[3] In 1883, David Denny and Thomas Burke had a canal built for floating logs.

In 1909, the Pay Streak, a vaudeville and sideshows section of the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, ended in a gondola ramp and esplanade on the north shores of Portage Bay.

[5] For 14 years following World War II, the Fantome was stranded in Portage Bay pending payment to King County of back taxes.

A university police station was located on the north shore of Portage Bay until the 2010s, when it was demolished to make way for a public park.

It is bounded on the south by State Route 520 and on the west by Interstate 5, and features one of the larger remaining enclaves of Houseboats in Seattle.