Government Locks, Lake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, Washington, circa 1935

Subjects: Bridges & Dams Ships & Boats Waterfronts & Harbors
Card type: Linen
Date: c. 1930 (White Border)

Back of Government Locks, Lake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, Washington, circa 1935, c. 1930 linen postcard — Back

About this postcard

Elevated view of the Lake Washington Ship Canal locks — the Government Locks at Ballard — with a vessel in the lock chamber, the spillway dam and bridges beyond, and the city and hills in the distance. The card's own caption calls them the "Canal Locks Second to Panama," a common boast for the lock system completed in 1917 that linked Lake Washington and Lake Union to Puget Sound. The photographer Frank H. Nowell was a longtime official photographer of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and of Seattle scenes.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Went through this lock March 28, 1941

PublisherC. P. Johnston Co.

PHOTO BY FRANK H. NOWELL 70 CANAL LOCKS SECOND TO PANAMA, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 5A-H2653 --- CANAL LOCKS SECOND TO PANAMA The Canal is about eight miles long from Puget Sound to Lake Washington. It adds more than ninety miles to Seattle's water frontage and gives access for ocean shipping to the non-tidal fresh water harbors of Lake Union, in the heart of the City, and Lake Washington, twenty-five miles long and four wide, on the east boundary of Seattle. The right-of-way is 300 feet wide, the channel 100 feet wide, and the depth 36 feet. The locks are capable of lifting larger vessels than any government locks outside the Panama Canal. They are at the Puget Sound entrance of the canal and form the only barrier between the fresh water lakes, nine feet above Puget Sound at high tide, and salt water. The concrete walls are 55 feet high, 50 feet wide at the base, and 8 feet at the top. The major chamber is 825 feet long, 80 feet wide, and holds a depth of 50 feet of water. The minor chamber is 150 feet long and 30 feet wide. Ocean-going craft go through the larger chamber in twenty minutes and small craft through the smaller chamber in five to ten minutes. The total cost of the canal, including right-of-way, excavation, locks and other features, was $5,000,000 borne by the government, state, county and city. POST CARD PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE "C.T. ART-COLORTONE" REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. C. P. JOHNSTON CO., SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Addressed to

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Postcard record

Publisher	C. P. Johnston Co.
Series	5A-H2653
Condition	Very good
Place depicted	Government Locks, Seattle, WA
Notes	Linen-textured stock with white border; Curt Teich "5A-H" series number indicates a 1935 printing. No postmark — unused card. Linen-textured 'C.T. Art-Colortone' back with long printed description of the canal locks; handwritten note dated March 28, 1941 in blue ink. Slight edge/corner wear, light toning.

Cite this card

Government Locks, Lake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, Washington, circa 1935, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/government-locks-lake-washington-ship-canal-seattle-washingt. Accessed October 25, 2026.