Washington State Ferries, 1951 - 1967

In June of 1951, the Black Ball flag was lowered from the masts of the fleet of the last time. In its place was the new flag of Washington State Ferries.

Kalakala as a Washington State Ferry - Charles Laidlaw Photo

In an effort to separate itself from PSN, Washington State Ferries made a few immediate changes to the fleet. The first, most recognizable changes were the colors of the company: Black Ball's distinctive red funnel with the black band was gone, as was the buff colored trim. The white superstructure remained, but the funnels were now tri-toned: black at the top, a white band, and a deep forest green. Likewise, railings and trim were painted in the new green, as were bulwarks (the area between the hull and the main deck windows), which created a green band around the hull.

The Kalakala was not immune to these changes: a green stripe was painted along her bulwarks, which put her in WSF fleet colors. The rest of her hull remained the non-regulation silver, however, her entire life.

Over the years the Kalakala's interior would fall into line with the rest of the fleet as well. While she retained her unique character, certain changes were made to standardize the fleet. Her bench seats would retain their unusual rounded end, but they were reupholstered in the WSF green, as were the stools in the Double Horseshoe Café. The Art Deco stairwells each had metal plates welded to them at the top level in order to install a long, circular bench around the balustrade, rather than freestanding chairs. The bathrooms were painted green, as were all the railings above and below decks. The brown floor tile was replaced with gray.

Kalakala's main cabin during WSF service - Harre Demoro Photograph, color by SMI

Initially she continued on her usual Bremerton to Seattle route. In 1955, Black Ball removed the Chinook from the Port Angeles to Victoria run, leaving the popular tourist route without a vessel. At the request of the B.C. government, Washington State Ferries provided service on the route in the summer months. The Kalakala, with her enclosed car deck, was the perfect choice to cross the windy Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria.

In June of 1955 Kalakala sailed into Victoria Harbor, greeted by a fireboats and thousands of people including a Kiltie band that piped the passengers shore. Mayor Claude Harrison presented Capt. A. F. Eikum with a bronze plaque commemorating inauguration of WSF service across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. For the next five summers, the Kalakala made four round trips a day, departing Port Angeles at 6 AM, 10 AM, 2 PM and 6 PM.

The Kalakala makes a festive appearance in Victoria

In 1960 the new ferry Coho took over the route, sending the Kalakala back to her familiar Bremerton to Seattle route.

Her long years of service firmly established the Kalakala as Seattle's main icon. People associated the vessel with the city, more so than even the famed Smith Tower. Over the years, this would not diminish. At the time of the 1962 World Fair, when the Space Needle appeared and became identified with Seattle, the Kalakala's silver form gliding over the waters of Puget Sound was ranked second as the most noted attraction by World's Fair attendees.

By the late 1960s, WSF was facing steadily growing traffic and steadily larger cars. Even with the addition of two former Chesapeake Bay ferries (the Olympic and Rhododendron) and the three new Evergreen State Class ferries, the system couldn't keep up. New boats would have to be constructed for the Seattle-Winslow and Seattle-Bremerton routes.

Always a dependable ferry, the Kalakala's formerly state-of-the-art Busch-Sulzer diesel was becoming prohibitively costly to operate. Her auto capacity, once 110 cars, was now down to around 65 due to the mammoth cars of the 50's and '60's and the ferry's narrow 55' beam. In addition, her single-ended configuration was a hindrance, although late in her career with the WSF her bow doors were removed and her forward and aft car deck openings widened to speed loading and unloading.

The Kalakala's car deck just wasn't wide enough for the cars of the 1960s -
Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society

Washington State Ferries policy of not spending more on vessel refurbishment than it would cost to build a new ferry applied to a wide array of vessels in the late 1960's. The Kalakala was no exception. After thirty years of service, and carrying over 100 million passengers, the Kalakala was retired.

The Kalakala made her final trip from Bremerton to Seattle on August 6th of 1967. She was laid up at the Eagle Harbor repair facility and offered for sale. In early autumn of 1967 she was sold, to American Freezerships for $101,551.00 - officially leaving the register of WSF on October 3rd. She was towed from Eagle Harbor to begin the second phase of her career: a floating crab processing plant in Alaska.