Seattle's Hooverville, named for the Depression era president, was established in 1931 by unemployed men of varied ethnic backgrounds. The settlement consisted primarily of unskilled laborers who had worked previously in a number of industries, including logging, fishing and construction.

James Lee, who took this photograph of Hooverville, as well as several others in our collection, worked for the Seattle Engineering Department for over forty years. After his death, his widow donated collections of his photographs to the Museum of History and Industry and the University of Washington.

Hooverville, 1933

Hooverville was bounded by the Port of Seattle, warehouses, and Railroad Avenue. At its height, there were more than 200 shacks located along Seattle's waterfront on filled-in tide lands formerly occupied by the Skinner & Eddy shipbuilding corporation. Other Seattle shacktowns included a settlement located at Smith Cove on top of a garbage dump and a village called Louisville in the southern industrial section.

Hooverville was viewed as a hazard and a nuisance by city officials. In 1932, the City burned several of the Hooverville dwellings. Residents literally dug themselves in, placing tin covers on underground dugouts to protect themselves against a second attempt by the City to burn the shacktown. Officials agreed to meet with the residents and to allow the shacktown to exist as long as certain regulations were met.

Hooverville, 1932

While the majority of the Hooverville residents were unemployed, some of the men did find odd jobs or other employment. Others extended their services into the shacktown. Pictured here is a resident who may have offered shoeshine services. Residents came from varied ethnic backgrounds, including Europeans, Filipinos, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans and Latinos.

Almost a decade later, in 1939, the outbreak of war in Europe and the advent of the Lend-Lease Agreement with the Allies brought employment opportunities in the airplane and shipbuilding industries for shacktown residents.

In 1941, the Seattle City Council convened a shack abatement committee chaired by a Public Health representative. This committee also included officials from the Fire, Building and Police Departments. A shack elimination program ensued. Authorities posted eviction notices, and destroyed the shacks with fire and bulldozers.