All About Gig Harbor, Washington
- by Jodie Vinson
Gig Harbor is divided into five neighborhoods, each one contributing a unique aspect to the towns comprehensive identity, as diverse as the variegated landscape of the peninsula. Gig Harbors Waterfront holds its history, told through the heritage markers along the pleasant walk of Harborview Drive. The Kimball Drive neighborhood is at the heart of Gig Harbors present thriving community, exhibiting Northwest artists at the new Civic Center. Rosedale and Fox Island are home to the farming and gardening communities that shaped Gig Harbors rural life for the past century. State parks are sprinkled throughout the scenic areas of the north, Purdy and the Key Peninsula. These areas are also full of historic landmarks, while Olympic Drive and the West Side support the towns bustling present with a variety of shops, the Public Library and Farmers Market.
The permanent exhibit at the Gig Harbor Museum acquaints visitors with the towns original inhabitants: from the Native Americans to the Croatian and Scandinavian settlers who farmed and fished the landscape alongside them. The exhibit also focuses on the collapse and rebuilding of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Before the bridge transportation to the mainland was operated by steamboats and eventually car ferries. In 1940 the first bridge to linking Gig Harbor with Tacoma was built, nicknamed Galloping Gertie, as winds caused it to sway precariously on its girders. The bridge collapsed in four months time, to be rebuilt in 1950. In 2007 a third bridge was completed to carry eastbound traffic, while the older bridge brings visitors and locals westward to the Kitsap Peninsula, with Gig Harbor at its gate.
The area received its name for the refuge it gave to Captain Wilkes exhibition when his gig found shelter in its protected waters during a storm. The name remains relevant as the town continues to serve as haven to its longtime residents, sanctuary to the birds and seashore wildlife that share its shores, and a retreat to visitors seeking the calm of its harbored waters.
Community Links:
Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce
Gig Harbor's Official Visitors Web Site
City of Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor Boat Shop
Gatline Community Newspaper
Gig Harbor Info
Harbor History Museum
Gig Harbor Farmers Market
Gig Harbor Blog
Gig Harbor Historic Waterfront Association
Gig Harbor Chapter Puget Sound Anglers
