St. Louis native Edgar Ames (1868-1944) moved to Seattle from Chicago in 1895 and in 1916 founded the Ames Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Seattle. The modern plant he built on Harbor Island covered 20 acres and included a floating drydock. During World War I the yard produced 25 steel tankers and cargo steamships for the U.S. Shipping Board, and fabricated the boilers, engines and much of the equipment for these vessels as well. Employing over 5000 men, the shipyard was equipped with a machine shop, blacksmith shop, boiler shop, plate and pattern shops, carpenter and coppersmith shops, and other facilities, including a large dining hall and hospital for its employees. City directory entries for the Ames Shipbuilding & Drydock Company end in 1956.
Photographer's Reference Number: A20107
Caption on image: Cress-Dale Photo Co., [C...] Bldg Seattle. Stamped on verso: Cress-Dale Photo Co. Handwritten on verso: This is Ames Dry Dock - Seattle. Daddy is in there somewhere, but I can't find him any more. You need not save it if you don't want it.
