In 1882, lumber mills, shipyards, and other industries began to move north from Seattle’s waterfront to the shores of Lake Union. Industrial development continued with Seattle’s growth but shrank after World War II. A few shipyards remained by the late 1960s, plus some light industry, apartments, parking lots, fast food restaurants, marinas, and a seaplane terminal. Roads were built and widened to move traffic quickly through the area.

This image, taken from the southwest, shows the southern part of Lake Union. Interstate 5 crosses the upper part of the image, between the city’s gas plant, on the shore, and St. Mark’s Cathedral, on the hill. The white, slant-roofed US Naval Reserve Armory (now the Museum of History & Industry) sits near the center of the image, with the Lake Union Dry Dock Company and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration docks along the shore in the distance. The brick buildings of the University of Washington can be seen above the distant shipyards. Aurora Avenue passes along the left bottom of the image and crosses above the Valley-Broad underpass (later reconstructed).

Caption information source: “Lake Union Lumber and Manufacturing is incorporated on March 19, 1882, by Jennifer Ott, HistoryLink Essay 10218.