The Lake Washington Ship Canal opened for business on July 4, 1917, after six years of construction. The opening was the high point of Seattle's Fourth of July celebration.
In this photo, spectators crowd the banks of Lake Union to watch the parade of several hundred boats passing through the new canals. It is likely that the photographer was standing somewhere in the Fremont neighborhood, looking northwest. The tracks at the bottom left of the frame probably served the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) line, which connected Ballard to Bothell via a route following the north shore of Lake Union to Lake Washington. In 1978 the railroad's route became the 27 miles of the King County Regional Trail System known as the Burke-Gilman Trail.
Caption information source: "Lake Washington Ship Canal (Seattle)," by David B. Williams, HistoryLink.org Essay 1444 Caption information source: "Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad Company," by Heather M. MacIntosh, HistoryLink.org Essay 1736
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.
