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 northbound traffic on the Viaduct, passing the National Guard Armory, at right, at Virginia Street and Western Avenue. A billboard advertises the new professional basketball team in Seattle, the SuperSonics, who played at the Seattle Center Coliseum (now Climate Pledge Arena) from 1967-2008.
Caption information source: "Alaskan Way Viaduct, Part 3: Building the Viaduct," by Jennifer Ott, HistoryLink.org Essay 9978
Caption from original inventory: Georgetown Airport Way and Albro St. - Rainier Ice Co. building is the old brewery, 1961 SHS category: Streets
ID Number: SHS5152
Date: 1967
Physical Description: 1 photographic print on cardboard mount: b&w ; 10.25 x 13.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
