A Legacy in the Water

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Moored at the Historic Ships Wharf is the Fireboat Duwamish, the second oldest fireboat in the United States. Built in 1909 for the Seattle Fire Department, it's a National Historic Landmark that still packs a punch. But the boat's name is the real key.

By naming the vessel Duwamish, the city tied its maritime safety to the identity of the region's indigenous people. Now a public museum ship, it preserves the city's firefighting history while floating on the waters that have sustained the Duwamish tribe for generations. It's a floating piece of history that connects the city's early 20th-century ambition with the deep roots of its first inhabitants.

Updated June 2026