Lake Washington ferries

Lake Washington ferries

The Lake Washington ferries in King County, Washington provided the only efficient means for transporting goods and passengers across the lake prior to the opening of the first floating bridge in 1940. The ferries ran between Kirkland, Bellevue, and Houghton across Lake Washington to East Madison Street in Seattle's Madison Park for ten cents each way. They soon became so popular that the King County Port Commission established a public ferry in 1900, competing with private boats. In 1913 a reconfigured side-wheeler steamboat, the wooden "Leschi", became the first Seattle-built automobile ferry. By 1922 the county ferry system was in such financial difficulty that it appointed its largest competitor to run the system. The 1940 opening of the Lake Washington floating bridge was the beginning of the end for the lake ferries. However, during World War II the ferries carried workers to the Lake Washington Shipyard, where auxiliary ships were built for the U.S. Navy, and made a tidy profit. A year after the tolls were removed from the floating bridge, the last ferry route was retired, and the boat was sold to the Washington State Ferries, which had taken over the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1951.

References

* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=2638 The ferry "Leschi" makes its last run] - HistoryLink essay


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Steamboats of Lake Washington — Lake Washington is a large lake immediately to the east of Seattle. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no… …   Wikipedia

  • Washington State Department of Transportation — overview Formed 1964 (1964) Preceding agencies Washington Department of Highways Washington State Highway Board Washi …   Wikipedia

  • Washington (state) — Washington state redirects here. For the university, see Washington State University. State of Washington …   Wikipedia

  • Washington State Ferries — This page is about the ferry system operated by the state of Washington. Other entities operate other Ferries in Washington State Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State… …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Victoria — Infobox lake lake name = Lake Victoria image lake = Topography of Lake Victoria.png image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = coords = coord|1|S|33|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title outflow = White Nile River catchment = 184,000 km² 238,900 km² …   Wikipedia

  • Ferries in Washington State — Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state run Washington State Ferries.HistoryBecause of its unique topography, which features large, deep bodies of water with many peninsulas and islands, ferries… …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Michigan — Landsat …   Wikipedia

  • Houghton, Washington — Houghton (haʊ tən) is one of the lakeside neighborhoods of the city of Kirkland, Washington. Consisting mostly of upscale, single family homes, Houghton overlooks Lake Washington and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of… …   Wikipedia

  • Washington State Route 20 — State Route 20 Whidbey Scenic Isle Way North Cascades Highway …   Wikipedia

  • Washington State Route 113 — Karte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”