This video is a comprehensive look at the history of the Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks and their impact to the Seattle area. Learn how early Seattleites envisioned a waterway between Lake Washington and the Puget Sound and how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made it a reality..
The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks were designed and built for the nation with commerce in mind. For years logs and coal traversed the now 100-year-old locks. Today, a large portion of the Alaskan Fishing Fleet moors in Seattle's fresh waters and use the Locks, but it's the smaller recreational boats that make us the busiest Lock in the nation in terms of vessel traffic. Nearly 50,000 boats lock through each year. This video tells the story of how the Locks in Ballard make Seattle a hot spot for recreational boating.
Who was Hiram Chittenden and what does the Army have to do with the locks? In this video you can learn about the history of the Locks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ role building them. Also, you will learn about Chittenden and meet his great-grandchildren.
If you've ever come to the Chittenden Locks in Ballard, you've probably visited our fish ladder, and you may have seen salmon in our viewing windows. Did you know salmon have been coming through our fish ladder for a hundred years now?
This video tells the story of how Native American Tribes in the Seattle area were affected by the building of the Chittenden Locks and the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1917.
Nearly 50,000 vessels lock through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard, with many of the Alaskan fishing fleet docking at Fishermen’s Terminal. This episode is about the terminal and the fleet's boats that come through the locks all year long.
At the Chittenden Locks, locally known as the Ballard Locks, we see many boats and ships coming through every day. Many are visiting one of the shipyards along the Lake Washington Ship Canal, where they get re-fitted and repaired. As part of our centennial, we teamed up with a local film teacher and his students to tell stories about our history and impact on Seattle.