Ferry Kalakala chosen for final ferry run at Tacoma Narrows on July 2, 1940.

  • By Alan J. Stein
  • Posted 6/01/1999
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 1202
See Additional Media

On July 2, 1940, the Kalakala is chosen to make the final run at the Tacoma Narrows, to celebrate the opening of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and also to celebrate her fifth anniversary in service.

Four months later, the bridge recieved its own notoriety, when it collapsed and fell into the water due to high winds and poor design. From that point forward, the bridge would forever be known as Galloping Gertie.


Sources:

M.S. Kline and G.A. Bayless, Ferryboats: A Legend on Puget Sound (Seattle: Bayless Books, 1983), 229-247.


Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You