This floating hangar was originally built in the late 1920s on Seattle oceanfront at Pier 3 on Elliot Bay. Local aviation pioneer Vern Gorst towed it from the ocean through the locks to establish a seaplane base at the south end of Lake Union at Valley St. and Fairview Ave. Aviation pioneer Lana Kurtzer bought the hangar in the mid-1930s and moved it west to a new shore facility at 950 Westlake Ave. N. in 1947. Lake Union Air bought the seaplane base after Kurtzer died in 1988. but fire destroyed the hangar in 1991. Then Kenmore Air bought the historic Kurtzer property in 1993.

This photo is copyright © Kenneth I. Swartz, and may not be used or published in any way without permission.

It was added on 2 January 2023, and has since been viewed 238 times.