The Port of Everett is a public

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

authority located on

Port Gardner Bay Port Gardner, also known as Port Gardner Bay, is an inlet of Possession Sound on which the city of Everett, Washington is located. The Snohomish River flows into the north end of the bay. It was named by George Vancouver Captain George Vancou ...

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, United States. Founded in 1918, it operates a small cargo terminal, a public

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

, waterfront real estate, and public recreational lands. The Port of Everett is the third-largest container port in the state of Washington, behind Tacoma and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

History

The Port of Everett was established on July 13, 1918, via a referendum of Everett citizens. The port was formed in hopes of luring a naval shipyard amid a maritime boom caused by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, which would end a few months later. The new port instead became a major lumber trader in the 1920s, owing to the dominant industry in Everett at the time. A major shipbuilder, the Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, operated from 1942 to 1949 as part of the national response to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but did not remain in place after the end of the war. The port later became dependent on importing parts for

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

's aircraft assembly business in Everett, which also required rebuilding of several terminal facilities. The port sold to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1987 for the creation of

Naval Station Everett Naval Station Everett (NAVSTA Everett) is a military installation located in the city of Everett, Washington, north of Seattle. The naval station, located on the city's waterfront on the northeastern end of Puget Sound, was designed as a homepor ...

, a military installation that opened in 1991. The Port of Everett acquired the

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand ...

mill site in 2019 with plans for a redeveloped office park and other uses.

Facilities

The Port of Everett includes both a deep-water commercial seaport and a marina with over 2,300 slips, which is the largest public marina on the United States' West Coast. Ambitious redevelopment began in 2006 to convert the north end of the waterfront into a community of maritime businesses, retail shops and condominiums, beginning with the Port of Everett's Port Gardner Wharf. In 2006, the seaport received 119 ships and 59 barges, totaling some 192,000 short tons of cargo. The port's renovated South Terminal was opened in April 2021, featuring a set of cranes and a new dock. The port also operates a boat launch on 10th Street; it serves a ferry to Jetty Island, an

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

that was originally constructed in 1895 to help create an easier navigating experience for commercial ships.

Waterfront businesses

The waterfront is also home to the Everett Yacht Club, which was founded in 1907, although it existed in some form as early as 1895. During summer months, the marina is home to the Waterfront Concert Series, part of a citywide free concert series. Each September, Tenth Street Park on the waterfront is home to the annual Everett Coho Derby, while each August the marina promenade is gowned in local art during the Fresh Paint Festival of Artists.

References

{{Washington State port authorities 1918 establishments in Washington (state) Everett, Washington Government agencies established in 1918 Everett