Portage Bay
was separated from Lake Washington by a narrow isthmus
in the late 1800’s and was surrounded by stands of red cedar and Douglas fir. The
isthmus was a regularly used portage that connected native tribes to the rich lake
and river systems beyond Lake Union,
to tribes on Union Bay
and beyond and to burial grounds on Foster
Island.
In the late 1800’s settlers dug a flume to connect Lake
Washington to Portage Bay
to transport logs to Lake Union.
Tracks were added to transport coal from Newcastle
across the isthmus to barges. Work on developing the Ship Canal and Montlake
Cut continued from 1911- 1934; the Cut officially opened in 1917 and the Montlake
Bridge in 1925.
Historic photos from 1885 and 1904 show Duwamish chief
Cheshiahud residing with his family along the shore of the Portage
Bay and paddling a large red cedar
canoe, the principal form of transportation in the area. He fished for salmon,
carved canoes from his residence on the east shore and was hired as a guide for
recent settlers in the area.
Chief Cheshiahud continued to reside on the Bay after the
reservation system was formed.
In the 1920’s, houseboats, floating on cast off cedar logs
from local sawmills, began to populate Portage Bay and soon became a popular
social gathering place during Prohibition. From the 1920- 1950 boatbuilders and
designers lined the shores and prospered; many remain today. The Seattle
and Queen City Yacht clubs established clubhouses, 1920 and 1934 respectively.
Looking west across South
Portage Bay,
note the regular row of old pilings: these served to anchor an “affordable
housing” houseboat community until they were moved to make way for the Viaduct
in the 1960’s.
In the late 1920’s civic leaders were concerned with
directing the energy of youth from delinquency to positive activities and so
began the effort to develop the present day playfield and ball park. Many
challenges faced the project as swampy, frequently flooded land characterized
the site. The park site was occupied by a Dahlia Farm and, to meet the demands
of the owners, residents taxed themselves to buy the farm before work could
start on the park. Over the years, fill from many projects such as Hwy 520 has
been dumped on the site in an attempt to alleviate swampy conditions.
An undeveloped and filled portion of the site along the south shore
of South Portage Bay came to the
attention of the neighborhood group, FABNIA (Fuhrman and Boyer Neighborhood
Improvement Association), when the park site was cleared of huge stands of
blackberries and revealed sweeping views of the Bay and a rich wildlife
habitat. Volunteers donated many hours clearing blocks of concrete and invasive
plants from the site. In 2007, as Friends of South Portage Bay, they were
awarded a Seattle Department of Neighborhood matching grant to restore habitat.
Design and construction of the new waterfront portion of the park with a new
kayak launch, trails, native plants and snags for bird habitat was completed in
2009. Volunteers continue to donate many hours to help with maintenance and
restoration.
Beavers:
Several colonies of beavers call South
Portage Bay
home. They have constructed lodges for
protection and to raise their annual brood of 4-6 kits. One lodge is hidden
along the south shore of the bay, another is quite visible below the Montlake
exit of the Viaduct. When the water lilies appear in late spring, it’s common,
in the dusk hours, to see as many as six-eight beavers munching the leaves and
stems of the lily pads, swimming, diving and occasionally slapping the surface
of the water with their tails.
Each monogamous pair of beavers will provide a home for the
current year’s offspring and last year’s. After two years, offspring venture
off to found their own colonies.
In the winter months, the beavers shift their diet to woody
plants. Notice the distinctive gnawed stumps and limbs of cottonwood, alder and
willow near the park shore; good examples are on the point west of the kayak
launch. Young trees surrounded with wire fencing are being protected from
beavers by park volunteers.
South Portage
Bay is a rich wildlife habitat in
spite of its dense urban surroundings.
Resident and migratory birds regularly seen throughout the
year include the Great Blue Heron, eagle, osprey, mallards, gadwalls, American
coots, buffleheads, mergansers, Pied- billed grebes, scaups and red winged
blackbirds.
Chinook salmon migrate through the Montlake Cut and
some venture into South Portage Bay where small and largemouth bass, a predator fish,
await them beneath the lily pads.
|