04/05/2025
Some Alaska Ferry History!!!
๐ข Throwback: When the Alaska Ferry Docked in Seattle
For nearly two decades, Seattle was the southern gateway to Alaska on the Alaska Marine Highway System. From the late 1960s until 1989, AMHS ferries sailed from Pier 48, connecting the Pacific Northwest with the Inside Passage and the Alaska Highway via Haines.
Originally, the state had no plans to extend the system past Prince Rupert, BCโbut persistent rockfall issues along BC Highway 16 and challenges connecting with Canadian ferries pushed Alaska to look south. Both Seattle and Bellingham made strong bids, and Seattle ultimately became the southern terminus.
On September 29, 1989, the MV Columbia pulled away from Pier 48 for the final time, ending an era many today may not even remember. A week later, our Washington port officially moved north to Bellingham, closing Seattleโs chapter in AMHS history.
Today, itโs hard to imagine an Alaska ferry docked in downtown Seattle with the Space Needle in viewโbut for a generation of travelers, it was the start of the journey north.
Photo source: Alaska State Library,
Herbert J. โRedโ Lockert Photograph Collection
