Preserving the History of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington

Contact us at friendsofthelocks@gmail.com

Monday, July 24, 2017

Centennial Boat Parade

The Adventuress and crowd just before parade start. photo Kyle S.


July 9, 2017 saw a pageant of boats sailing from the Chittenden Locks through the Ship Canal to it's conclusion at the bottom of Lake Union. This was something of a recreation of the parade of boats which took place in 1917, to celebrate the official dedication and opening of the "Government Locks" and ship canal. Several years ago, there was one boat, the Zina, known to exist in the area which had been present for that original parade. Subsequently, two others were found, the Keewaydin, named the Honey Boy in 1917, and the Glorybe. The Glorybe had been burned in a fire and sunk in 2002, but had been rescued, and remarkably restored and still sails in local waters to this day. The Keewaydin, was in a state of some disrepair, but structurally sound, and was bought by a local party who have been restoring the boat to her former classic beauty. Meanwhile, the Zina, which had participated in previous anniversary sailings in the ship canal, was destroyed in a fire, just a few short years before the Centennial. the Roosevelt, which led the parade in 1917, was long since left to the elements in the Panama Canal after suffering too much damage to make repairs feasible.



Thursday, July 6, 2017

Take A Part In The Centennial Commeration



Sunday’s (July 9, 2017) Locks Centennial Boat Parade viewing spots include:

Seattle Parks:
11th Ave NW Street-end park (on the Ballard side of the Ship Canal)
Roanoke St. Mini-Park, 1 E. Roanoke St., peek-a-boo view of Lake Union
Lynn St. Mini-Park, 2291 Fairview Ave E; view of Lake Union between the houseboats
Lake Union Park, south end of Lake Union

Other locations:
Evanston Avenue (one block west of Fremont Ave)
Along the Cut between the area under the Aurora Bridge west to 2nd NW
Burke-Gilman Trail (various spots); roaming docents
In front of 2 Nickerson on the canal
The Ballard Bridge approaches

On-street parking is available near most of these locations but we strongly recommend arriving on foot, by public transportation or by bicycle. Most marinas with a view of the Ship Canal or Lake Union have locked gates with entry available only to their tenants, we ask you please respect those.





The following list of participating boats was published by historylink.org and we're adding it here for those who will be able to view the boats as they make the journey through the canal and into Lake Union. The Glorybe and the Keewaydin were both in the original parade on July 4, 1917! Let's see who will be here in 2117.