Curious about Seattle houseboats and their history on Lake Union?
You have to go back over a hundred years and look beyond Lake Union to see the roots of Seattle houseboats. Beth Means and Bill Keasler wrote a great piece about Seattle houseboats history on The Seattle Floating Homes Association website. Seattle Floating homes have played a significant part in shaping the city’s history and landscape. We at Seattle Afloat have a whole category on this site dedicated to it: Seattle houseboats history on Seattle Afloat.
There is also a great spot to see amazing pictures and get more information on HistoryLink where the site describes various houseboats around Seattle and their origins:
“Some of these communities — especially those off the Madison Park and Leschi neighborhoods on Lake Washington — were formed by the well-to-do who enjoyed summering aboard their fancy abodes. Others — along the Elliott Bay waterfront, the Duwamish River, Harbor Island, Salmon Bay, Lake Union, Portage Bay, and Union Bay — were mainly inhabited by workers struggling to stay financially afloat.. “
Howard Droker wrote the fascinating book Seattle’s Unsinkable Houseboats in 1977 and there is a great video about Seattle houseboats featuring him on the http://www.lakeunionhistory.org/ website. I have embedded it here because it is worth a watch:
Vannessa Ho at the Seattle PI wrote an interesting piece about Seattle houseboats – it was a cool slide show of houseboats then and now. Here is a link to that slideshow: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/slideshow/Seattle-houseboats-Then-and-now-64448.php
If you are curious about Seattle houseboats and interested in purchasing a Seattle floating home, then please let us know. These are special homes and the ultimate in Seattle waterfront living. You should work with real estate agents who understand the ins and outs of Seattle houseboats. We understand all of the unique intricacies of the Seattle floating home world and we are happy to help you. We can also help you with the various FSBO floating homes available across the lake.
You can reach me at 206-850-8841 or Courtney@cooperjacobs.com
Cooper Jacobs Real Estate for all your realty needs – we have brokers who specialize in all Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs.
