Lake Union Portage Bay Houseboats at Night in Seattle

Lake Union Portage Bay Houseboats at Night in Seattle

Photograph: Panasonic TZ5 (point and shoot), 15sec, f3.3, ISO100

On a Seattle night, with stars cloaked in stratocumlus clouds, when the only sight is a wisp of a rowing scull slithering under the University Bridge, the houseboats sit reflected and polished in the waters of Lake Union.

I shot this near Eastlake, on Portage Bay, one of several houseboat locations around Seattle. What was once a community of floating homes in the thousands, is now a collection of 500 or so on Lake Union. Earlier this spring, I wrote a bit about Lake Union’s industrial development, its place in Ship Canal history, and about the wildlife that still squeezes into the few available green spaces left.

This video from the Lake Union Virtual Museum is a great overview of what Seattle’s houseboats mean in terms of Seattle’s history, and how they contribute to the character of Lake Union as it is today.

Related post: Too Much House, But Still Some Goose