The Central Waterfront of Seattle is the most urbanized portion of the Elliott Bay shoreline. It runs from Pioneer Square in a roughly northwest direction past Downtown Seattle and Belltown, ending at the Olympic Sculpture Park at Broad Street.

In 1890 and beginning at Broad St. going south was Coffman's wharf, and at the foot of at Vine St. was Hall's wharf. At Wall and Battery Streets was Squire's wharf. Further south at Virginia St. was the wharf of Gatzert & McNaught and Denton's wharf. Between Pike and Pine was Louch & Johnson's wharf. At Union St. was the Columbia wharf and the Schwabacher Bros. wharf. At Union St. was the wharves of Almond & Phillips and Baxter & Co. At University St, was the wharf of the Baker, Baton & Co.

Between University and Seneca was the wharf of T. R. Humphrey & Co. and the Badre Milling Co. By 1899 this wharf would become known as the Arlington wharf or Pier 5 and in 1903 the Northern Pacific was the operator. In 1903 the White Star Line operated Pier 4 at Spring St. and at Madison was Pier 3 operated by the Galbraith Co. Between Madison and Marion in 1903 was the dock for the fire boat.

At Marion St. was the West Seattle Ferry and to the south of that was Colman's Wharf then Yesler's Wharf. Yesler built his first wharf and sawmill at this location in in 1853. In 1903 at the foot of Yesler was Pier 2 owned by the Northern Pacific and operated by the Whatcom Line, Laconner T&T Co. and the Port Orchard Line. 

At Washington St. was the Harrington & Smith wharf and south of this was the Oregon Railroad & Navigation's wharf. In 1903 it was Pier 1 and owned by the Northern Pacific and operated by the Port Angeles Victoria Line, the Vancouver BC Line and the Alaska Steamship Line.

At the foot of Main Street beginning in 1889 was the home of the Seattle Stevedore's, Longshoremen's & Rigger's Union.

At Jackson & King streets was the coal dock of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad and at the southern end of the Central Waterfront was the Stetson & Post Mill, Mechanic's Mill and the Seattle Dry Dock. These mills were built over the water. From these mills south to Diagonal Ave. was all tide flats an beginning in 1890 the filling of the mud had begun. Everything including the kitchen sink was thrown in.

In 1899 the Olde Curiosity Shop was established by J. E. "Daddy" Standley on Pier 54 and is best known as a souvenir shop and museum. Standley presented to the public a jumbled mix of curiosities and significant art objects. He collected and sold whatever came his way, but also had local Indian artists make objects and art according to his designs. He sold genuine Tlingit totem poles as well as replicas made by carvers who were descended from the Vancouver Island Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, who were living in Seattle. He even sold inexpensive souvenir totem poles which were made in Japan.

He had a flair for the bizarre and grotesque which led him to include items such as shrunken heads from the Amazon some of which are fake, and bizarre creatures which were billed as a rare animal but actually were created from two different species. There are also 2 mummies on display which were found in a dried out state and not the cloth wrapped Egyptian type. Plus many more oddities and artifacts. No trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to this place.

The Central Waterfront was the hub of Seattle's maritime activity, but in the 1960s containerization began the shift of cargo handling to the East and West waterways. The Central Waterfront now has been converted to recreational and retail uses.

In 1962 the Edgewater hotel was constructed on top of Pier 67 and over the years has had many famous guests, such as Elvis Prestley, the Beatles, Led Zepplin and many more. It is the only hotel on the Seattle waterfront due to zoning laws which were enacted after the hotel was built.

Some of the old docks on the Central Waterfront are still under the authority of the Port of Seattle. These include Pier 66 which is now a cruise ship terminal. Pier 52 which was originally called Colman Dock was built in 1882 and was used by the Oregon Improvement company as a coal bunker. The wharf burned in the fire of 1889 and was quickly rebuilt. To the north of Coalman dock was home to the West Seattle ferry and in 1910 it became the Grand Trunk Pacific dock. Today these wharves are the home of the Washington State ferry terminal.

Terminal 46 at the south end of the central waterfront was the first container terminal in Seattle established in the early 1960's. This pier has the deepest draft of all the Puget Sound container terminals. In the 1930's it was the site of a shanty town called Hooverville. In the early 2000's Pier 46 absorbed Pier 37 and has gone through many upgrades to modernize the terminal.

In 2008, several of the old piers were converted into shops and restaurants. Today there is an aquarium, several parks, and a Ferris wheel.

Historic Central Waterfront Photos

East Waterway

The East Waterway was constructed from the tideflats in 1914 the same year Harbor Island was made. In 1916 on the east side of the waterway beginning at the foot of Massachusetts street heading south was; The wharf of Skinner & Eddy, then the dock for the fire boat Snoqualmie, and the Albers Bros. Milling Co. At the foot of Holgate was Hammond Mills, Standard Oil, the San Juan Fishing & Packing Co., and the Nilson & Kelzie ship building co.

At Stacy St. was the Stacy Street Pier then the Lander Street Pier. South of these was the Commercial boiler Works and the Weiding Fish Co. At the foot of Forest St. was the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad docks and the Pacific Coast Engineering Co. At the foot of Hanford Street was the Port of Seattle's Hanford Street Pier. South of that was the Port of Seattle's Spokane Street Pier. and then the Cold storage building. In 1916 there wasn't anything built on Harbor Island as the ground had not yet settled. 

At the southern end of the waterway on the eastern side at Spokane St. once stood the City Ice cold storage facility which was constructed around 1912. In the early 2010's the building was demolished and today in 2024 is a vacant lot. To the north of this property is Terminal 25 and in the 1970's it became a container terminal and home to the Matson Container Line until the early 2010's. In the early 2000's this Terminal was integrated with Pier 30 and they are connected by a narrow road between the two piers. 

At the north end of Terminal 25 is a remnant of the old Duwamish River channel which was used as a slip for ships docking at Pier 28 which was on the north side of this slip and was used for loading and unloading ships until the 1970's. On the south side of this slip from 1914 and until 1980 was used by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad as dock for it's rail barges which ferried their trains between Seattle and Port Townsend.

To the north of the slip is terminal 30. In 1914 a grain elevator was constructed and was used until he late 1960's. At the north end of Pier 30 was where logs were once loaded. In the 1970's the pier became a container yard. Pier 30 was once used as a temporary cruise ship terminal until the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal was completed in 2009 at Pier's 90 and 91.

North of Pier 30 is the Coast Guard station and dock. North of the Coast Guard is Pier 37 and was once a small container yard. This pier was also used for unloading steel ships in the 2000's. In the 2010's Terminal 46 absorbed this pier and today it is the southern end of the Terminal.

Historic East Wareway Waterfront Photos

Miscellaneous Waterfront Photos

Miscellaneous Historical Waterfront Photos

Photos in these albums are courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives