Inscription:
A coal wharf was located at the waterfront during the late 19th century. Coal was transported here by railroad from Newcastle and Renton. Abandoned in the early 1900’s, the wharf soon became the Skinner & Eddy Shipyard.
During World War I, the shipyard set records in ship construction, building 75 vessels – one-tenth of the nation’s total wartime shipping tonnage. Following the war, an attempt to reduce wages at the shipyard resulted in the first city-wide strike in the country, which immobilized Seattle for five days.
During the depression of the 1930’s, the abandoned shipyard became a part of Hooverville, the well-known Seattle shantytown which housed displaced citizens until World War II.
