Wagner Houseboat
historic place
The Wagner Houseboat, also known as The Old Boathouse, is a historic floating home located on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. Built around 1910 or 1912, it originally served as a seasonal home on Lake Washington near Madison Park. In 1938, the houseboat was moved to Lake Union due to new city requirements for sewer connections on Lake Washington. In the 1950s, Richard and Colleen Wagner acquired the houseboat, making it their permanent family home by 1965. From this location, the Wagners began collecting and restoring old wooden boats. In 1968, they opened "The Old Boathouse" as a non-profit boat rental center. This initiative led to the formal incorporation of the Center for Wooden Boats in 1978. The Wagner Houseboat was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 19, 1982. More recently, on June 2, 2021, it was designated a Seattle Landmark. This floating home is significant as one of Seattle's oldest houseboats and for its role as the birthplace of the Center for Wooden Boats, reflecting a key aspect of the city's maritime and community heritage.