San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is a museum and a memorial of the type of a National Historical Park in San Francisco, California. The park includes a historical ship fleet, a tourist information center, a maritime museum and a scientific library. The park is sometimes still referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum - under this name the institution was founded in 1951 and named until 1978, when the collections were acquired by the National Park Service. Today's San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was established in 1988 reported as a memorial; the Maritime Museum is just one of the many cultural facilities of the park. It also includes the Aquatic Park Historic District, bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Polk Street and Hyde Street.
Historic ship fleet
The historic fleet of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located mainly at the Hyde Street Pier. It consists of the following major vessels:
- Balclutha, an 1886 -built full-rigged ship.
- Eureka, a 1890 -built ferry with side paddle wheel.
- Alma, a 1891 -built barges.
- C. A. Thayer, a 1895 -built gaff schooner.
- Hercules, a 1907 -built tug.
- Eppleton Hall, a 1914 -built steamer.
In addition, include over one hundred smaller vessels to the fleet.
Visitor center
The visitor center is housed in 1909 built a harbor warehouse of the park, which is located at the corner of Hyde Street and Jefferson Street. San Francisco declared the four-story brick building in 1974 to a historical landmark of the city, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Inside preserve exhibits, including one of the first Fresnel Leutturmlinsen and a ship fragile boat, the colorful and rich heritage of San Francisco's sailors. In the information center, there is also a space for film screenings, the Sailor 's Den ( a part of the maritime Library of the park ) and a guided ranger information desk.
Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum was originally located in a building from the time of Streamline Moderne in the middle of the Aquatic Park Historic District, a National Historic Landmark at the foot of Polk Street, a few meters away from the visitor center and the Hyde Street Pier. The building was begun in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration, was originally a public bathhouse. Its interior walls are imaginatively decorated with colorful paintings.
The Steamship Room illustrates the technological development of shipping from wind to steam-powered ships. At the exhibition on the second floor are three screens of the early port area of San Francisco, prints with maritime motifs, carvings and whaling harpoons. The gallery on the third floor is used for temporary exhibitions. Here in 2005 " Sparks " opened an exhibition with the theme of technology marine radio, walkie-talkies and radio teletype.
The Maritime Museum is undergoing renovations since 2006 and will be re- opened in 2009.
Scientific library
The focus of the library is on sailing ships and steamers of the West Coast of the United States and the Pacific Ocean from 1520 to the present. The library also includes records of many shipbuilders and shipowners. Lined up the documents would result in a length of 500 meters; they include 120,000 architectural drawings of ships and shipyards, as well as around 5,000 tables and maps.
Travel and sightseeing
The visitor center, the mooring of vessels and the Maritime Museum are located at the Hyde Street at the west end of the district to Fisherman's Wharf. The administration and the library are located in the west adjacent Fort Mason.
Images of historic ships from the fleet
- Sailing ship Balclutha
- Ferryboat Eureka
- Tug Hercules
- Steamer Eppleton Hall
Bibliography
Bill pimple head, " San Francisco 's Aquatic Park, " Charleston, SC, 2005, ISBN 0-7385-3084-0