Lake Union, the Airport - By Dick Wagner
The first step in the Transportation grant project is to document and identify the unique history and stories of Lake Union that could be shared through exhibits and interpretative activities.
The founder of The Center from Wooden Boats, Dick Wagner, is documenting many of the compiling stories and the history of Lake Union, from his unique perspective of living and working on Lake Union for over three decades. These narratives are in draft form, and should be considered a work in progress. We welcome any thoughts, comments or stories you may have.
Lake Union, the Airport
William Boeing was a timber-wealthy young man with a lot of curiosity about the many new industrial age technologies. He took a joy ride with a local airplane barn-stormer in 1915. He was so intrigued about flying machines he went to Los Angeles, took flying lessons there and bought a Martin biplane with pontoons, which he shipped back to Seattle. The joy of his new toy prompted Boeing to build a wooden post and truss, cedar siding airplane hanger at the foot of Roanoke St. on the east side of Lake Union. It was painted red with white trim. The hanger or “seaplane station” as Boeing called it was built on pilings. There were high doors on the lake side and a ramp the full water side length of the building that sloped gently from the floor to a few feet below lake level. A trolley rolled up and down the ramp to launch and retrieve the seaplanes. There was room for three planes. This building with names of the pilots on the landside lockers was still on its site until the late 1960’s when it was torn down to build a restaurant and marina.
The Martin was wrecked in 1916. Pilot Herb Munter stalled and crashed near Madison Park. The wreckage was retrieved and reassembled at the Lake Union facility. Herb took it for a test flight, stalled again and nose dived into Lake Union. As of 1956, Boeing and Lake Union’s first airplane is still at rest in the bottom of the lake.
The B & W planes were ready to fly in the summer of 1916. They were likely towed to the south end of the lake, to have a long taxi run into the prevailing summer north wind. They would take off and start leveling out when they were over the Gas Works.
Following the B & W test flights the Boeing Aircraft Company was legally founded. The assets were a hanger on Lake Union, a boatshop on the Duwamish, and two operable seaplanes. Bill Boeing conducted flying lessons and tourist tours from the Lake Union site. It was a good place to introduce the community to the potentials of aircraft because its location was easily accessible.
In 1917, the United States went to war. The navy department gave Boeing a contract to build 50 seaplane trainers. Boeing built a new factory alongside the boatshop on the Duwamish. He hired builders of rowing shells, , George and Richard Pocock from their 1909 Tokyo Teahouse boatshops on Portage Bay. The Pococks became pontoon builders for the 50 Model C open cockpit military trainers. They built them with laminated red cedar. The same technique they used for their wherry rowing boats.
After the war, the airplane construction business slowed down. They had few orders so they sold joy rides and tours. Bill Boeing was tried of scrambling for money to make the paychecks. On paydays Boeing sometimes offered half cash and half Boeing stock. The Pococks would opt for the half and half deal. George left behind a considerable estate. Boeing and his test pilot, Eddie Hubbard, decided to offer scheduled flights from Lake Union to Victoria on Vancouver, for the businessmen. The Canadian officials thought they should carry mail, too. Thus, on March 3, 1919, the first North American international postal service began at 56 Roanoke Street. Bill and Eddie flew one of their Model C’s to Vancouver and back to Lake Union. There were 60 letters on the southbound trip.
Eddie Hubbard wanted his own airmail business. The Post Office gave him the Victoria route, where the seaplane would meet ships leaving the Orient. Hubbard began his operation with Boeings new B-1, with laminated cedar fuselage and a 400 horsepower Liberty engine. That aircraft is now a part of the Museum of History and Industry’s collection. The Hubbard flights began out of Lake Washington because Lake Union was beginning to look a lot like a bumper car activity since the Locks and Canal were completed. But Hubbard soon returned to the Lake Union seaplane station because it was in the center of town, with customs, support systems and postal connections at hand. In 1922 more than half of the U.S. airmail passed through the hangar at 56 Roanoke St.
The B-1 left Lake Union between 2:00 and 2:30pm twice a week. The flight dates were based on the ship’s schedules at Victoria. The southbound flights landed on the lake before dark, with a post office truck waiting. Hubbard went out of the airmail business in 1927, but a new company, Seattle-Victoria Air Mail Inc, took over. The mail still passed through the Lake Union hanger until July 1, 1937. At this time aircraft that could fly across the Pacific with stops at Hawaii and Wake Island, were carrying passengers and mail.
Today, Kenmore Air flies scheduled trips north from South Lake Union and Chrysler Air does the same from south east Lake Union. The planes take off at 8am on weekdays and 9am on weekends, and holidays. They look different then the Model C’s or B-1’s, but they still taxi upwind on Lake Union and if its summer, they begin to level off as they pass over Gaswork Park, following Bill Boeings’ tailwind.
Dick Wagner