In its fiery end, the Alida paddlewheeler momentarily catered to the socialites of 1870.
Steamboat Alida: A Flash of the Past
Besides being hailed as a 'one-hit wonder', the Alida — our main focus in this "Then" photo — was the reigning queen of Puget Sound for some months during 1870. At that time, Seattle, a town that had just reached its teenage years, had a mere 1,100 inhabitants. This small yet ambitious town was focused on establishing its foundations for the future.
During one of the earliest existing photos of the waterfront, captured from the western end of Henry Yesler's wharf, a log boom from Yesler's mill appears densely packed, almost walkable.
The Alida's side wheel slightly visible, marks the intersection of Marion Street and Front Street (now First Avenue). The steeple of Rev. Daniel Bagley's 5-year-old Methodist Protestant Church (popularly known as "the Brown Church") is situated at the center left, reaching heavenward.
Bagley played a crucial role in the construction of the Territorial University (today's University of Washington), reflected by its dome-shaped cupola in the central horizon. Keen eyes can make out, at the upper right, the original bell-towered Central School, Seattle's first public schoolhouse, nearing completion.
Commissioned by the entrepreneurial Starr brothers, eager to obtain a federal subsidy for delivering mail between Olympia and Victoria, the Alida was constructed in two locations. Its 115-foot hull was laid in Olympia in 1869, while its upper decks, boasting a dozen comfortable staterooms, were installed at Hammond's Boatyard near the foot of Columbia Street, the following June.
Capt. E.A. Starr, aiming for influence, invited Seattle's 'it' crowd for an inaugural voyage on June 29, 1870. It is likely that the prominent citizens present are the ones depicted gathered on the upper deck aboard the Alida for a round-trip trial run to Port Townsend. The four-hour, eight-minute trip delighted the passengers.
Although intended to replace older, slower steamers, the Alida, with its uncertain stability, failed to meet the challenge for the daunting passage across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Starrs soon replaced it with the 168-foot North Pacific, a heavier, more powerful vessel that dominated its competitors.
The Alida, while thrust into quieter waters, continued to steam among Olympia, Seattle, and other Puget Sound ports until 1890, when the side-wheeler met a tragic end. Moored at Gig Harbor, the elegant vessel was consumed by embers from a raging brush fire, burning to the waterline.
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- The weather in Seattle during the 1870s was unstable, as demonstrated by the destructive brush fire that consumed the Steamboat Alida in 1890.
- The climate in Seattle has significantly changed since the early days, as the University of Washington, founded during that time, now focuses on advanced fields like data-and-cloud-computing and technology.
- The University of Washington, initially built with the help of Rev. Daniel Bagley, stands as a modern symbol of Seattle's climate-focused progress, in stark contrast to the early log boom days.
- In modern times, Seattle's sports scene has evolved far beyond the inaugural voyage of the Steamboat Alida, with debates over the potential closure of the Klondike museum and the expansion of the PWHL.
- Just as the Steamboat Alida's journey was documented in the earliest existing photos of Seattle's waterfront, the city's ongoing developments and technological advancements are now captured and shared through aerial views and virtual routes.
- Similar to the way the Steamboat Alida's sturdy competitor, the North Pacific, replaced it in the maritime world, Seattle's modern technical prowess continues to outpace its competitors, with research unearthing unexpected behaviors in baby salmon and advancements in earthquake prediction technology.
