The MV ''Tourist No. 2'' was a 1924 wooden-hulled car ferry that has served passengers all over the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Originally, it took passengers across the Columbia River, with a dock in

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. It was undergoing restoration in Astoria until it sunk in 2022. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

With the exception of the Second World War, from 1924 to 1966, MV ''Tourist No. 2'' was in service on the

Astoria–Megler Ferry The Astoria–Megler ferry, also called the Astoria–McGowan ferry and the Astoria–North Beach ferry, ran across the Columbia River between Astoria, Oregon, and two ferry docks near the present small community of Megler, Washington, from 1921 ...

route on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. Following the bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

in 1941, the US Army purchased the vessel as the FB or JMP 535 to lay mines at the mouth of the river. At the end of the war, it returned to ferry service on the Columbia. The ferry was moved from Astoria, Oregon to

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous ...

, in 1967 and renamed the ''Islander of Pierce County''. It worked on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

for many years, but eventually its wooden-hull design was overshadowed by vessels with more modern steel-hull designs. MV Kirkland 01

In 1996, new private owner
Argosy Cruises
bought the vessel and renamed it ''Kirkland''. They refurbished it, adding two full-service bars, a galley, and 12-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, making the main deck unique among vessels in the Northwest. The exterior styling, deck plan, and interior and general arrangement were provided by designer

Jonathan Quinn Barnett Jonathan Quinn Barnett (born 1964) is an American super yacht designer from Seattle, Washington. He apprenticed with Ron Holland and Jon Bannenberg for nearly seven years beginning in 1987, and founded Jonathan Quinn Barnett Ltd. (JQB Ltd.) in ...

of Seattle. The vessel is listed on the Washington Historic Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Early morning on August 28, 2010, the vessel caught fire while docked at its Kirkland, Washington pier. The fire was confined to the engine room. Firefighters were quoted as saying everything below deck was "toast". The Boat was moved from Lake Washington during the morning of August 31, 2010 - by the Tug "Dixie"—part of the Fremont Tug Company. The vessel was sold to Christian Lint in 2010 after Argosy Cruise Lines concluded that it was not economical to repair the fire damage. Lint moored the vessel in Bremerton and used it for special events. In 2016, Lint sold the vessel to the Astoria Ferry Group, and returned it to Astoria on August 1. As of 2019, the vessel was undergoing restoration. ''Tourist No. 2'' partially sank in the Columbia River In front of Astoria where it was moored and for sale on July 28, 2022. It was demolished ''in situ'' and removed in September 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkland Ferries of Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Kirkland, Washington Cruise ships of the United States Ships built in Astoria, Oregon Ferries of Oregon 1924 ships Maritime incidents in 2010 Maritime incidents in 2022