Hamm Creek’s namesake endorsed the Waterway in the early 20th century, and the urban development that followed frankensteined West Seattle’s 1400-acre tributary basin into three miles of culverts, pipes, and channels. The ravine cut by the Creek’s south fork, used as a garbage dump for decades, was cleaned up and restored by the hands and tenacity of John Beal in the late 20th century. Today, the system daylights and reaches the Waterway through Seattle City Light property, and salmon can be found navigating the channel along the tree-lined base of a hangar housing the construction of luxury yachts.