(Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives)

The U.S. Navy has had a long presence in the Puget Sound region. In fact, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was established in 1891, just two years after Washington reached statehood. Currently, the Navy has shipyards operating in Bremerton and Everett, as well as a submarine base in Bangor and an air station on Whidbey Island.

Over the years, some famous battleships, most notably the USS Missouri, have been anchored in our waters.

Our Digital Archives has a huge collection of historical photos, and some feature naval ships in the Sound. The photo above shows the USS California (left) and USS Tennessee at anchor while doing summer maneuvers in Elliott Bay around 1935. The bottom photo might look like the light show at a Pink Floyd concert, but it’s really a fleet of warships anchored at night, with spotlights shining from them. The photo was taken sometime between 1914 and 1935. Both photos can be found in the Digital Archives’ General Subjects Photograph Collection 1845-2005.