On May 1, 1944, in an effort to expedite the movement of cargo by eliminating confusion, the Puget Sound Ports Traffic Control Committee redesignates the docks and piers on Seattle’s waterfront. The following includes a list of former and new designations of piers and docks on the central Seattle waterfront.
The Puget Sound Ports Traffic Control Committee was composed of representatives of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, the Port of Seattle Commission, terminal companies, steamship lines, and railroad companies. The new designations started with Pier 24 and ended with Pier 91, eliminating duplications, letter designations, and street names. The plan allowed for extensions, with numbers under 24 initially reserved for the Duwamish Waterway and West Seattle, and those above 91 for the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Lake Union. (Ultimately terminals in West Seattle and on Harbor Island received numbers below 24, while terminals along the Duwamish above Harbor Island have numbers greater than 100.)
The plan was approved by the War Shipping Administration and redesignation of piers 24 to 91 went into effect on May 1, 1944. Although there have been modifications over the years, such as the consolidation of two or more piers into large container terminals, many of the 1944 designations are still in effect today (2011). Many of the companies that inhabited these waterfront piers and docks during the first half of the twentieth century no longer exist, but it’s useful to know what they were called and where exactly they were located in the 1940s.
Spokane Street Dock (Port of Seattle) -- new designation: Pier 24
Hanford Street Dock (Port of Seattle) -- new designation: Pier 25
Isaacson Iron Works -- new designation: Pier 26
Milwaukee Ferry Slip -- new designation: Pier 27
Milwaukee Ocean Dock -- new designation: Pier 28
Lander Street Dock (Port of Seattle) -- new designation: Pier 29
Stacy Street Dock (Port of Seattle) -- new designation: Pier 30
San Juan Fish Dock -- new designation: Pier 31
Standard Oil Dock -- new designation: Pier 32
Telephone Pole Yard -- new designation: Pier 33
Associated Oil Dock -- new designation: Pier 34
Albers Milling Co. Dock -- new designation: Pier 35
Seattle Port of Embarkation (U.S. Army), Pier A -- new designation: Pier 36
Seattle Port of Embarkation (U.S. Army), Pier B -- new designation: Pier 37
Seattle Port of Embarkation (U.S. Army), Pier C -- new designation: Pier 38
Seattle Port of Embarkation (U.S. Army), Pier D -- new designation: Pier 39
Port of Seattle -- new designation: Pier 42
Pacific Coast Coal Pier -- new designation: Pier 43
Union Pacific Dock -- new designation: Pier 44
King Street Dock -- new designation: Pier 45
Luckenback Steamship Company, Pier D -- new designation: Pier 46
Pacific Coast Company, Pier C -- new designation: Pier 47
McCormick Steamship Company, Pier B -- new designation: Pier 48
Pacific Coast Company, Pier A -- new designation: Pier 49
Alaska Steamship Company, Pier 1 -- new designation: Pier 50
Alaska Steamship Company, Pier 2 -- new designation: Pier 51
Colman Dock (Puget Sound Navigation Company) -- new designation: Pier 52
Grand Trunk Pacific Dock -- new designation: Pier 53
Arlington Dock, Pier 3 -- new designation: Pier 54
Fisherman Supply Company, Pier 4 -- new designation: Pier 55
Arlington Dock Company, Pier 5 -- new designation: Pier 56
Arlington Dock Company, Pier 6 -- new designation: Pier 57
City Dock Company, Pier 7 -- new designation: Pier 58
Palace Fish & Oyster Company -- new designation: Pier 60
Whiz Fish Products Company -- new designation: Pier 61
Newsprint Service Company, Pier 9 -- new designation: Pier 62
Newsprint Service Company, Pier 10 -- new designation: Pier 63
Lenora Street Dock (Canadian Pacific RR) -- new designation: Pier 64
Lenora Street Dock (Leslie Salt Company) -- new designation: Pier 65
Bell Street Terminal (Port of Seattle) -- new designation: Pier 66
Galbraith and Company, Pier 12 -- new designation: Pier 67
Booth Fisheries Company -- new designation: Pier 68
American Can Company Dock -- new designation: Pier 69
Washington State Liquor Warehouse, Pier 14 -- new designation: Pier 70
Union Oil Dock, Pier 18 -- new designation: Pier 71
Great Northern Dock -- new designation: Pier 88
Great Northern Grain Elevator Dock -- new designation: Pier 89
U.S. Navy, Pier 40 -- new designation: Pier 90
U.S. Navy, Pier 41 -- new designation: Pier 91
