MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities.

The main cause of the accident was found to be the failure in properly filling ballast tanks at the rear of the ship with water to counterbalance the weight of the passengers moving en masse to the bow to disembark.

[3] On the evening of May 6, 1933, while moored at the Oakland ferry terminal an arson fire started in the adjacent train sheds at 11 pm and spread to the Peralta whose superstructure collapsed due to the intense heat and she was written off by her insurance company.

The still intact hull of the Peralta caught the eye of Alexander Peabody, president of the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC), also known by its marketing name, the "Black Ball Line".

She was also given a modernistic art-deco interior with a full-service galley, a ladies' lounge, and a men's bar on the lower deck and showers for dockyard workers travelling home from the naval shipyard at Bremerton.

[8] In November 1934, William O. Thorniley, publicist for PSNC and president of the Olympic Peninsula Travel Association, named the new ferry Kalakala, which means "bird" in the Pacific Northwest Native American trade language Chinook Jargon.

[6] Kalakala saw heavy service during World War II transporting shipyard workers and Navy personnel between Seattle and Bremerton on an extended schedule.

The enclosed bow design did, however, make her suitable for open water routes such as the Port Angeles - Victoria run, where she served from 1955 to 1959.

[12] In February 1946, Kalakala was issued Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license #001 when she was fitted with the first commercial radar system.

[6] In 1967, Kalakala retired from service and moved to the Washington State Ferries repair facility at Eagle Harbor.

Kalakala was still operating as a cannery, with her internal structure having been reworked to create a building with cement floors, drywall, and ceiling tiles.

After six years in Tacoma, Kalakala began listing, and officials became concerned that the ferry might pose an environmental risk.

The Coast Guard set a December 19 deadline for the owner to repair the hull of the ship and submit a plan to tow her away from her current mooring in Tacoma.

[20] In November 2012, Karl Anderson, owner of the Hylebos Waterway uplands where the boat was moored, took possession of the vessel in exchange for the $4,000 he claimed Rodrigues owed him in back rent.

[22] By the first week of February scrapping was completed with only a few pieces such as windows, pilot house, and the rudder saved and sold as souvenirs.

[23] Several art projects arose from fascination with Kalakala, including a full-length album of solo cello compositions recorded on board the vessel in November 2003, called Songs from a Parallel Universe.

[needs update] There was also a live concert featuring the Icelandic band múm, Serena Tideman and Eyvind Kang, on board the Kalakala.