San Francisco Maritime

National Historical Park California National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior San Francisco Maritime The Aquatic Park Historic District includes walkways, gardens, a cable car turnaround, and the Streamline Moderne-style bathhouse building (upper left) completed in 1939. Visitor center exhibits and artifacts tell stories of seafarers on the West Coast. Historic vessels moored at Hyde Street Pier include (counterclockwise from left) Eureka, Balclutha, Eppleton Hall, and C.A. Thayer. For a taste of the sailor’s life, board Balclutha (above) and other vessels at Hyde Street Pier. Above: Historic engine plate. Right: Restored figurehead from the ship Centennial. Along Hyde Street Pier park staff and volunteers mend lines, varnish brightwork, and tend puffing steam engines. Rangers lead a variety of programs, even from high in Bal­clutha’s rigging. The Age of Sail en­viron­­men­tal living program bunks school children overnight on historic vessels. At the small-boat shop craftspeople shape and bend steam-softened planks to repair historic boats and build replicas. nications at sea, and more. An interactive exhibit explores New York–San Francisco ocean routes. The spectacular lens from the Farallon lighthouse introduces the West Coast navigation story. The Aquatic Park Bathhouse building, designed in Streamline Moderne style, has Federal Art Project murals from the 1930s. African American artist Sargent Johnson carved the stone facade. San Francisco and the Sea Native Americans paddled the bay in reed canoes. Euro­pean explorers charted the coastline. In 1776 the Spanish settled at the site of present-day San Francisco. Ships soon brought seal and sea otter hunters. In the 1820s whalers arrived, and Boston merchant ships began trading for California cowhides. float. They often aban­doned their vessels in the shallows. Remains of such vessels lie today beneath the city’s financial district. “It is a city of ships, piers, and tides,” wrote Chilean journalist Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna in 1852. “Large ships with railings a good distance from the beach served as residences, stores, and restaurants.” In 1849, after the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada foot­ hills, the world rushed in. That year over 750 ships arrived in San Francisco. Some fortune-seekers came on sleek, Ameri­can-­built clipper ships, but most sailed in on just about anything that could The Gold Rush brought merchants, laborers, and craftspeople from around the world. By the 1870s California’s burgeoning grain trade lured big European sailing ships like Balclutha. Fleets of schooners like C.A. Thayer arrived with Douglas fir from Puget Sound. Flat-bottomed scow schooners like Alma sailed up the Delta into California’s Central Valley. They delivered plows and seed, sewing machines and cloth, coal and oil. And they returned stacked with jute bags of hard white wheat, well suited for long-distance shipping. On San Fran­cisco’s docks the bags were hand-loaded into the holds of sailing ships bound for Europe. For a time, a dazzling array of vessels crowded the San Fran­cisco waterfront: great sailing ships, coastal passenger steamers, military craft, and local working boats. One by one these ships became obsolete but nonetheless treasured for their beauty and the stories they told. In 1988 Con­gress established San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park to protect and preserve America’s maritime past. At San Francisco Maritime National His­torical Park you will experience the sights, sounds, and textures of the city’s seafaring past. You will learn what life was like for the people who made their living at sea. From the wooden decks of Balclutha, a square-rigger that rounded Cape Horn 17 times, duck into the cramped cabins where sailors sheltered during months at sea. In the hold of the coastal schooner C.A. Thayer walk along the curving sides where freshly cleaned fish layered with salt were stacked to the ceiling. Visitor center ex­hibits and handson activities tell you about the Gold Rush, shipwrecks, commu- Left: Full-rigged ship Balclutha at Hyde Street Pier. Background: Aquatic Cove viewed from the park’s Municipal Pier. ALL IMAGES—NPS / TIM CAMPBELL AND STEVE DANFORD Landmark Building E houses collections of artifacts, documents, vessel plans, photo­graphs, motion picture film, books, periodicals, and oral histories for studying detailed maritime history. After the grain trade diminished and railroads reached the lumber mills and valleys, many sailing ves­sels were abandoned or scrapped. The lucky ones were refitted for other careers. Balclutha and C.A. Thayer went on to supply Alaska fisheries in the late 1800s and early 1900s. American intercoastal steamer traffic exploded after the Panama Canal opened in 1914. West Coast shipyards opened to meet the demands of World Wars I and II. Historic Vessels of Hyde Street Pier Today the pier and several historic vessels moored here are open to visitors. Five vessels—Alma, Balclutha, Eureka, Hercules, and C.A. Thayer—are designated National Historic Landmarks. The pier also has a variety of maritime structures and exhibits. Welcome aboard! Alma The last San Francisco Bay scow schooner still afloat, Alma is the park’s sailing ambassador, wel­comed by port cities around the bay. Flat-bottomed scows like this carried bulk cargoes—hay, grain, and fertilizer—between Delta farm communities and San Francisco. Balclutha Go up this ship’s gangway and back into the 1800s. This square-rigger was built in Scotland to haul California wheat to Europe. Crew­lived on board for months at a time during the treacherous voyage around Cape Horn. Compare the sailors’ bunks in the forecastle to the captain’s quarters aft. Like the rest of the park’s fleet, Balclutha survived be­cause it kept working after other vessels of its class were scuttled. C.A. Thayer This schooner is rep­­ resentative of hundreds that sailed the Pacific Coast. In Puget Sound ports, eight-person crews piled the deck high with Douglas fir, the raw material for California’s cities in the early 1900s. Thayer later carried small boats and fishing crews to Alaska for salmon and cod. Eppleton Hall This sturdy little tugboat from England crossed the Atlantic under its own power in 1969. “Eppie” recalls the earliest days of steam navigation on the bay. Eureka Originally built to ferry trains across the bay, this vessel was rebuilt in 1922 to serve passengers and automobiles. Don’t miss the classic autos and trucks displayed on the lower deck. Hercules Imagine a slow trip down the coast, towing a huge log raft and fishing off the stern for your dinner. This workhorse towed big ships out to sea, pushed railroad car barges across the bay, and towed huge lock structures to build the Panama Canal. Small Craft The park’s boat shop restores often-unheralded, everyday craft, like this one, used for work and pleasure on the bay: feluccas, Montereys, and yachts. Plan Your Visit San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is served by public transit; call 415-673-­MUNI (6864) or visit www.sfmuni.com. Paid parking is nearby. Hours vary seasonally; check the park website for operating hours and ship schedules. NPS Hyde Street Pier was built in 1922 for automobile ferries between San Francisco and Sausalito. The ferry route was part of U S 101 until the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937. Research and Collections Above left: Salmon crew on board Star of Alaska, ca. 1920s. Above right: The park’s research center. Below: Steamship brochure, 1880s. Visitor Center Located in a historic brick warehouse, home of the Argonaut Hotel, the visitor center offers information to help you plan your visit. “The Waterfront” exhibit takes you back in time along old San Francisco’s working waterfront. Free. Accessibility We strive to make facilities, programs, and services accessible to all. For information go to the visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check the park website. Hyde Street Pier The pier has historic steam and sailing vessels, maritime exhibits, and demonstrations. Admission fee to board vessels. Alma: scow schooner; 59 feet; built 1891, San Francisco. Balclutha: square-rigged ship; 256 feet; built 1886, Glasgow, Scotland. Eureka: side-wheel ferry; 299.5 feet; built in 1890 as Ukiah, Tiburon, CA; refitted 1922 as Eureka. Hercules: steam-powered tugboat; 139 feet; built 1907, Camden, NJ. C.A. Thayer: three-masted schooner; 156 feet; built 1895, Fairhaven, CA. Small craft moored on the east side of Hyde Street Pier. Maritime Museum in the Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building The museum has changing exhibits on West Coast maritime history. The bathhouse was built in 1939 as a joint project of the City of San Francisco and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Spectacular WPA murals cover the lobby walls. Free. 415-561-7100. Aquatic Park Historic District Explore the gardens, waterfront, and Municipal Pier. Watch the cable cars turn around. Visit one of the city’s few urban beaches. Spot boats and birds in the bay—and even swimmers in the cove. Firearms For firearms regulations check the park website or ask at the visitor center. More Information San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Fort Mason Center, Building E San Francisco, CA 94123 415-447-5000 www.nps.gov/safr Follow us on social media. Use the official NPS App to guide your visit. San Francisco Maritime is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. Learn more at www.nps.gov. Visitor center exhibits include a Farallon light­house lens (right) and scrimshawed whale’s tooth (below). npf_black.pdf 1 IGPO: 2022—419-059/82955 Last updated 2022 Join the park community. www.nationalparks.org Eppleton Hall: steel tugboat; 100.5 feet; built 1914, South Shields, England. Schoolchildren aboard Balclutha. Park rangers lead programs for visitors of all ages. Artifacts, scrapbooks, sailors’ crafts, and shipboard machinery tell stories about the men and women who created and used them. Read a sailor’s personal journal. Listen to sea chanteys (songs) or an oral history describing a 1906 voyage on the park’s lumber schooner C.A. Thayer. The extensive collection of artifacts, books, oral histories, photographs, vessel plans, documents, and other archival materials is available to the public in Building E at Fort Mason Center. The research center is open by appointment Monday through Friday afternoons; call 415-561-7030. The park’s museum collection and Maritime Research Center are the nation’s premier resources for understanding the Pacific Coast’s maritime heritage. For information visit www.nps.gov/safr/learn/ historyculture/collections.htm. ALL IMAGES—NPS / TIM CAMPBELL AND STEVE DANFORD Pier 45 includes the Jeremiah O’Brien World War 2 Liberty ship and the U S S Pampanito World War 2 submarine. Other points of interest include a small boat shop, maritime store, and Lewis Ark near the Hyde Street Pier. There is a walking route between Maritime Library, Maritime Museum, Hyde Street Pier, Visitor Center, and the U S S Pampanito. The Maritime Museum offers free exhibits and provides information and restrooms. 8/26/22