San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Historic ships docked at Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
Location	San Francisco, California, USA
Coordinates	37°48′23″N 122°25′25″W
Area	50 acres (20 ha)
Established	June 27, 1988 (1988-June-27)
Visitors	4,224,897 (in 2011)
Governing body	National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/safr/
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Official name	Aquatic Park Historic District
Designated	January 26, 1984
Reference no.	84001183
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Official name	San Francisco Maritime National Historic Site
Designated	June 27, 1988
Reference no.	01000281

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 referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum, its former 1951 name that changed in 1978 when the collections were acquired by the National Park Service. 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.

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.

• 

  Scow schooner Alma
• 

  Steam tug Hercules
• 

  Square rig sailing ship Balclutha
• 

  Paddlewheel tug Eppleton Hall
• 

  Steam ferryboat Eureka
• 

  Lumber schooner C.A. Thayer

The fleet also includes over one hundred small craft.

Visitor Center

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 an 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 a ranger-staffed information desk.

Maritime Museum

Aquatic Park Bathhouse

The maritime museum was until recently 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.

The Steamship Room illustrates the technological evolution of maritime power from wind to steam, while 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 in 2005 exhibited "Sparks", an exhibition of shipboard radio, radiotelephone, and radioteletype technology.

The Maritime Museum has re-opened after a series of renovations.

Maritime Research Center

The Maritime Research Center focuses on sail and steam on the West Coast of the United States and the Pacific Basin from 1520 to the present, including library collections and the archived records of many ship builders and ship owners. It includes 1,500 feet (460 m) of documents, including 120,000 vessel and shipyard architectural drawings, and about 5,000 charts and maps.

Supporting associations

The park is supported by several cooperating associations. One of these is the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association.

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 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.

Opening times and fees for the various sites can be found on the park's website, see 'External links' below.

Open Water Swimming

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.

From left to right: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Downtown San Francisco, Russian Hill and Aquatic Park Historic District.

See also

• 49-Mile Scenic Drive
• List of maritime museums in the United States
• List of museum ships

Bibliography

Bill Pickelhaupt, "San Francisco's Aquatic Park," Charleston, SC, 2005, ISBN 0-7385-3084-0

External links

• NPS: official San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park website
• NPS: Aquatic Park Historic District
• San Francisco Dolphin Club — bay swimming club based at Aquatic Park.
• WPA murals and sculpture at Aquatic Park — The New Deal Art Registry.