The Alaskan Way Viaduct was an elevated highway in Seattle which was completed in 1966 after 16 years of construction and decades of planning. The double-decked highway ran along the Elliott Bay waterfront above the surface street, Alaskan Way, following previously existing railroad lines. The viaduct provided Seattle with its first bypass route around the downtown business district. The viaduct was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake and was replaced by a tunnel in 2019.

This image shows the outer viaduct supports along a curve at Alaskan Way and South Washington Street. It clearly shows how close the viaduct came to the nearby buildings, built on filled-in tidelands during Seattle’s early 20th century Gold Rush days. These buildings were now empty. The Prudential Building, left, had housed a bond investment company and a real estate firm. The brick building to the right was once part of the Lowman & Hanford printing company. The latter building still stands as of 2026.

Caption information source: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: Seattle Historical Sites, Summary for 114 Alaskan WAY / Parcel ID 5247800025 / Inv #
https://web.seattle.gov/DPD/HistoricalSite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=1265806762. Retrieved June 12, 2026.