Colman Dock, otherwise known as Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal situated in Seattle, Washington, United States. The original pier no longer stands, but the terminal is still referred to as 'Colman Dock' and is utilized by the Washington State Ferry system.
Initially, Colman Dock was located at the base of Columbia Street, adjacent to Pier 2. Before 1910, the wharf to the north of Colman Dock was utilized by the West Seattle ferry. However, in 1910, the Grand Trunk Pacific dock replaced the wharf, and in 1964, the entire area was transformed into the much larger ferry terminal dock that exists today.
Pier 52 was originally known as Colman Wharf, built by Scottish engineer James Colman in 1882 for the Oregon Improvement Company's coal bunkers. The dock was destroyed in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 but was quickly reconstructed. In 1908, Colman extended the dock to a total length and added a domed waiting room and a clocktower.
Furthermore, Colman set up the Colman Dock Company to manage the dock's business affairs. After the merger of the La Conner Transportation Company with the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSN), the Colman Dock Company and Colman Dock itself came under PSN control.
In 1910, the rivalry between PSN and the Kitsap County Transportation Company (KCTC), headed by Warren L. Gazzam, became intense. Green, who had obtained control of Colman Dock, engaged in a rate war with KCTC and ordered them not to land their boats at Colman Dock. Consequently, KCTC relocated to the Galbraith, Bacon dock, several piers north.
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