We hopped on one of Seattle’s fleet of electric boats, hired for the tour, for a trip across the lake. The infrastructure on these old docks isn’t pretty, but it’s … interesting … part of the ambience. And MY kitchen (although it’s a little cramped).Īnd above all, MY studio! With a view like this, how could anyone fail to be creative? Eric and I would have to figure out a schedule because it’s a one-artist garret room. “Great!” she said, “I’ve got a guest room!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d have to move out. I told the artist who lives here that Eric and I would be moving in. It felt like a miniature version of our house, but instead of a city lot, this one has the whole city for a backyard. Out of the eight homes we toured, this was my favorite. We started our tour on the west side of the lake, at a century-old bungalow that crouched like a troll under the spectacular filigree of the Aurora Ave. The houses are clustered in communities, circled in red on the map, on the east and west shores of Lake Union, and the west shore of Portage Bay near the University of Washington (click the map to enlarge). But locals usually call them houseboats anyway, and everyone knows what we mean. They’re not motorized, and they can be towed only if they’ve been unhooked from city utilities (yes, they’re all on the sewer system). These are floating homes, which are houses built on floating platforms. Technically, houseboats have motors and can travel. (When Eric told me he lived aboard in his college days, I was so impressed, I knew he had to be the guy for me.) The Sleepless in Seattle house recently sold for $2 million. Gone are the days when, as Eric says, if you couldn’t afford an apartment, you rented a houseboat. Now there are about 500, and believe me, they are shacks no longer. The city tried to get rid of them, and it wasn’t until the owners organized in the 70s to save their communities that the houses gained respect. What are floating homes? You remember Sleepless in Seattle? Well, here’s the actual house where it was filmed.Ībout a century ago Seattle had thousands of “houseboats,” which were cheap shacks built on floats. I’ve always been fascinated by living on the water-not just at the water’s edge, but ON IT. Like when I read about the Seattle Floating Home Tour, I had to buy tickets. If Eric and I have a hard time finishing our projects, maybe it’s because I keep finding other things to do.
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