MV Kirkland returns to Columbia River

MV Kirkland at night on the Columbia River
MV Kirkland at night on the Columbia River

MV Kirkland returns to Columbia River | Seattle, WA. The last living ferry ‘MV Kirkland’ returns to the Columbia River. MV Kirkland – also known as ‘Tourist No. 2’ – was pressure-washed at the Northlake Shipyard this week. Now a long-awaited return of the last living ferry to Seattle’s Columbia River seems to be within reach. It’s planned to bring the repaired watercraft down to Astoria in July — just in time for Astoria Bridge’s 50th anniversary celebration.

This Wednesday, the board is holding the ferry’s first fundraising event at Street 14 Coffee in Astoria. The nonprofit needs to collect $50,000 to pay for the shipyard work.

MV Kirkland was pressure-washed at the Northlake Shipyard this week.
MV Kirkland was pressure-washed and repaired at the Northlake Shipyard this week.

MV Kirkland carried riders and their cars between Astoria and Megler from 1924 to 1966. But then Astoria bridge made ‘Tourist No. 2’ and the rest of the estuary’s ferries obsolete.

Almost a year ago Robert Jacob – majority owner of the Cannery Pier Hotel – got word that ‘Tourist No. 2’ still existed. Though he and other community members hoped to haul it home last year. But this task proved to be quite challenging.

When MV Kirkland arrives, it will be docked at 17th Street in Astoria, And it won’t be just another vintage eye-candy. Business plans includes shuttling visitors along the riverfront. The ferry may also be rented out for private parties and chartered excursions. This could be the start of something big again.

MV Kirkland aka Tourist No. 2 (1950)
Postcard of MV Kirkland aka Tourist No. 2 (1950)

At 110 feet long, 39 feet wide and 40 feet tall, the three-deck, wooden-hull ferry MV Kirkland, aka ‘Tourist No. 2’, was built with old-growth timber, and can accommodate more than 150 people.

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