San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park

In the Maritime State Historic Park (Hyde Street) several restored ships are reminders of the time when the harbor was full of sailing ships.

Five historic ships belonging to the museum are moored at Hyde Street Pier:

"Eureka": a paddle-driven ferry which was in operation from 1890 to 1957. It carried passengers between Marin County and Oakland. In its day it was the largest passenger ferry in the world.

"C. A. Thayer": a sailing schooner built in 1895. First used in the timber trade it then carried salted salmon and finally, up until 1950, was used for cod-fishing in the Bering Sea. "Wapama": a steam schooner of 1915. Carried mainly timber but also had some passenger cabins.

"Alma": a two-masted lighter built in 1891 for carrying coal, sand, timber, etc. in San Francisco Bay and the adjoining rivers; in use until 1958.

"Hercules": a deep-sea tug which operated from West Coast harbors from 1907 to 1962.

Historic ships at other moorings:

"Balclutha" (Pier 43): a steel-hulled sailing vessel built in England in 1886, in use until 1954, and now restored to its original state. Mainly used to carry coal round Cape Horn to San Francisco and grain back to Europe.