Colman Dock

Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington, United States.

The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferries system, is still called "Colman Dock".

Originally Colman Dock was located at the foot of Columbia Street, and was immediately to the north of Pier 2.

[2][3] In 1908, Colman extended the dock to a total length of 705 feet (215 m)[4] and added a domed waiting room and a 72-foot (22 m) clocktower.

In 1910, PSN was approaching monopoly control over the inland steamship routes of western Washington, with the company's most serious challenger being the Kitsap County Transportation Company (KCTC), headed by Kitsap County businessman Warren L. Gazzam (1864–1961).

In 1917 an overhead walk (still in existence in 1983[6]) led from the Seattle business district to the waiting room, from which most of the Puget Sound steamship passenger traffic originated.

[1] In the mid-1930s Puget Sound Navigation Company modernized Colman Dock, using an Art Deco style that matched their streamlined signature ferry MV Kalakala.

The Kalakala, which had recently been voted Seattle's second biggest attraction after the then-new Space Needle,[8] rammed the terminal February 21, 1966.

[9] The clock from the old Colman Dock tower, dunked into the bay in the 1912 Alameda accident and removed in the 1936 renovation, was rediscovered (lying in pieces) in 1976, purchased by the Port of Seattle in 1985, restored, given as a gift to the Washington State Department of Transportation, and reinstalled on the present Colman Dock on May 18, 1985.

[10] The remainder of the 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) main building was opened in November 2022 and can hold up to 1,900 passengers in the waiting area, which has 362 seats and twelve turnstiles.

The Colman Dock expansion added 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of new indoor space, which was re-oriented to face the water, and cost $489 million to construct.

[13][14] The pedestrian bridge, built parallel to Marion Street at the site of the former overpass, began construction in July 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in September 2023.

Colman Dock from the Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry , with Smith Tower in the background
Colman dock (clock tower on right) between 1912 and 1914.
Colman Dock with mosquito fleet ships in the early 1910s
The MV Wenatchee arriving at Colman Dock
Ferry unloading at Colman Dock, 2006.