The city of Kirkland has salvaged several pieces of the iconic Kalakala ferry boat and seeks public input on how the pieces can be integrated as public art. An online survey is available through Aug. 31 and explores the preferences of how the pieces could be displayed.

Several concepts include using the pieces in a completely new way, creating an installation while representing the original shape and scale of the boat, integrating them with a city project or making them interactive and part of an outdoor museum. Responses to the survey will be shared with a citizen committee that was formed to explore possible art concepts and locations. The Kalakala Public Art survey is available on the Cross Kirkland Corridor webpage.

In February 2015, the city of Kirkland purchased roughly 30 historical pieces of the Kalakala and seeks to repurpose them for art installation on land or on the waterfront to commemorate the historic ferry and Kirkland’s early history as a regional shipbuilding center. Pieces include the wheelhouse, portholes, car doors, railings, rudder rim and window frames. The Kalakala was built in 1935 at the Lake Washington Shipyards, which is present day Carillon Point, Kirkland, Washington.

The citizen committee is comprised of members of the City’s Cultural Arts Commission, Park Board and Transportation Commission and interested contributors.

In April 2015, the Kirkland City Council approved $20,000 in funding for an Art Integration Framework Plan for the Cross Kirkland Corridor which may support the placement of the Kalakala pieces on the Corridor. For more information, contact Kari Page, with the City Manager’s Office, at kpage@kirklandwa.gov or 425-587-3011.