Imagine that your entire city suddenly had to build hundreds of huge ships—and build them very quickly. That is exactly what happened in Seattle more than a century ago, during World War I. The most surprising part is that traces of that frenzied construction boom are still hidden throughout the city: in tiny houses, on an entire artificial island, and even in the way people build small backyard homes today. Let’s see how it all connects.
The city that suddenly started building ships like crazy
More than a hundred years ago, when World War I began, there was a catastrophic shortage of ships. Older vessels were sinking, while new ones were needed immediately—to transport soldiers, food, and weapons across the ocean. The U.S. government decided that it needed to build a huge number of ships, and fast.
Seattle—with its location on the water and its convenient bays—was an ideal place. A shipyard called Skinner & Eddy operated there and became one of the fastest shipbuilding companies in the country. Its workers set records: sometimes a new ship was launched every two or three weeks! Imagine building a Lego castle not in an hour, but in fifteen minutes—that is roughly how fast people worked at the shipyards.
As a result, thousands of new workers—and entire families—moved to the city. Seattle had to quickly figure out where all of them could live and even… where to build more ships, because there was not enough room along the waterfront.
The island that had not existed before
This is where the most magical part begins. To build more shipyards, Seattle’s engineers decided to do something that sounds like a fairy tale: create an entirely new island. Not find one, but actually make one.
They took silt, sand, and soil from the bottom of the Duwamish River and the bay, and simply… piled it up to form an island. That is how Harbor Island came into being—and it is still considered the largest artificial island in the United States.
The most interesting thing is that the island did not become a museum or an abandoned site. Work is still bustling there today: port cranes, container ships, and warehouses. The Port of Seattle—one of the country’s important ports—stands largely on this man-made land, created because of the need for wartime ships.
| What was created | Why | What is there now |
|---|---|---|
| Harbor Island | A site for new shipyards during the war | An active port and warehouses |
| Skinner & Eddy shipyard | Construction of military ships | It no longer survives, but the site remembers its history |
| Workers’ houses | Fast housing for thousands of new families | Some still stand in Georgetown |
The tiny houses built in a week
Now let’s talk about the houses. Thousands of new workers and their families needed somewhere to live—and they needed it urgently. There was no time to build large, beautiful homes. So small, simple, but cozy houses began appearing in the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods. Some were nearly identical, as if they had been made from the same blueprint—like cookies cut from a single mold.
These houses were small but thoughtfully designed. They contained everything necessary and nothing extra. That is why many of them did not fall apart or disappear; they are still standing today. They are simply home to entirely different families, who often do not even know that their house was built in just a few days for a worker at a shipyard.
I find this especially touching: an ordinary little house with closed shutters can hold an entire story of war, urgency, and human ingenuity inside it—while looking from the outside like nothing more than a charming old home on a quiet street.
Tiny houses then and small homes today
This is where the most unexpected connection to the present appears. Today, Seattle, like many other cities, is facing a housing shortage—apartments and houses are extremely expensive. And do you know what residents have come up with? Building small homes right in their backyards. They are called ADUs, or accessory dwelling units. These are tiny but fully equipped houses, with a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom—just in a very compact form.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A century ago, the city solved the housing shortage in much the same way—with small, fast, practical homes. Today, the solution is similar; the houses are simply located not next to a shipyard, but in a neighbor’s garden.
As an engineer from that era might say if he could see modern Seattle: “We just wanted people to have a warm place to sleep. It’s good that the idea has not become outdated.”
Why it is important to remember
Seattle’s World War I history is not just a story about old ships and dusty photographs. It is proof that a city can find smart, rapid solutions when they are truly needed: building an island out of silt when there is not enough land, and building small, sturdy homes when there is not enough housing.
So the next time you walk past a little old house in Georgetown or see the cranes on Harbor Island, remember: long ago, people here worked as quickly as they could to build ships for an entire world—and left the city with a secret that still helps solve today’s problems.
