(Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle)

Seattleites and “Sleepless in Seattle” fans will have no trouble recognizing Lake Union, the 12,000-year-old body of water carved from the same glacier that created Green Lake and Lake Washington.  Visitors can see floating homes along the east and west sides of the lake that sits just north of Seattle’s central business district. Seattle’s major Fourth of July fireworks show usually takes place there and draws spectators from all corners of the greater Seattle area.  As the original home of Boeing, Lake Union also marks the site where the company first started production in 1916.

Lake Union received its name from the legendary pioneer Thomas Mercer, who believed it would eventually join Lake Washington with the waters of the Puget Sound.  Mercer’s prediction came true through the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1934.