Name Cyrene In service 1891 | Builder Matt Anderson | |
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Owner James M. Colman, John L. Anderson Notes Originally built as a yacht. | ||
Cyrene was a steamboat that operated initially on Puget Sound and later on Lake Washington from 1891 to about 1912. Cyrene and another similar vessel Xanthus were somewhat unusual in that they had clipper bows and were both originally built as yachts.
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Construction and launching
Cyrene was built in Seattle in a boatyard on the site of Colman Dock. The vessel was commissioned as a yacht by James M. Colman, a prominent early Seattle businessman. Colman hoped that the building of the yacht would encourage employment in the shipyard. Matt Anderson superintended the construction of the vessel.
Transfer to Lake Washington
Colman asked John L. Anderson, who was operating steamboats on Lake Washington, if he would purchase Cyrene. Anderson agreed, and brought the vessel to Lake Washington by way of the difficult Black River route, the only natural riverine access from Puget Sound to Lake Washington. Anderson used the vessel on Lake Washington in the excursion business. In 1909, in anticipation of additional business trom visitors to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Anderson rebuilt Cyrene, increasing the passenger capacity and moving the wheelhouse to the upper deck.