One of Seattle’s landmark waterfront restaurants, Ray’s Boathouse, burned in a spectacular fire on May 26, 1987. A wiring problem beneath Ray’s pier caused plumes of smoke, which spread up into the restaurant through the kitchen floor and prompted the evacuation of customers and staff. Some 50 to 60 fire fighters, plus 20 fire trucks and boats fought the four-alarm blaze for more than four hours. Some of the boats kept at the pier were damaged, and when the fire was finally out, only Ray’s iconic neon sign remained standing. Fortunately, no one was injured and the restaurant reopened on April 9, 1988.

Here, in March 1988, a backhoe driver prepares the new parking lot at the rebuilt Ray's Boathouse.

Caption information sources: The Seattle Times, May 27, 1987; and April 8, 1988.
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.