<p>The gold rush and the growth of trade with Asia made the port of Seattle grow quickly after the late 1890s. The waterfront was crowded with longshoremen moving cargo piece-by-piece between ships, transit sheds, and railroads. Today, much of the cargo travels in large containers and is moved by machinery.
This 1906 photo by Asahel Curtis shows a group of longshoremen moving crates of shredded coconut from a ship to a transit shed at the Seattle waterfront. Large cranes lifted the crates from the ship's hold in heavy cargo nets and lowered them to the dock. The crates of coconut would stay in the transit shed until they were shipped by rail to their final markets.</p>
<p>Original photograph: Curtis, Asahel, 1906. Copied after 1975 by the Museum of History and Industry.</p>
<ul><li>Subjects (LCTGM): Longshoremen; Men--Employment; Piers &amp; wharves Ships; Shipping</li></ul>
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Asahel_Curtis" class="extiw" title="w:en:Asahel Curtis"><span title="American photographer">Asahel Curtis</span></a>
</bdi>
1906<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1906-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/search">Museum of History and Industry</a>