Colman Dock
Encyclopedia
Colman Dock, also called Pier 52 is an important ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington
. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal used by the Washington State Ferry system
, and is still called “Colman Dock”
. Before 1910, the wharf immediately to the north of Colman dock was used by the West Seattle ferry. In 1910 this wharf was replaced with the Grand Trunk Pacific dock
. In 1964 the entire area was used for the much larger ferry terminal dock which exists today.
of 1889, but was quickly rebuilt. In 1908, Colman extended the dock to a total length of 705 feet (214.9 m) and added a domed waiting room and a 72 feet (21.9 m) clocktower.
Colman also set up a company, the Colman Dock Company, to conduct the dock's business affairs. Following the merger of the La Conner Transportation Company, headed by Joshua Green
(1869-1975), with the Puget Sound Navigation Company
(PSN), headed by Charles E. Peabody (1857-1926) the Colman Dock Company, and the Colman Dock itself, came under PSN control. In 1910, PSN was approaching monopoly control over the inland steamship routes of western Washington, with the company's most serious challenger being the Kitsap County Transportation Company
(KCTC), headed by Kitsap County businessman Warren L. Gazzam (1864-1961). The rivalry between the two companies became almost a personal matter between Green and Gazzam. In 1910, Green, having obtained control of Colman Dock, and engaged in a rate war with KCTC, ordered KCTC not to land its boats at Colman Dock. KCTC then moved several piers north, to the Galbraith, Bacon dock.
Colman Dock was seriously damaged when, on the night of April 25, 1912, the steel-hulled ship Alameda accidentally set its engines "full speed ahead" instead of reversing, and slammed into the dock. The dock tower fell into the bay and the sternwheeler Telegraph was sunk. The clock was salvaged, as was the Telegraph, and the dock was reconstructed with a new tower. No one died in the Alameda accident, but a less dramatic accident the following month proved fatal. On May 19, 1912, a gangplank collapsed as passengers were boarding the Black Ball steamer Flyer. At least 60 people fell into the water. One woman and one child died.
In 1917, Colman Dock was owned and operated by Colman Dock Company, with B. P. Morgan as manager. Colman Dock was the terminal of the Puget Sound Navigation Company
,, the Merchants Transportation Company
, and several Puget Sound shipping lines. Colman Dock measured 700 by ll5 feet, with 1,400 feet of berthing space. In 1917 an overhead walk (still in existence in 1983) led from the Seattle business district to the waiting room, from which most of the Puget Sound steamship passenger traffic originated. There were also adjustable passenger gangplanks and adjustable freight slips. In 1917 Colman Dock was equipped with a Barlow marine elevator. Colman Dock could accommodate 14 Puget Sound steamboats at one time. There were offices on the north side of the overhead walk.
In the mid-1930s Puget Sound Navigation Company
modernized Colman Dock, using an Art Deco
style that matched their streamlined
signature ferry MV Kalakala.
In 1935, Colman Dock
became the Seattle terminal for what had been the Alki-Manchester ferry
when the dock at lki Point washed out.
In 1951, Washington State bought out PSNC and took over the ferry system. The state paid $500,000 for the ferry terminal at Colman Dock.
Work on the present terminal began a decade later; there have been several reconfigurations and modernizations since. The very month that the state ferry terminal opened, it was the subject of another accident. The Kalakala, which had recently been voted Seattle's second biggest attraction after the then-new Space Needle
, rammed the terminal February 21, 1966. Though dramatic, the damage proved not to be severe. The ferry needed only minor repairs and was back in service the next day. Repairs to the slip cost $80,000 and took two months to complete.
The clock from the old Colman Dock tower, dunked into the bay in the 1912 Alameda accident and removed in the 1936 renovation, was rediscovered (lying in pieces) in 1976, purchased by the Port of Seattle in 1985, restored, given as a gift to the Washington State Department of Transportation
, and reinstalled on the present Colman Dock May 18, 1985.
and the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal used by the Washington State Ferry system
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
, and is still called “Colman Dock”
Location
Originally Colman Dock was located at the foot of Columbia Street, and was immediately to the north of Pier 2Pier 2, Seattle
-Location:Pier 2 was located at the foot of Yesler Way. Pier 2 was immediately to the north of Pier 1 and immediately to the south of Colman Dock.-History:...
. Before 1910, the wharf immediately to the north of Colman dock was used by the West Seattle ferry. In 1910 this wharf was replaced with the Grand Trunk Pacific dock
Grand Trunk Pacific dock
The Grand Trunk Pacific dock was a shipping pier in Seattle, Washington. The original pier was built in 1910 and was destroyed in a fire in 1914. The pier was then rebuilt and continued in existence until 1964, when it was dismantled...
. In 1964 the entire area was used for the much larger ferry terminal dock which exists today.
History
Pier 52 was historically known as Colman Dock. The original Colman Dock was built by Scottish engineer James Colman in 1882. It burned with most of the rest of the city in the Great Seattle FireGreat Seattle Fire
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, USA, on June 6, 1889.-Early Seattle:In the fall of 1851, the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point in what is now the state of Washington...
of 1889, but was quickly rebuilt. In 1908, Colman extended the dock to a total length of 705 feet (214.9 m) and added a domed waiting room and a 72 feet (21.9 m) clocktower.
Colman also set up a company, the Colman Dock Company, to conduct the dock's business affairs. Following the merger of the La Conner Transportation Company, headed by Joshua Green
Joshua Green (seaman and banker)
Joshua Green was an American sternwheeler captain, businessman, and banker. He rose from being a seaman to being the dominant figure of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet, then sold out his interests and became a banker...
(1869-1975), with the Puget Sound Navigation Company
Puget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
(PSN), headed by Charles E. Peabody (1857-1926) the Colman Dock Company, and the Colman Dock itself, came under PSN control. In 1910, PSN was approaching monopoly control over the inland steamship routes of western Washington, with the company's most serious challenger being the Kitsap County Transportation Company
Kitsap County Transportation Company
The Kitsap County Transportation Company was an important steamboat and ferry company that operated on Puget Sound. The company was originally founded in 1898 as the Hansen Transportation Company.-Hansen Transportation:...
(KCTC), headed by Kitsap County businessman Warren L. Gazzam (1864-1961). The rivalry between the two companies became almost a personal matter between Green and Gazzam. In 1910, Green, having obtained control of Colman Dock, and engaged in a rate war with KCTC, ordered KCTC not to land its boats at Colman Dock. KCTC then moved several piers north, to the Galbraith, Bacon dock.
Colman Dock was seriously damaged when, on the night of April 25, 1912, the steel-hulled ship Alameda accidentally set its engines "full speed ahead" instead of reversing, and slammed into the dock. The dock tower fell into the bay and the sternwheeler Telegraph was sunk. The clock was salvaged, as was the Telegraph, and the dock was reconstructed with a new tower. No one died in the Alameda accident, but a less dramatic accident the following month proved fatal. On May 19, 1912, a gangplank collapsed as passengers were boarding the Black Ball steamer Flyer. At least 60 people fell into the water. One woman and one child died.
In 1917, Colman Dock was owned and operated by Colman Dock Company, with B. P. Morgan as manager. Colman Dock was the terminal of the Puget Sound Navigation Company
Puget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
,, the Merchants Transportation Company
Merchants Transportation Company
The Merchants Transportation Company was a shipping firm that operated on Puget Sound from 1905 to 1929. This company should not be confused with the similarly named Merchants Transportation Company of Olympia, formed in 1874 and a completely separate firm....
, and several Puget Sound shipping lines. Colman Dock measured 700 by ll5 feet, with 1,400 feet of berthing space. In 1917 an overhead walk (still in existence in 1983) led from the Seattle business district to the waiting room, from which most of the Puget Sound steamship passenger traffic originated. There were also adjustable passenger gangplanks and adjustable freight slips. In 1917 Colman Dock was equipped with a Barlow marine elevator. Colman Dock could accommodate 14 Puget Sound steamboats at one time. There were offices on the north side of the overhead walk.
In the mid-1930s Puget Sound Navigation Company
Puget Sound Navigation Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...
modernized Colman Dock, using an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style that matched their streamlined
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
signature ferry MV Kalakala.
In 1935, Colman Dock
Colman Dock
Colman Dock, also called Pier 52 is an important ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal used by the Washington State Ferry system, and is still called “Colman Dock”-Location:...
became the Seattle terminal for what had been the Alki-Manchester ferry
Alki-Manchester Ferry
The Alki-Manchester ferry was a ferry route in Washington State that from 1925 to 1936 ran between Alki Point and Manchester, Washington across Puget Sound.-History:...
when the dock at lki Point washed out.
In 1951, Washington State bought out PSNC and took over the ferry system. The state paid $500,000 for the ferry terminal at Colman Dock.
Work on the present terminal began a decade later; there have been several reconfigurations and modernizations since. The very month that the state ferry terminal opened, it was the subject of another accident. The Kalakala, which had recently been voted Seattle's second biggest attraction after the then-new Space Needle
Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
, rammed the terminal February 21, 1966. Though dramatic, the damage proved not to be severe. The ferry needed only minor repairs and was back in service the next day. Repairs to the slip cost $80,000 and took two months to complete.
The clock from the old Colman Dock tower, dunked into the bay in the 1912 Alameda accident and removed in the 1936 renovation, was rediscovered (lying in pieces) in 1976, purchased by the Port of Seattle in 1985, restored, given as a gift to the Washington State Department of Transportation
Washington State Department of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation , was established in 1905. The agency, led by a Secretary and overseen by the Governor, is a Washington governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of the state's transportation infrastructure...
, and reinstalled on the present Colman Dock May 18, 1985.
Current status
Two ferry routes currently depart from Colman Dock, the Seattle-Winslow FerrySeattle-Winslow Ferry
The Seattle-Winslow ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Winslow, Washington, on Bainbridge Island. The route is also called the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry...
and the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry
Seattle-Bremerton Ferry
The Seattle-Bremerton ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bremerton, Washington. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.-History:The Seattle-Bremerton...
.