Pier 57 was built in 1902, and taken over in 1909 by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad ("Milwaukee Road"), the last of four transcontinental railroads to reach Seattle. The pier was remodeled in 1974 as part of the new city's Waterfront Park, whose basin replaced the former Schwabacher Wharf. Built by hardware retailers from San Francisco, Schwabacher's Wharf was the site of several historic events. The freighter Miike Maru docked here on August 31, 1896, and opened trade between Seattle and Japan. The following year, on July 17, the steamship Portland arrived bearing a "ton of gold" from the Klondike. The ensuing gold rush would make Seattle "The Gateway to Alaska" and enrich local merchants like the Schwabachers who provisioned tens of thousands of eager prospectors.