Foss Waterway Seaport

Fishing, in both sport and industrial forms, has played an important role in the economy and lifestyle of Puget Sound.  Tacoma is the home of many shipbuilders who manufactured fishing vessels of all sizes.  Come and see models of commercial vessels manufactured by Martinac on the Thea Foss Waterway as well as smaller locally made boats for sport fishing.  This exhibit includes an incredible collection of vintage fishing lures and equipment on loan to the Seaport.

The Willits brothers, Earl and Floyd, built canoes in their Day Island factory on the west side of Tacoma.  They manufactured canoes spanning many decades, beginning in 1908 and concluding in 1967 with over 900 examples built.  Also in this exhibit is a one-of-a-kind 20-foot launch, built in 1929 by the brothers.  Learn about this local story of a cottage industry that produced products highly sought after by canoe enthusiasts.

The Vintage Scuba exhibit is a collaboration between the Seaport’s maritime museum and Flashback Scuba Museum.  This exhibit showcases early scuba equipment from the 1950s and 1960s.  This exhibit includes how breathing devices work, model of an early wood diving bell, breathing tanks, and hard-helmet diving gear.  There are models of Jacques Cousteau’s famous underwater exploration vessel Calypso, which was built locally in Puget Sound at the Ballard Ship Yard.  One of these models visitors can climb aboard!  Children will enjoy the coloring activities of underwater scenes and finding characters from “Finding Nemo” hidden throughout the exhibit.

The Mosquito Fleet was a name given to the steam ferries that once crossed the “Liquid Highway” of Puget Sound during the decades spanning the turn of the 20th Century.  Before the era of paved highways the preferred mode of transportation between waterfront communities in Puget Sound was by ship.  This exhibit showcases many of the name boards recovered from Mosquito Fleet vessels prior to their demolition after retirement.  Large ships wheels from the steamships Iroquois and City of Bremerton are on display.  Many handcrafted models of steamships may be viewed, along with an eight-foot long model of the Tacoma. This exhibit will delight anyone with an interest in steam ferries!

 An Ocean Transformed

Art with a message, is an educational exhibit featuring marine debris sculptures designed and built by Sherman Elementary School (Tacoma Public Schools) students from as part of 2015 Seaport education pilot program. The five amazing sculptures invoke strong visual messages and are sure to encourage best practices in everyone who views these wonderful art pieces. Plan to visit the Seaport to see the exhibit, read the students’ journals, enjoy the students’ creativity and take to heart the messages they impart! To enhance this exhibit we also have a 32-foot plastic whale on display. Learn more about the pilot program.

 Balfour Dock Building Exhibit

Our building is the last remaining intact section of a continuous heavy timber frame warehouse that defined Tacoma’s waterfront for almost a century. The Balfour Dock Building Exhibit is a key exhibit in our permanent collection. The exhibit showcases the history of our building complete with a piece of the heavy timber truss that supported the original wharf. Learn more about our building’s history while viewing this amazing structure.

See our wonderful collection of classic recreational boats in an exhibit called “Boats for all Occasions,” which includes original Andrew Foss rowboats; Willits canoes: Faith, our Columbia gillnetter outfitted for youth boater education; hand-built small craft for cruising local waterways, and impeccably restored Poulsbo boats. Also included are a number of models from the Mosquito Fleet era.

Our active Heritage Wooden Boat Shop allows Seaport volunteer boatbuilders to celebrate and preserve traditional maritime construction and craft.