The Arthur Foss, built in 1889, is one of the oldest wooden-hulled tugboats afloat in the United States. In 1898, in response to the Alaskan gold rush, she transported barges full of gold seeking miners and supplies up the Inside Passage. There are no other Alaskan Gold Rush vessels still operating today. She was cast by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio to play in its 1933 production Tugboat Annie. In World War II, Arthur Foss journeyed south to join the war effort. Before the Battle of Wake Island began in late 1941, she was the last vessel to get away. After the war, she served the economy of the Northwest by working in the timber industry.
The Arthur Foss has a six-cylinder, 700 horsepower (520 kW) diesel engine. Her top speed is 13 knots (24 km/h). The vessel is 111.6 feet (34.0 m) long with a beam of 23.9 feet (7.3 m) and a draft of 15 feet (4.6 m). When last operated the vessel was owned by Foss Launch and Tug Company (now Foss Maritime) who donated her to Northwest Seaport in 1970. Northwest Seaport renovated her in 2004. The vessel was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and is a city landmark as well. and a featured attraction at Seattle's new South Lake Union Park. The vessel is open for public tours on most summer weekends, or by appointment.
Famous quotes containing the words arthur and/or foss:
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
“There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran—”
—Sam Walter Foss (1858–1911)