Historian Jennifer Ott leads a one-mile walking tour of the central Seattle waterfront, exploring piers, ships, and railroads.
Jennifer Ott leads a one-mile walking tour of the central Seattle waterfront on Thursday, October 22, from 5:30 to 7 PM. The walk starts at 80 S. Main St and finishes at Pier 62, taking in the piers, ships, and railroads that have shaped this stretch of the city. Along the way, Ott points out the hidden layers of the landscape, including the beach that once welcomed Coast Salish canoes.
Ott is an environmental historian and a senior historian for HistoryLink.org, and she's spent years writing about the region's relationship with its water. She's written for Seattle magazine and the Oregon Historical Quarterly, and she's the author of Where the City Meets Sound (2026) and Olmsted in Seattle (2019). She also co-authored Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal (2017), so she knows the history of the city's waterways inside and out.
The tour is presented by Friends of Waterfront Park in partnership with HistoryLink, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that's run HistoryLink.org, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state history, since 1997. It's one of several dates this year—the others were July 23, August 27, and September 24—so this is the last chance to catch it this season.
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One practical thing to keep in mind: the route goes over uneven ground and steep inclines, so wear shoes you can actually walk in. Tickets are free, though they're limited, so you'll want to grab yours early. The walk runs from 5:30 to 7 PM, starting at 80 S. Main St and ending at Pier 62.
