What's life like on Lake Union's houseboats?
Seattleites have been living in floating homes for more than 100 years.
These unique buildings have become an icon of the city, but their early days were a far cry from the swanky house of Sam Baldwin in Sleepless in Seattle.
Seattle historian Knute Berger said the original houseboats were more like "floating shanty towns." Low-income workers would build them out of scrap lumber floating in the lake.
Today, the homes are much nicer, and they've galvanized a community of tight-knit homeowners. We visit a floating home community and hear about the excitement of life on the water in this week's episode of SoundQs.
Listen to the episode by clicking the play button above or on your favorite podcast app. SoundQs is a weekly podcast where KUOW reporters tackle questions submitted by our listeners.
Have a question about the Seattle region for us to investigate? Drop it here (if you don't see the form, hit refresh):
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Caroline Chamberlain Gomez
Editor, Seattle Now
Caroline Gomez is the editor of Seattle Now, KUOW's flagship news podcast. She's produced and edited hundreds of episodes on the people and stories that shape Seattle. She created "Casual Friday," Seattle Now's Friday episode that performs best (almost) every week. She has a masters degree in human centered design and engineering from the University of Washington and she applies a user-centered approach to her journalism and processes. Previously she was a producer at KCRW and is a proud alum of UCLA's Daily Bruin.
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Deborah Wang
Contributing Reporter, Editor, & Host
Deborah is a contributing reporter, editor and host at KUOW. Since joining the staff in 2005, Deborah has done everything from political reporting to podcast hosting and is now serving as Interim News Director. She is an award–winning radio and television journalist whose career spans more than three decades.
More stories from Deborah Wang »
