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Image of Releasing water from Lake Union into the Montlake Cut, Seattle, August 26, 1916
1983.10.10326
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Photograph

Releasing water from Lake Union into the Montlake Cut, Seattle, August 26, 1916

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The Montlake Cut is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal that connects Puget Sound, Lake Union, and Lake Washington. While digging the Montlake Cut, engineers built a temporary dam to hold back the waters of Lake Union's Portage Bay. The waters were released in August 1916, and the Lake Washington Ship Canal opened for business on July 4, 1917, after six years of construction.

In this photo, a crowd of onlookers watches as the temporary dam at Portage Bay is broken. The photographer is facing southwest towards Portage Bay, at about the spot where the Montlake Bridge would be completed nine years later.

Handwritten on sleeve: Montlake Cut Opening, 8-21-1916
Webster & Stevens number: 51504

Caption information source: "Lake Washington Ship Canal (Seattle)," by David B. Williams, HistoryLink.org Essay 1444
ID Number: 1983.10.10326
Date: 1916
Creator(s): Webster & Stevens, Photographer
Physical Description: 1 negative : glass, b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, 1983.10.10326
Copyright: No Known Copyright
Subjects: Lake Washington Ship Canal, Construction and Urban Planning

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