New Historic District Part of Seattle's Waterfront Plan
The distinctive wooden piers that once connected Seattle by sea to the rest of the planet may become the city's newest historic district under a plan unveiled by Mayor Greg Nickels. Piers 54 to 59, which include structures that once stored goods bound by ship to west coast cities, Japan, and Europe, are part of a district proposed in the mayor's "Central Waterfront Plan," which details a vision for the waterfront after the Alaskan Way Viaduct, damaged in a 2001 earthquake, is torn down.
The piers are reminders of the central waterfront's century-long role as a regional shipping center. Ocean-going sailing and powered vessels once tied up to the piers, unloading goods from Asia and Europe, and taking on goods delivered by train from all over the United States to the piers. After World War II, most industrial activity on the waterfront moved south and north as containerization technology developed. The piers and their sheds were converted into retail businesses, tourist attractions, and offices. Pier 59, which includes the Seattle Aquarium, was later designated a city landmark. "The piers are really the only remnants of the working waterfront as it existed in the early years of the twentieth century," says Carol Tobin, a Seattle preservation consultant.
Tobin participated in a city-sponsored citizens' advisory committee that endorsed a proposal to create a new historic district as part of the Central Waterfront Plan, which the mayor has delivered to the city council. Historic Seattle, Preservation 4Culture, and the Association of King County Historical Organizations participated. The piers are already recognized in city documents as an "historic character area." The city's Historic Preservation Office has begun a formal survey of the piers and surrounding buildings as preparation for expected nominations of some or all the structures as city landmarks. The survey is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.
For more information on the Central Waterfront Plan, visit the central waterfront page of the city of Seattle website or contact Robert Scully, 206-233-3854, waterfrontplan@seattle.gov.
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