1906, Frank H. Folsom, based there, advertised himself as an electrical contractor also selling telegraph poles, piles, spars and lumber.[241] In 1908, Colman extended the pier west to a length of 705 feet (215 m), added a domed waiting room, and a clock tower on the water end of the pier. Much of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet docked there.[241] In May 1912 the steamer Alameda crashed into Colman Dock, knocked over the clock tower, and plowed into the waiting room. Two piers north, the Flyer Dock was destroyed. A gangplank was set up at Colman Dock as a temporary loading area, but only weeks later it failed under the weight of a crowd of passengers; two people died and 58 more were injured.[241]
In 1938, the Puget Sound Navigation Company, known as the Black Ball Line, rebuilt Colman Dock in Art Deco style, matching the streamlined MV Kalakala ferry they had introduced three years prior.[242] Washington State Ferries bought them out in 1951[242] and rebuilt the pier in 1966.[243] According to Paul Dorpat, the name "Colman Dock" went out of use with the 1944 rename as Pier 52, but came back with the early 1980s expansion.[208]
16
Coleman (sic) Dock Warehouse[238] (Colman-Hatfield Wharf[209])
West Seattle Ferry Dock[100][238][244] (West Seattle Ferry slip,[8] Port Commission, Marion Street Ferry Landing;[224] W.S. Ferry, Port of Seattle;[95] West Seattle Ferry[69])
In 1893, adjoined Coleman Dock Warehouse to the south G. G. Willey Cement Lime and Plaster to the north.[238] From some later date in the 1890s until 1912, adjoined the Flyer Dock to the north.[241]
18
G. G. Willey Cement, Lime and Plaster;[238] Commercial Dock[245]
Adjoined West Seattle Ferry Dock.[238] The 1893 Sanborn map shows three separate large structures here. From south to north:
G. G. Willey Cement, Lime and Plaster Warehouse
Commercial Dock Warehouse and office; building includes Hutton and Son Machine Shop, Sprague Autom[obile] Motor, G[reat] N[orthern] Freight Off[ice], and two waiting rooms.
Like the 1910 Colman Dock (the 1908 to 1912 version), the 1910 Grand Trunk Paciflc Dock had a distinctive tower.[248] That dock had a major fire July 30, 1914. It was rebuilt and survived until 1964, when it was torn down for an expansion of the WSF Colman Dock.[248][247] Paul Dorpat says that besides Grand Trunk Pacific steamships it was port of call for the "Alaska Pacific Navigation Co" (presumably Alaska Pacific Steamship Company or its successor Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company) and Pacific Steamship Company (successor to the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company) and various Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet boats Puget Sound Freight Lines, and finally the Black Ball Line (Puget Sound Navigation Company).[208] Part of its moorage space was also, at times, used by the Seattle Fire Department as part of Fire Station No. 5.[247] It was demolished in 1964, for one of the many expansions of Pier 52/Colman Dock.[248]
Fast steamboat service to Tacoma.[248] A 1910 listing of piers in 1907 refers to, "Flyer Dock, Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company (leased of K. McIntosh)."[8]
There have been at least four successive fire stations at this location,[249] all known as "Fire Station No. 5,"[249] although the 1893 Sanborn map shows the station, but does not identify its station number.[237]) The second station was completed in early 1903, serving also as a lookout for the harbor master. It was replaced by a two-story Tudor Revival building in 1917.[248] The current station opened December 1963.[249]
22
(coal bunker);[238] Seattle Coal & Iron Co's Dock and Coal Bunkers[69]
Galbraith-Bacon Dock[250] (Pier 3, Galbraith Dock[8][244][100] or Wharf;[224] Pier 3, N.P. Ry. Galbraith Dock;[95] before May 1, 1944: Arlington Dock, Pier 3[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 54[173])
The second Pier built by Northern Pacific Railroad, after the White Star Dock.[250] Original tenants Galbraith and Bacon stored and sold grain, hay, and building materials. John Galbraith's son Walter also used the pier as port of call for his Kitsap Transportation Company.[250] From 1929 to 1935, Gorst Air Transport provided "air ferry" service from this pier to Bremerton, using amphibious Keystone-Loening airplanes.[251]Ivar Haglund opened a short-lived aquarium on this pier in 1938, as well as a fish-and-chips stand; in 1946 he expanded to his restaurant Ivar's Acres of Clams;[252] he bought the pier from Washington Fish and Oyster Company in 1966,[243] though the 1971 harbor map shows that latter company as still located there.[115] The pier was renovated in 1983-1984,[243] and the fish-and-chips stand and restaurant are still there as of 2019. From some time in the 1950s to the early 1970s, part of this pier was the Washington Fish and Oyster Co. fish processing/freezing plant.[208] Currently it is home to Ivar's and several other businesses, including Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, founded 1899 and successively located several different places on and near the Downtown Seattle waterfront.[253]
A remark on a photo from MOHAI indicates that the late 1890s Northern Pacific Railroad Pier 1, serving the Canadian Pacific Steamship Co., was approximately at this site.[254]
The White Star Dock was built by the Northern Pacific in 1900,[255] but collapsed September 14, 1901[257][259] possibly due to being anchored in poor fill.[260] The collapse was slow, and no one was injured.[261] At the time of the collapse, tenants included Zerwekh and Caufman (who stored hay there), and the offices of the Frank A. Bell Co.[257]
27
Arlington Dock Company[8][255] (Pier 4;[8][244][224][100] in 1913: Spokane Grain Co.'s Dock;[100] in 1918: Pier 4, N.P.Ry, Spokane Grain Co. & Arlington Dock Co.;[95] before May 1, 1944: Fisherman Supply Company, Pier 4[173] (Fisherman Supply Company still present in 1971[115]). after May 1, 1944: Pier 55[173])
Built by Northern Pacific as a replacement for the White Star Dock, on the same site. In its early years, it was a major point of departure for Alaska.[255] Along with the adjacent Pier 5/56, in the 1920s it served as port of call for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company,[262] the East Asiatic Company[263] and the Cosmos Line.[264] In 1938 it became home to the Fisheries Supply Company, and ceased to be actively involved in shipping; Fisheries Supply remained there until the 1980s.[251] The pier was remodeled in 1945, and again in the 1960s and the 1990s.[243]
There appears to have been short-lived "Arlington Dock"[266] or "Arlington Wharf"[267] earlier than the others of this name; unlike those others, the photo shows it to have been at 90° to Railroad Avenue. It also included (in photo) a hay and feed warehouse, and Northwestern Iron Works.[266] It is possible that with changes in ownership/names, this could be the same dock as the immediately preceding "first Ainsworth and Dunn Wharf".
pier, "primarily a restaurant and small shop venue"[269]
between Seneca and University Streets
Another early Northern Pacific Pier initially used by Arlington Dock Company,[8][255] this is where the steamship Spokane docked May 23, 1903, bringing President Theodore Roosevelt to Seattle.[255] It soon became the base of operations for the globe-spanning Frank Waterhouse Company, which went bankrupt in 1920,[255] and was later used in the 1930s by Northland Transportation Company for freight and passenger routes, primarily to Southeast Alaska,[269][251] and by the Shepard Line Intercoastal Service.[251] It was remodeled "based on drawings from 1969" for Trident Imports, and was renovated again in 2000.[270] Ted Griffin's Seattle Marine Aquarium occupied the outer end of the pier from 1962 to 1976.[270] There has been a restaurant as part of the pier at least since 1960.[270]
In 1971 it was also home to Seattle Harbor Tours and a restaurant called The Cove.[115]
A remark on a photo from MOHAI indicates that the late 1890s Northern Pacific Railroad Pier 2, serving the Alaska Steamship Co., was approximately at this site.[254]
John B. Agen Company,[255][271] John B. Agen Dock (circa 1905)[272] (from 1909, Milwaukee Pier;[255] also "the old Milwaukee Dock,"[269] Milwaukee Road Pier,[273] C.M.& St. P. Ry.,[224] Pier 6, C.M.&S.Ry,[95] and in the 1930s McCormick Terminal;[251] in 1912-1913 and before May 1, 1944: Arlington Dock Company, Pier 6[8][173][244][224][100] after May 1, 1944: Pier 57[173])
Pacific Net & Twine Co. at Pier 6 Pier 57, 2013 more images
pier, "primarily a restaurant and small shop venue"[269]
foot of University Street
Pier 57 (originally Pier 6) was built in 1902 for the John B. Agen Company and significantly lengthened in 1903. Agen's Alaska Butter and Cream Company used all but the part nearest Railroad Avenue for cold storage, with offices and retail facing the street.[255] Pacific Net & Twine Co. was also an early tenant.[274] In 1909 the pier was bought by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company (the "Milwaukee Road") and Agen moved to a new facility at 1203 Western Avenue.[255] A 1913 listing refers to "Trimble Dock" with 886 feet (270 m) of dock frontage, which might be this, since the land was at one time owned by William Pitt Trimble; they refer separately to the Chesley Dock, so it can't be that.[100] In the 1920s this was the port of call for the Osaka Shoshen Kaisha and the Hamburg America Line.[264] In 1971, the Port of Seattle owned it and operated it as a public fishing pier.[115]
The City bought the pier from the Port in 1971 and renovated it, with work completed in 1974.[275] The north side and outboard end of Pier 57 are now part of Waterfront Park,[269] and since June 29, 2012 it has been the site of the Seattle Great Wheel.[276][277]
Probably the structure at right in this circa 1905 postcard. A 1910 document listing piers in 1907 refers to "Pioneer boathouse (leased of Mr. Trimble)."[8]
The 1912 Baist map shows just "coal wharf" here.[244] This may be the "Pier 61⁄2" referred to in the 1918 Port of Seattle map and the 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District, though nothing in either ties it to Wellington or coal.[224][95] A 1911 Seattle Times article refers to "the [Frank W.] Waterhouse coal bunkers at "Pier 61⁄2" and states that William Pitt Trimble owned the Waterhouse Bunker property.[278]
38
Schwabacher['s] Wharf[269][100][279][224] (Schwabacher Bros,[69] Schwabacher Dock,[8] Pier 7, Schwabacher Wharf[224][280] or Dock[95] before May 1, 1944: City Dock Company, Pier 7[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 58[173])
McCormick Steamship Co. at Schwabacher's Wharf, 1935, during seawall construction.
See Schwabacher's Wharf above; this structure predated the Great Seattle Fire
After surviving the Great Seattle Fire of 1889,[279] Schwabacher's Wharf went on to make history in several other ways. On August 31, 1896 the Miike Maru docked there, initiating Seattle's trade relations with Japan. The following year, the ship Portland arrived with the "ton of gold" at the slip between the Schwabacher and the Pike Street Dock, beginning the Klondike Gold Rush and boosting the image of Seattle as the provisioning station and jumping-off point for that gold rush.[279]
Some time in the early 20th century Schwabacher's pier was enlarged and significantly rebuilt to conform to Seattle's now-required northeast–southwest alignment for piers, devised in 1897 by City Engineer R.H. Thomson and his assistant George Cotterill; the new pier was a bit south and west of the old one, though overlapping.[279] In the 1920s this was the port of call for the Humboldt Steamship Company;[100][264] as with Pier 6/57, it was used in the 1930s by the McCormick Steamship Company;[281] and it was used by Alaska Transportation Company from the late 1930s until they went out of business in the late 1940s. After the early 1950s, all that was left was "a small dispatchers office left on the end, and floats for mooring Puget Sound Tug and Barge tugs at the outboard end."[269]
extant 2022 but closed to the public since August 2020
city park on planks over water
foot of Union
On the location of the former Pier 58 / Schwabacher's Wharf. Closed to the public because of hazardous conditions 2020; a large portion of it collapsed shortly thereafter. The city is in the process of rebuilding a similar park.
Boston Fish Co. was west of Railroad Avenue. East of Railroad Avenue, but still on planks over water, were Hunt and T.C. Campbell Packers warehouse and N. Clark & Sons sewer pipe yard.[265]
41
Pike Street Dock[273] (circa 1908: W. W. Robinson Pike St Wharf;[283] 1912-1915 Dodwell Dock;[280][283] in 1913: Pier 8 (Ainsworth Dock);[100] in 1918: Pacific Net and Twine;[224][95] in 1918 and before May 1, 1944: Pier 8;[273][95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 59[273])
Pike Street Dock, circa 1905 Pier 59, 2008 more images
Originally built in 1904 by Ainsworth & Dunn, who were mainly in the fish business and who, with this pier, started the move of the fish business north from its earlier base south of Yesler Way.[66] (The listing of wharves and docks in the 1899 Polk's Directory lists "Ainsworth & Dunn's, foot of Pike", so they may have had some facility on this site as early as 1899.[69]) An early major tenant was Willis Wilbur Robinson, who ran sternwheelers of hay from the Skagit River.[66] A 1910 source, writing about 1907, says Robinson's hay and grain was "mostly government supplies" and that the dock was also used by the U.S. Quartermaster Department.[8] It was also port of call in this era by the Northwestern Steamship Company.[283] Beginning around 1911, signs on the pier show the major tenant as a steamship agent named Dodwell.[66] Beginning in 1916,[66][283] this was the home of Pacific Net and Twine, later (roughly mid-20th-century) Seattle Marine and Fishing Supply Co.[269] (sited there at least as late as 1971[115]) / Pacific Marine Supply Co.[273] In the 1920s and 1930s the fishing fleet gathered there in the spring before heading north.[269] It is now part of the Seattle Aquarium, including the main entrance and the Omnidome.[273]
Reliable Oyster & Fish Co.[100] (before May 1, 1944: Salt Dock,[66][284] Pier 81⁄2,[273] Palace Fish & Oyster Company[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 60;[173] Arden Salt Dock;[273] in 1971, Main Fish Co.[115])
A 1910 list of Seattle piers in 1907 lists "Wright & Smith Machine Shop (leased of San Juan Fish Company)" in this area. That could be the Salt Dock, the Fish Dock, or some (possibly short-lived) pier.[8] The 1899 Polk's Seattle City Directory list of wharves and docks refers to a "Smith's, foot Pike," possibly the same.[285] A 1911 map also attests "San Juan Fish Co." in this area.[129] Circa 1920s, these two piers housed W. R. Grace and Company, Charles Nelson Company, the Matson Navigation Company, and Northwest Fisheries.[264] These two piers were purchased by the Port of Seattle in the mid-1940s, although its use remained the same at that time.[284] This space is now occupied by the Seattle Aquarium[273]
44
Whiz Fish Products Company[173][224] (1912: Ocean Fish Co.;[280] 1918: Whiz Fish Co.;[95] before May 1, 1944: Fish Dock,[66][284] Pier 9[273][224] Pier 8-½[286] after May 1, 1944: Pier 61;[173] in 1971, Fishermen's Cooperative Assn.[115])
Pre-fire structure (see above) that apparently survived at least until 1899.
46
The more southerly of two Virginia Street Piers[269] (Gaffney Dock,[8][284][280][287] in 1913, with Pier 10: Western Alaska S.S. Co.[100] in 1918: Pier 9, Gaffney Dock[95] before May 1, 1944: Newsprint Service Company, Pier 9;[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 62;[173] in 1971, Puget Sound Freight Lines[115])
Piers 9 & 10 in 1908 Skybridge, 1908, piers at right Pier 9 in 1935 Piers 62 & 63, 2009 more images
The Pier 9/62 shed was built about a year after the pier itself.[287] Piers 62 and 63 adjoin directly to one another. Historically, they were used mainly to store newsprint shipped in from Canada.[269] In its early years, the Gaffney Dock served Alaska Commercial Company steamships and the Holden or Virginia Street Dock was home to Northwest Fisheries salmon cannery.[284] These docks were significantly reconfigured several times.[284] From 1991 to 2005, the bare planks of the pier were the site of the "Summer Nights at the Pier" concerts, but Pier 62 became too deteriorated for mass gatherings. The piers have generally remained open for more passive uses. The city plans to rehabilitate them as waterfront open space, capable of holding events again.[288]
There was at one time a skybridge to these docks across Railroad Avenue from Virginia Street,[284] but the docks are a bit south of Virginia.
There appears to be some confusion on historical numbering of piers in this area. Daryl C. McClary, in listing the 1944 name changes, refers to the two Virginia Street Piers before the renaming as Piers 9 & 10, respectively, and gives no pre-1944 numbers to the Fish and Salt Docks.[173] The 1918 Port of Seattle map makes no mention of the Salt Dock, refers to the Fish Dock as "Pier 9, Whiz Fish Co." and groups, apparently at the location of the Virginia Street Piers, "W.F. Jahn Co, [Pier] 11A, Pier 10, Virginia St. Wharf," with the next pier north being "U.S.Q.M. Wharf, Pier 11B".[224]
47
The more northerly of two Virginia Street Piers[269] (early on, Holden Dock,[284] Virginia Street Dock,[8] Virginia Dock;[280][284] in 1913, with Pier 10: Western Alaska S.S. Co.[100] in 1918: Pier 10, Virginia St. Dock[95] before May 1, 1944: Newsprint Service Company, Pier 10;[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 63;[173] in 1971, Puget Sound Freight Lines[115])
These two docks built and owned by the Pacific Coast Company appear to have adjoined.[289] Parallel to shore, rather than finger piers.[289] As of 1904-1905 this held one of the United Warehouse Company warehouses (others were inland) and Oriental Dock was port of call for the American Hawaiian Steamship Company.[289][8] A 1910 report specifically refers to the port with the United Warehouse Company warehouses as "Pier 11".[189] The 1912 Baist map shows a single wharf parallel to the shore here, labeled as Pier 11, and naming both Pacific Coast Company and United Warehouse Company.[280] "Seattle One of the World's Great Ports" (Railway & Marine News volume 11, number 12, August 1, 1913), refers to a "Bratnober Dock" in this area with 621 feet (189 m) of dock frontage. That might or might not be the same structure as Pier D.[100] The Bratnober family were primarily in the lumber business.[290]
49
Oriental Dock[289][8] (in 1913: Pier 11, Oriental Dock;[100] in 1918: Oriental Dock, Pier 11, W.F. Jahn Co.[95])
This directly adjoined Pier 65. The pier was owned by the Port of Seattle and was used by Canadian Pacific Railway steamers from the early 1920s until they ceased operation c. 1974.[269]
51
Lenora Street Dock (Leslie Salt Company)[173] before May 1, 1944: Pier 11-B;[291] after May 1, 1944: Pier 65[173])
As early as 1918, the Port of Seattle map shows a "U.S.Q.M. Wharf, Pier 11B" (that is, "United States Quartermaster Wharf...") at roughly this location, possibly the same structure;[224] similarly, the 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District refers to "U.S. Government Pier 11B".[95] This directly adjoined Pier 64.[269] In the 1930s it became a major center for auto freight.[291] The 1971 harbor map lists it as New England Fish Co.[115]
52
Bell Street Terminal (Port of Seattle)[173][115][224] (Bell Street Wharf,[293] Bell Street Pier,[269] Port of Seattle Bell St. Pier;[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 66[173])
shipping terminal, with park, solarium, and pool on roof[294]
Park, solarium, and pool were added 1915,[294] "but by the 1920s, the park had developed an unsavory reputation and was closed."[293] The 1971 harbor map shows it as still Bell Street Terminal, and lists the Port of Seattle general offices and the Pioneer Alaska Line.[115]
pier, marina, cruise ship dock, restaurants, conference center
foot of Bell Street
Extends on shore from Blanchard Street northwest past Bell almost to Battery; outer pier around the Bell Harbor Marina extends southeast another block to Lenora
Wall Street Pier[289] (in 1913: Galbraith, Bacon & Co. Wall Street Dock[100][8] in 1918: Pier 12, Galbraith Bacon Co.[95] Galbraith Bacon Dock;[289] before May 1, 1944: Galbraith and Company,[173][224] Pier 12[224] after May 1, 1944: Pier 67[173])
The 1912 Baist map shows a small unnamed sand and gravel wharf exactly at the foot of Wall Street, immediately south of the Chlopeck Fish Company.[298] "Seattle One of the World's Great Ports" (Railway & Marine News volume 11, number 12, August 1, 1913) refers to "Richmond Beach Sand & Gravel Co.".[100] The 1918 Port of Seattle map gives the name Central Sand & Gravel Co. and shows it nestled tightly between Booth Fisheries and the Galbraith-Bacon Dock[224]
There were related warehouses and fish processing facilities on the other side of Railroad Avenue, at least one of which survives as Vine Street Storage at 2501 Elliott Avenue; two cottages built for workers here also survive.[295] The pier was torn down to build the hotel now known as The Edgewater.[269][296]
Between Chlopeck/Booth Fish and Seattle/Superior Fish
This presumably short-lived pier shows up on the 1918 Port of Seattle map in what appears to be part of the area into which American Can Company eventually expanded.[224]
62
in 1912: Seattle Fish & Storage Co.[298] (in 1913: Pacific Coast Co.;[100] in 1918: Superior Fish Co.[224])
The 1912 Baist map shows a small pier with several structures including the Seattle Fish & Storage Co., extending only a little past Railroad Avenue, in part of the space that would later be occupied by the expanded American Can Company pier.[298]
successively a coal pier, fish processing facility, and a ferry terminal
between Vine and Clay Streets
Originally built for the Roslyn Coal and Coke Company,[300] it was completely remodeled and expanded by the American Can Company, who connected it by a skybridge to a building on the other side of Railroad Avenue.[300] The 1912 Baist map still has this as Roslyn;[298] but the 1918 Port of Seattle map has it as American Can Company, but not yet expanded to the south at the expense of the wharves to its south.[224] The American Can Company (still there in 1971[115]) sold the pier and a large onshore building to "a Canadian interest"; the Princess Marguerite used the pier for some time beginning around 1979.[269] Since another complete remodel ending in 1993, it has housed the Port of Seattle headquarters, and is also the Seattle dock for Clipper Navigation's Victoria Clipper hydrofoil service.[302]
64
Ainsworth and Dunn Wharf,[8][100][300][303] Pier 14[8][100] (in 1918: Pier 14, Dodwell Wharf;[224] in 1918: Pier 14, Ainsworth & Dunn[95] before May 1, 1944: Washington State Liquor Warehouse, Pier 14[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 70[173])
As Puget Sound Wharf and Warehouse Company, at right, 1903
Built in 1902 as Pier 14 by fish company Ainsworth and Dunn (their name was still associated with the pier as late as 1971[115]), whose warehouse was across Railroad Avenue and who had several prior Central Waterfront locations. Not long after, they moved their operations to Blaine, Washington, and the pier had a long series of major tenants including the Puget Sound Wharf and Warehouse Company, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, and the Dodwell Dock and Warehouse Company. Dodwell used the pier as a terminal for the Northland Steamship Company and the Blue Funnel Line. The Washington State Liquor Control Board used the pier as a warehouse during World War II, and the U.S. Coast Guard used the pier as its Seattle base from 1946 to 1955. Its historic uses were superseded by containerization, and it was remodeled to house shops and restaurants. Triad Development bought the pier in 1995, remodeled it in the late 1990s as a headquarters for the ill-fated Go2Net. Immediately before that remodel, in 1998 The Real World: Seattle was filmed there.[303][304]
Although the pier shed retains its historic shape, it was remodeled after a fire in 1915, remodeled again in the 1970s, and so heavily altered in the late 1990s that it retains only traces of its historic character.[303]
Broad Street to Magnolia
Piers near Smith Cove, 1934, with Magnolia behind them. From left to right, the piers that would later be numbered 91, 90, 89, and 88. The white building just below the high end of the Garfield Bridge (now Magnolia Bridge) is the grain elevator on Pier 89; much of the length of Pier 88 is visible.
The 1912 Baist map shows an extensive lumber yard on planks over water on the onshore side of the rail trestle, with a roughly L-shaped pier on the offshore side.[309] The lumber company remained there after the land was filled, becoming Blackstock Lumber from the 1930s to the 1980s, and the small part of the property north of Mercer being the site of Seattle's Humane Society from the 1930s to the 1970s.[310]
Elliott Bay Park, roughly on a line with W. Roy Street
"Total grain storage capacity is almost 4 million bushels (over 101,000 metric tons) and is divided into 8 shipping bins, 60 large tanks, 39 interstices, and 13 house bins. The dock is 600 feet long and can accommodate a 1,400 foot vessel."[312] All of the incoming grain arrives by rail.[312]
The 1912 Baist map shows this between the rail trestle and Elliott Ave W. It is not clear whether this was on planks or fill.[313] By 1918, this was certainly filled land.[305] Quite likely the same thing as the Citizens Light and Power Company gas plant at or near this site, which existed by 1902.[314]
Great Northern Dock[173] (G. N. Ry. Dock,[100] Great Northern Railroad Dock,[313] G.N. Ry Asiatic Freight Warehouse & G.N. Ry Warehouse;[95] after May 1, 1944: Pier 88[173])
Damaged, but not destroyed, by fire October 15, 1918; destroyed by fire November 6, 1925. At the time this burned, it was leased by the Centennial Mill Company and Northwest Magnesite Company. Centennial Mill Company relocated to Tacoma after the fire.[74]
16
Great Northern Grain Elevator Dock[173] (after May 1, 1944: Pier 89[173])
Replaced the similarly located earlier structure that burned in 1925. Initial major tenants were the Northwest Magnesite Company and the Pacific Grain Products Company of Spokane.[74] This area is now part of the filled land east of the Elliott Bay Trail.
17
Port Commission Smith Cove Terminal[305] (Port of Seattle Smith's Cove Pier;[95] before May 1, 1944: U.S. Navy, Pier 40;[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 90;[173] 1971: U.S. Naval Supply Center[115])
According to Daryl C. McClary, the Port of Seattle purchased this property in Smith Cove from the Great Northern Railway and built Piers 40 and 41 (now Piers 90 and 91).[74] The piers have been differently configured at different times. A 1947 or 1948 photograph shows them as part of a de facto Navy base (the 13th Naval District Operating Annex, or NOA), with a series of sheds occupying both sides and the south end of Pier 90, as well as the north half of Pier 91.[317] Since 2009, Pier 91 has been the site of the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal.[318]
18
Port Commission Smith Cove Terminal[305] (Port of Seattle Smith's Cove Pier;[95] before May 1, 1944: U.S. Navy, Pier 41;[173] after May 1, 1944: Pier 91;[173] 1971: U.S. Naval Supply Center, Captain of the Port, Seattle[115])
Technical Services Program of the Pacific Northwest Water Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon (February 1967). "Exhibit 29: Piers, Wharves, and Docks Port of Seattle, Washington 1963". Pacific Northwest Watercraft Pollution Study: Appendix. Northwest Region, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 2, 2019 – via National Service Center for Environmental Publications. Appendix begins at p. 191 of linked document and has its own pagination (15 pages)
Thomas Street History Services (November 2006). "Context Statement: The Central Waterfront"(PDF). Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved August 15, 2019. Updated January 2007.
^For example, see image 35 between pages 19 and 20 of Paul Dorpat (2005). "1"(PDF). The Seattle Waterfront: An Illustrated History(PDF). Retrieved August 27, 2019. (On p. 28 of PDF.) It shows a large number of minor structures—shanties and the like—at the base of the bluff at the foot of Lenora Street.
^ abc"Local News: Still Another Wharf". Daily Pacific Tribune. Seattle. January 15, 1877. p. 3. Available on microfilm at Downtown Seattle Public Library.
^Robertson, Donald B. (1995). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History. Vol. III: Oregon ·, Washington. p. 204.
^ abcdefghijklPaul Dorpat (2005). "1"(PDF). The Seattle Waterfront: An Illustrated History. Retrieved August 27, 2019. 1878 United States Coast Guard Survey Map representing Seattle in 1875, reproduced in part as an illustration between pages 15 and 16 (on p. 21 of PDF). Also relevant discussion on p 45 (64 of PDF).
^ abcSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, July 1884; plate 9
^ abSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888; plate 9
^Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (2002). Maritime Seattle. Arcadia Publishing. p. 16. ISBN9780738520643. Describes this picture as "after the Great Fire".
^Absent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, Index & Plate 1; shown on Anderson's new guide map of the city of Seattle and environs, Washington, O.P. Anderson & Co., published 1890
^Clarence Bagley (2017). History of Seattle. Vol. 1. Jazzybee Verlag. p. unknown. ISBN9783849650230. Retrieved August 25, 2019. ...Stetson & Post had outgrown the [Yesler's] wharf location... Securing a large tract of tide land on First Avenue South, at King and Weller Streets... the new mill began operations in 1882...
^ abcShown on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 3; absent on Anderson's new guide map of the city of Seattle and environs, Washington, O.P. Anderson & Co., published 1890
^Shown on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 3, plate 4, plate 5.
^ abcSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, July 1884; plate 1
^Absent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 3; shown on Anderson's new guide map of the city of Seattle and environs, Washington, O.P. Anderson & Co., published 1890
^ abcdefghSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, July 1884, Plate 6
^Present on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 4. Not labeled on the 1890 Anderson map, but there seems to be a structure of approximately the same dimensions
^ abc"Extensive Wharf Project". Daily Pacific Tribune. Seattle. January 3, 1877. p. 2. Available on microfilm at Downtown Seattle Public Library.
^Absent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 3
^Absent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 3
^Absent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 5; shown on Anderson's new guide map of the city of Seattle and environs, Washington, O.P. Anderson & Co., published 1890
^ abcThe 1884 Sanborn map does not show this area, presumably because there were no structures here yet.
^Robertson, Donald B. (1995). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History. Vol. III: Oregon ·, Washington. p. 265.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyThe 1899 Polk's Seattle City Directory (p. 91) (reproduced on Wikimedia Commons) lists the following "Wharves and Docks"; wording and capitalization is verbatim, except bullets and square-bracketed comments not in original:
Arlington Wharf, foot University.
Ainsworth & Dunn's, foot of Pike.
Bell's, foot Bay (North Seattle).
Caine's Wharf, foot University.
Central Wharf, foot Washington.
City Fire Slip, foot Madison.
City Landing, foot Madison.
City Slip, foot Washington.
City Wharf, foot Main.
Coffman's, foot Broad.
Colman, foot Marion.
Columbia Dock, bet Columbia and Marion.
Commercial, foot Marion.
Dry Dock, foot Charles.
Galbraith Dock, foot Washington.
Great Northern Ry Ocean Dock, Smith's Cove.
Hall's, foot Vine.
Hopkin's Wharf, foot Seneca.
Johnson's Wharf, Elliott av., foot Prospect.
Leary's, bet Pike and Pine.
Lilly & Bogardus, foot Main.
McNaugnt's [sic, presumably McNaught's], bet Virginia and Stewart.
Seattle Coal & Iron Co's Dock and Coal Bunkers, foot Madison.
Seattle & International Ry Co., foot Clay.
Sheafe's, foot Thomas.
Smith's, foot Pike.
Squire's, bet Battery and Wall.
Stetson-Post, foot King.
Stimson Mill Co's, foot John.
West Seattle Ferry, foot Marion.
Whitford's, foot Bay (N Seattle).
White Star Dock, foot Spring.
Yesler Wharf, foot Yesler way.
Some of these wharves may have been under construction at the time: for example, the short-lived White Star Dock definitely opened in 1900, not 1899.
^ abAbsent on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 26; shown on Anderson's new guide map of the city of Seattle and environs, Washington, O.P. Anderson & Co., published 1890
^ abcdSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, 1888, plate 26
^ ab"Appendix: Official Proceedings, State Board of Equalization, sessions 1891 and 1892.". Biennial Report of the State Auditor to the State Legislators. Session of 1893. Olympia, Washington: State of Washington. 1892. p. 35. Retrieved July 20, 2019. I refer more directly to the Portland & Puget Sound. It has been assessed in Clarke county (sic) at $500 a mile, and in Thurston county at $1,000 a mile. The facts are that the Portland & Puget Sound Railroad Company was organized some time ago, and the work of constructing the line was commenced by the Union Pacific, and some portion of the right-of-way was secured and some work was done at different points along the line in the grading from Kalama to Olympia perhaps one-third of the grade counted by miles, though a much less amount counted by way of expense in construction was made. The balance of it remains untouched. I think that no work, at least none of any consequence, was done in Clarke county at all. This is not a railroad at any point, and is not assessable under the laws of the state as such.
^"Old and new roads". Railroad Gazette. 21: 814. December 6, 1889. Retrieved July 20, 2019. Seattle & Southern.—The preliminary survey of this road between Portland and Seattle has been completed to Sumner, Wash., a point 30 miles south of Seattle.
^Cassandra Tate (July 8, 2001), "Seattle Neighborhoods: West Seattle — Thumbnail History", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink, retrieved July 20, 2019, [Around] September 1890 ..., Northern Pacific's Seattle Terminal Railway built the first bridge across the Duwamish, a trestle, which also connected to the ferry.
^ abcdSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, King County, Washington, Image 1
^The northern end of this trestle, crossing Yesler Wharf and extending up to Columbia Street, can be seen on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, July 1884; plate 1 & plate 3.
^Paul Dorpat; Jean Sherrard (October 15, 2016). "The First (and Forgotten) Alki Natatorium". pauldorpat.com. Seattle Now & Then. Retrieved August 22, 2019. The cited photos are:
^Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. "Alki Beach Park". seattle.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
^King and Winge Boat Shop, Seattle, ca. 1906, a photograph from the Museum of History and Industry hosted on the site of the University of Washington Libraries, says in its notes that " The King and Winge Boat Shop opened in 1899".
^Clarence Bagley (1916). History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Vol. 2. Seattle: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 627. The Novelty Mill Company... was organized in 1893, and the mills in West Seattle were, within a short time, manufacturing flour.
^ abc"Exhibit 29: Piers, Wharves, and Docks Port of Seattle, Washington 1963", p. 8 (198 of overall document).
^ ab"Barges Ordered for Alaska run". Seattle Times. February 26, 1974. p. 36.
^ abcGlen Carter (December 27, 1970). "Waterfront Gears for Action". Seattle Times. p. 74. The Alaska Hydro-Train began moving out of Terminal 2
^"Crowley splits operations of liner, marine services". Seattle Times. August 4, 1992. p. E2.
^ ab"Summary for 620 W Lee ST W / Parcel ID 1732801325". Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved July 27, 2019. In 1910, Schwager & Nettleton ... opened Puget Sound's first all electric sawmill in West Seattle. By 1927 the West Seattle sawmill employed 350 men and from 1910 until 1927 produced one billion board feet of lumber. By then, Nettleton was the sole owner and he ran the mill until it closed in 1965.
^ abcSouthwest Harbor Cleanup Draft EIS 1994, p. xxix
^ abcdefSouthwest Harbor Cleanup Draft EIS 1994, p. xxxvii
^"Terminal 5". Port of Seattle. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
^ abcd"Ames Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Record Books, 1916-1953". Archives West. Retrieved July 27, 2019. ...the shipyard covered an area of about 20 acres and was equipped with a machine shop, blacksmith shop, boiler shop, plate and pattern shops, carpenter and coppersmith shops, and other facilities, including a large dining hall and hospital for its employees. Ames opened his new Ames Terminal Company, a cargo-handling facility, in Seattle in 1922, at the site of the shipyard. The terminal was a center of salmon shipping activity, handling the entire pack of the large Libby, McNeil and Libby Company fisheries. ¶ City directory entries for the Ames Shipbuililding & Drydock Company end in the 1956, and for the Ames Terminal Company in the early 1960s.
^Denise Fainberg (June 4, 2012). Explorer's Guide Washington (Second ed.). The Countryman Press. p. 150. ISBN9780881509748. Map shows Pier 19 roughly across the East Waterway from Lander Street.
^"One of Seattle's Great Institutions". Pacific Marine Review. 15. J.S. Hines: 98–102. July 1918. Retrieved August 1, 2019. J.F. Duthie & Company broke ground for their new plant on September 10, 1916, and on November 29, 1916 the keel of their first vessel reposed on the keel blocks, and a completely finished plant stood ready...
^"Obituaries". Marine Review. 52. Penton Publishing Company: 244. June 1922.
^Seattle Municipal Archives on Flickr (January 1898). "Tideflats, circa 1898". Fleets and Facilities Department Imagebank Collection. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
^"G.I.C. Barton". The Town Crier. Vol. 11, no. 50. Seattle. 1916-12-09. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
^Williams 2015, p. 216 (endnotes), note 59: "I have not been able to determine if the Canal Waterway was actually completed. It appears to have been started, and it is shown on the 1912 Baist map and the 1904-5 Sanford map. It is also mentioned in the newspaper, or at least its filling in is mentioned, but there are no photographs of it. Paul Dorpat raises a good point, asking why the canal would be dug before the completion of the cut through Beacon Hill [which never occurred]. Why then are there articles in the Seattle Times describing the filling of a canal at this location? It's one of Seattle's little mysteries. Paul Dorpat, email correspondence with the author, January 30, 2014."
^ abcdG.F. Nicholson (1918). "Future Development of Harbor and Rail Facilities for Seattle". Pacific Marine Review. J.S. Hines: 104. Retrieved August 1, 2019. Spokane Street Terminal... Two electrically actuated elevator ice crushers... having a capacity of 75 tons per hour, also have been installed for the icing of boats and the packing of fresh fish on the wharf.
^"Hefferman" is certainly correct, e.g. Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Vol. 2. Wyman and sons. 1908. p. 801. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^Bogue, Virgil Gay (1911). "Transportation". Plan of Seattle: Report of the Municipal Plans Commission. p. 112. Retrieved April 12, 2020. Railroad Avenue, with its southerly extension, Whatcom Avenue between Holgate and Spokane Streets, traversing the city's waterfront from Smith's Cove to Spokane Street...
^Not on Baist 1912 map; Lander and Stacy Street Wharves visible in Seattle Municipal Archives photo "South Pier 2, 1914", dated October 9, 1914, and the grain terminal in of harbor and shipyards, Seattle (on the University of Washington Libraries site, dated 1917; available on Commons).
^Oldham, Kit; Blecha, Peter; HistoryLink Staff (2011). Rising Tides and Tailwinds: The Story of the Port of Seattle 1911–2011. Seattle: Port of Seattle, HistoryLink, University of Washington Press. pp. 98, 107. ISBN9780295991313.
^The 1918 City of Seattle Harbor Department Map of Central Waterfront District shows this as "Nilson & Kelzie Shipbuilding Corp." but "Kelzie" is almost certainly an error.
^"(advertisement)". Seattle Mail and Herald. Vol. 5/#46. Seattle. 1902-09-27. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-11-25. our building and wharf at the foot of Massachusetts Avenue
^An 1890 city directory shows Mechanics Mill already at this location after the 1889 fire.Seattle City Directory. Polk's Seattle Directory Company. 1890. p. 820. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^ abSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Seattle, King County, Washington, 1893 Vol. 1. Plate 20: (left half), (right half)
^ abcdePaul Dorpat; Jean Sherrard (6 November 2011). "Seattle Now & Then: First Avenue South". Seattle Now & Then (pauldorpat.com). Retrieved August 6, 2019. The railroad trestle connecting the King St. wharf with the worm-free slope of Beacon Hill was used until 1903 (or thereabouts) when the coal wharf was moved south to Dearborn Street and a new trestle connected with it.
^This is presumably the pier "Seattle One of the World's Great Ports" (Railway & Marine News volume 11, number 12, August 1, 1913) refers to as "C. & P. S. Ry. Co.": they are generally listing this area south-to-north, and they have this before the coaling pier at Dearborn.
^ abThe generally comprehensive list in "Exhibit 29: Piers, Wharves, and Docks Port of Seattle, Washington 1963" makes on mention of this pier.
^Seattle... and the Orient. Seattle Daily Times. 1900. p. 65., shows them with a 9-acre site at this location. File:Seattle - Stetson Post Lumber 1909.jpg reproduces an ad from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition special issue of Seattle weekly The Argus (Volume 16, No. 3, February 20, 1909), showing the mill still in this location at that time. However, the 1910 Report of the Commissioner of Corporations... says that in 1907 the Union Pacific Railroad had purchased the property, and the 1912 Baist map shows largely empty piers here.
^Thomas Street 2006, p. 20 says, somewhat oddly, that the Grand Trunk Dock "stood north of the Colman Dock, in the location of the old Flyer Dock" but the same source say that the Grand Trunk Dock existed "by 1910" and that the Flyer Dock was destroyed in the Alameda accident of 1912.
^ ab"Alaska Steamship Company at Piers 1 and 2, Seattle, circa 1898". Retrieved 2020-11-19. This image features Northern Pacific Railroad Piers 1 and 2 on the Seattle waterfront, operating under the Alaska Steamship Company. The piers were rebuilt in 1902 and numbered 3 through 5 until World War II when the military renumbered them 54 through 56. Museum of History and Industry content on the site of University of Washington Library; despite the attribution of both piers as "operating under the Alaska Steamship Company," the one on the left (Pier 1) clearly says "Canadian Pacific Steamship Co."
^"White Star Dock, foot Spring" is listed on p.91 of the 1899 Polk's Seattle City Directory, but other sources seem consistent in saying it was not completed until 1900. The directory presumably anticipated the completion.
^ abc"Wrecking Started: Northern Pacific Begins Tearing Out the Collapsed White Star Dock". Seattle Daily Times. September 17, 1901. p. 3.
^"Contracts Are Awarded". Seattle Daily Times. December 9, 1901. p. 7.
^Klingle 2007, p. 77. "In digging a new slip at the base of the old Yesler mill in 1901, Northern Pacific engineers dislodged chunks of 'slab wood and large rocks' from beneath the mud. This inferior fill was, the engineers claimed, responsible for the collapse of the White Star Line dock into Elliott Bay that same year."
^"Seattle Dock Collapses". UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research. California Digital Newspaper Collection. Vol. XXVII, no. 260. Santa Rosa, California: Press Democrat. September 15, 1901. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
^Thomas Street 2006, p. 39 gives this as "Royal Mail Steam Pack Company"
^Thomas Street 2006, p. 39 gives this as "East Asiatic Steamship Company"
^ abcdePolk's Seattle City Directory (1899), p. 91, lists both "Arlington Wharf" and "Caine's Wharf" as "foot University". The 1898 Polk's lists "EE Caine" as being at the "foot of University"; the 1899 Polk's lists "EE Caine" as being at "Arlington Dock"; the latter also lists a "Polk Clipper Lines" at the same location.
^Based on another dock being in this location by the end of 1900.
^ abPaul Dorpat (2005). "4"(PDF). The Seattle Waterfront: An Illustrated History. pp. 230–231. Retrieved August 22, 2019. With the completion of the Lenora Street overpass in the early 1930s and the increasing development of motor freight, Pier 11-B / 65 became an important center for auto freight with more than twenty such companies listed in the 1943 city directory as located there.
^"Auto accident at Railroad Avenue". Department of Streets and Sewers Photograph Collection. Seattle Municipal Archives. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
^ abcdefghijklmBaist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Washington from 1912, Plate 8 (PDF)
^Thomas Street 2006, p. 25 spells this "Chlopek," but the correct spelling is visible on photographs of the building. Similarly, the 1910 Report of the Commissioner of Corporations... gives "Clopeck".
^Oldham, Kit; Blecha, Peter; HistoryLink Staff (2011). Rising Tides and Tailwinds: The Story of the Port of Seattle 1911–2011. Seattle: Port of Seattle, HistoryLink, University of Washington Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN9780295991313.
^Oldham, Kit; Blecha, Peter; HistoryLink Staff (2011). Rising Tides and Tailwinds: The Story of the Port of Seattle 1911–2011. Seattle: Port of Seattle, HistoryLink, University of Washington Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN9780295991313.
^ abSeattle Times Staff (January 19, 2007). "A look back: 120 years in the life of a city block". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 13, 2019. Unocal operations were phased out in the 1970s and 1980s, and cleanup started in 1989.
^Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Washington from 1912, Plate 8 (PDF) shows this in 1912.
^Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Washington from 1912, Plate 21 (PDF) shows this partially built, not yet named, with a rail line but no other facilities.
^Oldham, Kit; Blecha, Peter; HistoryLink Staff (2011). Rising Tides and Tailwinds: The Story of the Port of Seattle 1911–2011. Seattle: Port of Seattle, HistoryLink, University of Washington Press. p. 107. ISBN9780295991313.
^Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Washington from 1912, Plate 21 (PDF) does not show this having been started.
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