San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park | |
---|---|
Location | San Francisco, California, United States |
Coordinates | 37°48′23″N 122°25′25″W / 37.80639°N 122.42361°W |
Area | 50 acres (20 ha)[1] |
Established | June 27, 1988 |
Visitors | 4,224,897 (in 2011)[2] |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park |
Official name | Aquatic Park Historic District |
Designated | January 26, 1984 |
Reference no. | 84001183[3] |
Official name | San Francisco Maritime National Historic Site |
Designated | June 27, 1988 |
Reference no. | 01000281[4] |
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. Formerly referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum, the collections were acquired by the National Park Service in 1978. The 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.
History
[edit]Alma de Bretteville Spreckels' last major project was the construction of the San Francisco Maritime Museum. When it opened in 1951, her collection of model ships that had been on display at the 1939–40 Golden Gate International Exposition was the main exhibit. She had had a feud with museum founding director, Karl Kortum,[5] and as a result, did not receive much recognition for her role in the museum's establishment.[6][7][8][9]
Historic vessel fleet
[edit]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.
-
Square rig sailing ship Balclutha
-
Lumber schooner C.A. Thayer
The fleet also includes over one hundred small craft.
Visitor center
[edit]The visitor center is housed in the park's 1909 waterfront warehouse, located at the corner of Hyde and Jefferson streets. The City of San Francisco declared the four-story brick structure a historic landmark in 1974, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Inside, exhibits (including a first order Fresnel lighthouse lens and a shipwrecked boat) tell the story of San Francisco's colorful and diverse maritime heritage. The visitor center also contains a theater and an information desk.
Maritime Museum
[edit]The maritime museum used to be housed in a Streamline Moderne (late Art Deco) building that is the centerpiece of the Aquatic Park Historic District, a National Historic Landmark at the foot of Polk Street and a minute's 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, created primarily by artist and color theoretician Hilaire Hiler. The architects were William Mooser Jr. and William Mooser III.
Maritime Research Center
[edit]The Maritime Research Center is the premier resource for San Francisco and Pacific Coast maritime history. Originating in 1939, the collections have become the largest maritime collection on the west coast and the largest museum and research collection in the National Park Service.
The collections include more than:
- 35,000 published titles comprising over 74,000 items
- 500,000 photographs
- 7,000 archival and manuscript collections
- 150,000 naval architecture and marine engineering drawings
- 3,000 maps and charts
- 150,000 feet of motion picture film and video
- 6,000 historical archaeology artifacts
- 2,500 pieces of folk and fine art
- 40,000 history objects
- 100 small craft
- 50,000 pieces of ephemera
- 600 oral histories and audio recordings
Supporting associations
[edit]The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association is the primary nonprofit partner to the Park.
Location and access
[edit]The visitor 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 Maritime Research Center 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, while the Jones Street terminal of the F Market historic streetcar line is some 5 minutes walk to the east.
Open-water swimming
[edit]Aquatic Park is a popular place for open water swimming, both for recreation and training. The South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Club are located in Aquatic Park. There have been several incidents of swimmers being bitten by sea lions.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 23, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Aquatic Park Historic District". National Historic Landmarks Program. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Fisher, Lawrence M. (September 15, 1996). "Karl Kortum, 79, Who Founded San Francisco Maritime Museum". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^
- Craig, Christopher. "Part 1: Spreckels (née de Bretteville), Alma Emma". Encyclopedia of San Francisco. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Craig, Christopher. "Part 2: Spreckels (née de Bretteville), Alma Emma". Encyclopedia of San Francisco. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- Craig, Christopher. "Part 1: Spreckels (née de Bretteville), Alma Emma". Encyclopedia of San Francisco. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
- ^ Scharlach, Bernice (1990). Big Alma: San Francisco's Alma Spreckels. Scottwall Associates. ISBN 0-942087-11-9.
- ^ "San Francisco Maritime Museum. Archive by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels". Alan Wofsy Fine Arts. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ "Alma Spreckels". FoundSF. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
Bibliography
[edit]Bill Pickelhaupt, "San Francisco's Aquatic Park," Charleston, SC, 2005, ISBN 0-7385-3084-0
External links
[edit]- San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
- Parks in San Francisco
- National Historical Parks of the United States
- Maritime museums in California
- Museums in San Francisco
- Open-air museums in California
- Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
- San Francisco Bay
- National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco
- Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in California
- Maritime history of California
- Protected areas established in 1978
- National Park Service areas in California
- Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums
- Lincoln Highway
- 1978 establishments in California
- Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in California
- Water transportation on the National Register of Historic Places
- Culture of San Francisco