History
West Seattle is the oldest neighborhood and the birthplace of the city of Seattle. It is surrounded on three sides by water and has both enjoyed and suffered its isolation from the "mainland" of downtown Seattle.
The first licensed ferry in the Seattle area launched on December 24, 1888 traveled from Seacrest Park in West Seattle to downtown Seattle, as well as other water-bound location throughout the Puget Sound. It was a steam-powered sidewheel ship named the City of Seattle and made two trips a day, carrying West Seattle homesteaders east to the city, and weekend vacationers west to the beachfront.
Prior to that time, the old so-called Mosquito Fleet of steam powered boats carried travelers to and from numerous islands and peninsulas in the Puget Sound area. The West Seattle Water Taxi was discontinued when the first bridge across the Duwamish River was built.
Over time, a succession of bridges were installed to connect the West Seattle peninsula to downtown proper, beginning with the old wood-and-rail Spokane Street bridge in 1920. In 1970, calls for a modern solution brought attention to the growing problem of commuting to downtown; in 1978, the freighter ship Chavez crashed into the lower bridge requiring a new high rise bridge that is still the main path into and out of West Seattle today.
As West Seattle has grown in popularity, travel in and out of the city has become more congested. The Water Taxi was brought back to life in 1998 by King County Metro and has been the subject of much debate ever since. It is a particular favorite of those catching a Mariners baseball game in nearby Safeco Field.
The King County Ferry District originally operated it from April to October, but now operates it year-round, carrying between 500 and 1,000 people downtown everyday. For the 2009 season, the service was renamed from the Elliot Bay Water Taxi to the King County Water Taxi. In 2010, water taxi service began year-round operation with a new vessel and accessibility improvements at the Seacrest dock.
Read more about this topic: King County Water Taxi
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Most events recorded in history are more remarkable than important, like eclipses of the sun and moon, by which all are attracted, but whose effects no one takes the trouble to calculate.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“If you look at the 150 years of modern China’s history since the Opium Wars, then you can’t avoid the conclusion that the last 15 years are the best 15 years in China’s modern history.”
—J. Stapleton Roy (b. 1935)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)