San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
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| San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park | |
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| Location: | California, USA |
| Nearest city: | San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 50 acres (0.2 km²) |
| Established: | June 27, 1988 |
| Total Visitation: | 3,976,056 (in 2005) |
| Governing body: | National Park Service |
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum -- a name that dates from 1951, but changed when the collections were acquired by the National Park Service, in 1978. Today's San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was authorized in 1988; the maritime museum is among the park's many cultural resources. The park also incorporates the Aquatic Park Historic District, bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Polk Street, and Hyde Street.
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[edit] Historic vessel fleet
The historic fleet of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is moored at the park's Hyde Street Pier. The fleet consists of the following major vessels:
- Balclutha, an 1886 built square rigged sailing ship.
- C.A. Thayer, an 1895 built schooner.
- Eureka, an 1890 built steam ferryboat.
- Alma, an 1891 built scow schooner.
- Hercules, a 1907 built steam tug.
- Eppleton Hall, a 1914 built paddlewheel tug.
The fleet also includes over one hundred small craft.
[edit] Visitor Center
The Visitor Center is housed in an historic brick waterfront warehouse, at the corner of Hyde and Jefferson Streets. Exhibits tell the story of San Francisco’s colorful and diverse maritime heritage, with information panels and exhibits. The center also contains an information desk.
[edit] Maritime Museum
The maritime museum is housed in a landmark Streamline Moderne (late Art Deco) building in the Aquatic Park National Landmark District, at the foot of Polk Street and a minutes walk from the visitor center and Hyde Street Pier. The building was originally built (starting in 1936) by the WPA as a public bathhouse, and its interior is decorated with fantastic and colorful murals.
The Steamship Room illustrates the technological evolution of maritime power from wind to steam, whilst the second floor displays include three photomurals of the early San Francisco waterfront, lithographic stones, scrimshaw and whaling guns. The third floor gallery is used for visiting exhibitions and is in 2005 exhibiting "Sparks", an exhibition of shipboard radio, radiotelephone, and radioteletype technology.
The Maritime Museum is currently closed for renovation. It will reopen in 2009.
[edit] Research library
The research library focuses on sail and steam on the West Coast of the United States and the Pacific Basin from 1520 to the present, including the archived records of many ship builders and ship owners. It includes 1,500 linear feet of documents, including 120,000 vessel and shipyard architectural drawings, and about 5,000 charts and maps.
[edit] Supporting associations
The park is supported by several cooperating associations. One of these is the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association.
[edit] Location and access
The Visitors Center, Hyde Street Pier and Maritime Museum are all situated adjacent to the foot of Hyde Street and at the western end of the Fisherman's Wharf district. The park headquarters and research library are located in Fort Mason, some 10 minutes walk to the west of the other sites. The Beach and Hyde Street terminal of the San Francisco cable car system adjoins the main site, whilst the Jones Street terminal of the F Market historic streetcar line is some 5 minutes walk to the east.
Opening times and fees for the various sites can be found on the park's website, see 'External links' below.
[edit] Bibliography
Bill Pickelhaupt, "San Francisco's Aquatic Park," Charleston, SC, 2005, ISBN 0-7385-3084-0
