PORT OF SEATTLE
MEMORANDUM
COMMISSION AGENDA
Item No.
4a
Date of Meeting
September 12, 2011
DATE: September 6, 2011
TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer
FROM: Jane Kilburn, Director, Public Affairs
SUBJECT: Special Order of Business: The Port Centennial 1911-2011
The voters of King County approved the proposition to create the Port of Seattle on September 5,
1911, and the first Port of Seattle Commission meeting was held on September 12, 1911, in the
Central Building on 3
rd
Avenue. In recognition of the diverse role the Port has played in the
State in the past 100 years and in honor of its Centennial, September 5, 2011, was declared Port
of Seattle Day by Governor Christine Gregoire.
The Port was fortunate to have dynamic and independent leadership from the beginning. The
first three Commissioners -- General Hiram Chittenden, the well-respected retired Army Corps
of Engineers officer and designer of the Ship Canal; the former state Lands Commissioner and
hero of the Populist and Progressive movements Robert Bridges; and the public-spirited
Republican banker and attorney Charles Remsberg -- began by creating a comprehensive plan
for harbor development, buying up harbor property and making a variety of waterfront
improvements.
Over the course of its history, the Port has made a number of bold moves that have shaped the
history and economy of King County:
The first developments were the construction of a home for the North Pacific fishing
fleet, now Fishermen’s Terminal, followed by the Bell Street Pier and the East Waterway
pier.
On March 7, 1942, the Port of Seattle agreed to build an airport in the Seattle-Tacoma
area, and committed $560,000 to the project.
In 1964, Terminal 5 became the Port’s first container terminal and Sea-Land leased the
facility and chose Seattle as its West Coast base. This set the stage for the Port’s current
container business.
In the 1990s, the Port’s Central Waterfront Development Project helped to revitalize the
city’s waterfront. This included moving the Port’s headquarters to Pier 69 and building
the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Pier 66 Cruise Terminal, Bell Harbor
Marina, World Trade Center complex, and other public amenities. This major investment
COMMISSION AGENDA
T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer
September 6, 2011
Page 2 of 2
by the Port has become a seamless part of the fabric of the city and has generated
significant economic impact to the Port and the region.
In 1997 the Commission adopted a new Airport Master Plan, which included a third
runway, which opened on November 20, 2008.
In 1999, the Port opened Bell Street Cruise Terminal, and welcomed cruise ships to
Seattle for the first time since the 1950s.
In 2000, the Airport began an ambitious expansion and renovation program of the main
terminal that started by demolishing the original Concourse A. Concourse A reopened in
2004, the first new concourse in 30 years.
In 2002, the Central Terminal was demolished and reopened on June 4, 2005, with a view
of the airfield and encircled by more than 40,000 square feet of concessions.
Today there are 194,000 jobs and $17 billion in revenue associated with the Port and Port-related
business in the maritime and aviation sectors.
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SPECIAL ORDER:
PowerPoint presentation
Port of Seattle Day Proclamation
