After changes in ownership and various attempts to save Washington Ferry System's historic ferry, the Kalakala will reach its final destination.
The News Tribune reports current ferry owner Karl Anderson plans to bring the old ferry to Tacoma, where it will be cut apart for scrap later this month month.
The 276-foot ferry currently sits on the western shore of the Hylebos Waterway. Anderson reportedly plans to tow it to the Blair Waterway and his Concrete Technology company, where it will be demolished.
The Kalakala went into service in 1935 and carried cars across Puget Sound until 1967. In the days before the Space Needle, the silver art deco style vessel was the post card symbol of Seattle.
Then in 1967, it was towed to Alaska and used as a fish processor and later a fish cannery. After the cannery operation failed, she was abandoned and sat locked in dirt.
It was towed back to Seattle in 1998 by several owners hoping to restore it into a museum, restaurant or tourist attraction. But the owners never came up with enough money. It was towed to several locations, including the northern shore of Lake Union and Neah Bay, eventually arriving on the Hylebos Waterway in 2004.
The Kalakala ended up on property owned Karl Anderson. He has spent about a half million on it and says it will cost another half-million to prepare it for demolition.
