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

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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.

By Alan J. Stein, June 01, 1999

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Ferry Kalakala, ca. 1939
Postcard