WA Seattle RPPC 1940's STREAMLINED WFS FERRY KALAKALA Formerly Peralta P-1083

Description: Thanks for looking. Satisfaction guaranteed. Type: Standard Size, Real Photo Postcard Postal History: EKC Stamp box dates this card to 1939-1950. Caption: Streamlined Ferry Kalakala, Seattle, Washington. Additional Information: Motor Vessel Kalakala (pronounced /kəˈlɑːkəˌlɑː/) was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967.MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for her unique art deco styling.After retiring from passenger service in 1967, the ship was beached in Kodiak, Alaska, and converted to a shrimp cannery. In 1998, the ship was refloated and towed to Puget Sound with the owner hoping to restore the ship. During this time, the ship continued to deteriorate, with the Coast Guard declaring the ship a hazard to navigation in 2011. Unable to raise the funds required for restoration, the ship was scrapped in 2015.She was constructed for the Key System's ferry service on San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco and named Peralta in honor of one of the area's early Spanish founding families. Launched in April 1926 she was of double ended design and was powered by a steam-turbo-electric power plant.On February 17, 1928, while docking in Oakland, Peralta's bow sank into the water, sending waves sweeping over the deck. Five passengers were killed. The main cause of the accident was found to be the failure in properly filling ballast tanks at the rear of the ship with water to counterbalance the weight of the passengers moving en masse to the bow to disembark.On the evening of May 6, 1933, while moored at the Oakland ferry terminal an arson fire started in the adjacent train sheds at 11 pm and spread to the Peralta whose superstructure collapsed due to the intense heat and she was written off by her insurance company.RebuildingThe still intact hull of the Peralta caught the eye of Alexander Peabody, president of the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC), also known by its marketing name, the "Black Ball Line". He made an offer and on October 12, 1933, the vessel was sold to the PSNC, who had the hull towed by the tug Creole to Lake Washington Shipyards in Houghton, Washington (since annexed to Kirkland) to restore the vessel as a ferry. Over the next two years she was rebuilt. The remains of the superstructure and machinery were removed, while the beam was reduced from 68 ft to 55 ft 8 inches.Only a single diesel engine was installed as it was intended that she would operate as a single-ender operating between Seattle and Bremerton which was home to a major US navy base (docking by the bow at Bremerton and by the stern at Seattle). As the route was long, speed was considered to be important, as well has the ability to carry both passengers and motor vehicles. After his wife suggested that the new design should be distinctive and modernistic,[6] Peabody decided to incorporate streamlining in the new superstructure. Louis Proctor, an engineer for the Boeing Company, provided an early concept design. The setback of the wheelhouse mimicked the setback of a cockpit behind the nose of an airplane. The flying bridge had no functional purpose but was evocative of wings, fitting with the aircraft-themed design. She was also given a modernistic art-deco interior with a full-service galley, a ladies' lounge, and a men's bar on the lower deck and showers for dockyard workers travelling home from the naval shipyard at Bremerton.The new electro-welding, or arc-welding, process was used instead of rivet construction, lending a seamless appearance to fit with the streamlined design. Kalakala was the first vessel on which the new technique was used. The new bridge and wheelhouse were built entirely out of copper, from fear that the steel used in the rest of the vessel would interfere with the ship's compass.[8]In November 1934, William O. Thorniley, publicist for PSNC and president of the Olympic Peninsula Travel Association, named the new ferry Kalakala, which means "bird" in the Pacific Northwest Native American trade language Chinook Jargon. Thorniley launched a national promotional campaign beginning with large billboard signs that simply said "KALAKALA!" Later, they said "KALAKALA, Seattle, WA" and featured a picture of the vessel as well. The name established a tradition of all vessels in the ferry fleet of the Washington State Department of Transportation (which acquired ownership of the Kalakala in 1951) bearing indigenous names.To the best of our ability we describe all defects, if any. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email us.

Price: 11.99 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-08-08T02:54:30.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD