Harbor Island, Seattle facts for kids
Harbor Island is a special place in Seattle, Washington, US. It's an artificial island, which means it was made by people, not nature! It sits right where the Duwamish River flows into Elliott Bay. A company called the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company finished building it in 1909. When it was first made, Harbor Island was the biggest artificial island in the world! It was about 350 acres (1.4 square kilometers) big.
Since 1912, Harbor Island has been a busy place for many different jobs. People use it for things like building and fixing ships, storing oil, making metal parts, and moving big shipping containers. You can also find warehouses, labs, and other buildings there.
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How Harbor Island Was Built
Harbor Island was created using a lot of earth and dirt. Workers moved 24 million cubic yards (18 million cubic meters) of earth to build it. This earth came from big projects in Seattle where hills were leveled, like the Jackson and Dearborn Street regrades. They also used dirt that was dug up from the bottom of the Duwamish River.
A Record-Breaking Island
For a while, Harbor Island was the largest artificial island in the world. But in 1938, another island called Treasure Island was finished in San Francisco Bay. It was a bit bigger, at 395 acres (1.60 square kilometers), so Harbor Island lost its record.
However, Harbor Island grew even more! By 1967, it had become almost 397 acres (1.61 square kilometers). This made it the largest artificial island again for a time. Today, much larger artificial islands exist, like Rokkō Island in Kobe, Japan, which is over 3.5 times bigger. In 2000, the official size of Harbor Island was about 406.91 acres. At that time, three people even lived on the island!
Bridges and Connections
Harbor Island is connected to the rest of Seattle by bridges. The West Seattle Bridge goes right over the island. There's also the newer Spokane Street Bridge, which is a special kind of bridge called a swing bridge. It can swing open to let boats pass through the West Waterway. The East Waterway is crossed by a causeway, which is like a raised road supported by poles above the water.
What Happens on the Island Today
Many important businesses operate on Harbor Island.
- Shipyard Activities: A company called Vigor Industrial has a large shipyard on the island. It covers about 27 acres (10.9 hectares).
- Port Terminals: Some of the Port of Seattle's shipping terminals are located here. This is where huge ships load and unload containers.
- Publishing: The publishing part of The Mountaineers is also on the island. They are known for publishing books like Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.
During World War II, from 1941 to 1946, a company called Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation built 45 destroyers (a type of warship) for the United States Navy on the island. This shipyard is now owned by Vigor.
