The houseboat population peaked in the 1930s, at about 2,000, but has since dropped to around 500. So it's no surprise that houseboats in some incarnation have been around since at least the 1890s, when sailors, fishermen and dock workers in Elliott Bay built homes atop floating logs that were turned into rafts.ĭuring the Depression, low-income laborers took advantage of the geography and built or moved into tax-free houseboats, barges or other watercraft. In Seattle, which is surrounded by large cutouts of water, you can't go too far without having to cross a bridge or skirt a shoreline. "One of the best reasons to live here is that you don't have to mow the lawn." "This is the most desirable way to live," said Callahan, 70, who calls herself the Houseboat Lady. In fact, they're more house than boat, which is why in real estate parlance they're often called floating homes. They don't have engines, gas tanks or steering wheels. Houseboats never leave the city's docks, explained tour guide Jeri Callahan at the start of the excursion, which depart daily from Yale Street Landing Pier. They say there are no stupid questions, so I threw out the question that everyone was thinking but no one was asking: How fast can Seattle's famous domesticated vessels move? WHY: So you can see where Tom Hanks was "Sleepless." WHERE: Lake Union, near the University of Washington and slightly north of Pike Place Market. WHAT: A one-hour tour of Seattle's houseboat scene.
0 kommentar(er)
