Image: Picture from generations past of the Port of Anacortes. Photo Credit: Port of Anacortes.
This year is expected to be an important one for the Port of Anacortes, which recently passed a budget to make improvements at its airport, marina, docks, and industrial facilities. But the bustling town on the northern tip of Fidalgo Island is also getting ready to celebrate its maritime past: 2026 will be the Port’s 100th year in existence.
To mark the occasion, the Port envisions a series of events throughout the year to celebrate how Anacortes has benefited the marine economy of Puget Sound, with fishing, boatbuilding, salmon canning, ferrying, timber, shingle-making, and tourism. So far, the Port is considering some public media events this summer and a screening of a film about the Anacortes fishing industry.
“At the moment, we’re only in the preliminary stages of event planning, so we have no firm dates set yet,” said John Dumas, executive director of the Port of Anacortes. “We’d first like to have a couple of public outreach events for businesses and boat owners in the early spring to get their input.”
On Nov. 2, 1926, the citizens of the rapidly growing town of Anacortes voted to create the Port. Anacortes, at the time, had been in existence as a frontier town for more than 50 years, but the establishment of an official Port meant investments could begin for more permanent boating infrastructure to be built along the waterfront. The following year, Anacortes voted to issue a $93,000 bond (about $1.73 million in 2025 dollars) to “acquire the necessary tidelands, waterfront, and acreage” that would add maritime muscle to the city.
Dumas said the Port is considering creation of a series of storyboard displays about the Port’s colorful history to be displayed during the town’s annual Free Summer Concert series. “Mostly we just want to remind people about how important the Port has been to the community of Anacortes,” Dumas said.
Another plan involves a possible encore public screening of a film called “It’s What We Do,” produced by former local fisherman Will Dickinson, who grew up in the Anacortes area. The 90-minute documentary focuses on the lives of 10 fishermen who worked in the Anacortes industry from the 1960s to the 2020s, retelling stories of triumphs, joys, and tragedies they experienced over the decades. The film first appeared last July at the Family Life Church in Anacortes, Dumas said.
As the centennial events come more into focus, the Port is also moving forward on plans for new development on its property. In August 2025, the Port signed two interlocal agreements (ILA) with the City of Anacortes to build a new public event venue on Port property adjacent to Cap Sante Marina, with a 50-50 split of the remaining design costs. According to the ILAs, the Port will operate and maintain the facility at no further cost to the city.
All told, the new facility is expected to cost $8 million in 2024 dollars. Design work, currently in the early conceptual stage, is expected to continue through 2026 with a completion date anticipated in 2027.
At a Nov. 5, 2025, Board of Commissioners budget hearing, the Port said it anticipates $21.33 million in operating revenues and $18.32 million in operating expenses for 2026, which is a 6 percent decrease from 2025, due to “reduced activity at the marine terminal,” largely blamed on federal tariff impacts and trade policies.
The commissioners are also planning for an investment of $13.1 million this year in the form of Port and grant funding for capital improvements for the airport, Cap Sante Marina, the marine terminal, industrial properties, and equipment. Some of these projects for 2026 will include a design and bid for the reconstruction and electrification of A-Dock and T-Dock; the installation of fiber-optic cable at docks M, N, O, P, and Q; pre-construction of the Pier 61 redesign; construction of a waste pumpout system at Curtis Wharf; redevelopment of the North And West Basin buildings; design of the Cap Sante event facility; and many other projects.
For more information about other capital improvements and centennial celebration plans throughout the year, visit portofanacortes.com.
