The Silver Slug Departs Seattle
This vessel, the ferry Kalakala, has been moored in Seattle’s Lake Union for several years while a few different owner groups struggled to come up with a plan to renovate it. It was once Seattle’s preeminent icon, before the Space Needle and Monorail arrived with the 1962 World’s Fair. It was nicknamed The Silver Slug because its art deco design reminded folks of that other icon of the northwest encountered on trails and in our gardens.
It was retired from the state ferry fleet in 1967 and ended up in Alaska as a fish processor, sort of a maritime fallen woman. A local sculptor brought it back to Seattle with designs on renovating it and giving it historical status to ply local waters again. While his foundation struggled to gain funding from private and government sources, a series of parties and fundraisers were held on board. They even had a large plastic bottle suspended from the bow beseeching kayakers to donate money, and every time I paddled by it (I took the attached picture from my kayak), there was a good chunk of change in it.
We attended a couple of these events when bands we liked were playing and, while I thought it was a good music venue, and would have made a great all-ages facility, there was no denying that it was terminally decrepit.
The sculptor lost his bid to raise funds (plus a good part of his personal wealth), and the ship was eventually put up for auction. Congruent with the ship’s rocky karma, the auction winner’s check bounced. Meanwhile, the city was issuing daily fines, and the landlord where it was moored was accruing unpaid rent. Finally, a fellow stepped up and bought it for a lowball price. He plans to renovate it and moor it up in Everett on tideland property he owns there, so there’s a chance we’ll at least see it on Puget Sound if he succeeds. But it was imperative that he get the boat out of town, and he set, then cancelled, 2 or 3 dates for its departure, leading to growing cynicism that he would really pull it off.
Well, today the boat finally left for temporary moorage in Neah Bay, its procession marked by gatherings of the curious. (I love the tale of unrequited love in this article). People are divided about whether we’ve bid goodbye to an eyesore or a lost opportunity to recapture a bit of history. I’m not sure where I fall, considering that I came here in 1974 and the only nostalgia I have for it was as a music venue, but it would have made a damn good one.
