An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A
lock (
) or https:// means you've safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
The ships in our park's collection have been moved temporarily due to the Hyde Street Rebuild Project. They are now located at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Visitors are not currently allowed on the ships, but can view them from Mare Island. When the Hyde Street Pier rebuild is finished, the ships will be moved back to Hyde Street Pier. Hyde Street Pier is closed at this time.
The ferryboat EUREKA, built in 1890.
NPS Photo
The Ferryboat on the Bay
Eureka is a side-wheel paddle steamboat built in 1890 for the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company (SF&NPRR). It has a double-ended design, identicle at either end, which allows it to shuttle between ferry terminals without needing to turn around. Its walking beam engine was common of American coastal and inland ferries of the time.
The Eureka is the last intact wodden-hulled side-wheel steamer afloat in the continental United States. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places iin 1973.
Eureka Quick Facts
Overall Length: 299.5 ft
Extreme Width: 78 ft
Gross Tonnage: 2,420
Horsepower: 1500
Passengers: 2,300
Automobiles: 120
Ukiah Beginnings
The side-wheel paddle steamboat Eureka was built in 1890 for the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company (SF&NPRR) by John Dickie in Tiburon, California. The ship was originally named Ukiah, in celebration of the railway’s recent extension to the Californian city of that name. A freight-car ferry, Ukiah was SF&NPR's "tracks across the Bay," ferrying trains from Sausalito to San Francisco. Launched on 17 May 1890, the Ukiah was built to carry 500 passengers on the upper deck and 10 railway cars on the main deck between San Francisco and Tiburon, on the north side of the Golden Gate.
In 1909, the direct ferry line from Tiburon to San Francisco was discontinued. From then on, the Ukiah operated from Sausalito and was converted to connect with passengers from the Northwestern Pacific Railroad's(NWPRR) interurban electric commuter railway. She remained in continuous service, covering some 4000 miles a month and handling about 18,000 rail cars and 96,000 automobiles per year.
During the First World War, the United States Railroad Administration used the ferry to carry heavy, munition-filled railway cars, which strained the hull severely. Once the war was over, the Ukiah was taken to the shipyard of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Oakland, California, in 1920 to be rebuilt. With the ship’s structure entirely replaced, the walking beam engine was the only remaining feature of the Ukiah.
In 1923, the former Ukiah was re-launched as an almost completely new ferryboat and was rechristened Eureka after the railway’s new northern terminus. The ship was redesigned to carry automobiles rather than railway cars, as automobile use had become more popular. The second deck was expanded and partly enclosed to accommodate more passengers. A restaurant area was added, along with toilet facilities and seating on the main deck. The rebuilt ferry could accommodate up to 2,300 passengers and up to 120 automobiles. With a fullbeam of 78 feet and a displacement of 2,420 gross tons, the Eureka was the largest ofthe NWPRR’s fleet and was assigned to the two heaviest commuter trips – the 7:30 am from Sausalito and the 5:15 pm from San Francisco. She was also the fleet’s fastest ferry with a cruising speed of 18 knots.
Eureka (built 1890; paddle ferry) and Santa Clara (built 1915; ferry), both under way. Probably arriving at the Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA, undated
SAFR P93-065, B07.07027
Steam Ferryboats on San Francisco Bay
The Bay's first steam ferry (the tiny Sitka) arrived in 1847, stowed aboard a Russian cargo ship. But the ferry Kangaroo made the first regularly scheduled crossings in 1850.
After Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848 (and John Marshall discovered gold in the American River) the Bay Area's population exploded. It is said that San Francisco's Ferry Building was once second only to London's Charing Cross Railway Station as the busiest passenger terminal in the world.
Although completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 ultimately brought an end to cross-strait ferry service, the Eureka remained a member of the NWPRR’s fleet of ferry boats until 1941, when she joined other San Francisco Bay ferries in transporting soldiers from the major staging area of Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California, on the Sacramento River, to the Port of Embarkation piers in San Francisco. After the war, Eureka provided ferry service to Southern Pacific Railroad passenger traffic from Oakland to San Francisco. In 1957, the ship’s crank pin broke and Eureka was taken out of service. The cross-bay ferry run was discontinued the following year.
After a three-year restoration project, the Eureka was deeded to the California State Park system in 1963 and joined the fleet of historic ships now on display at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The fleet was transferred to the National Park Service in 1977.
Eureka (built 1890; paddle ferry), being rebuilt, 1923. The walking beam engine and paddle are visible.
SAFR P93-065, B04.16314
The Walking Beam Engine
When originally built in 1890, the Ukiah was fitted with a walking beam engine manufactured by the Fulton Iron Works in San Francisco. This engine, with the exception of the replacement of its original wooden A-frame with one of riveted steel, remains unaltered in the Eureka. Eureka's "walking beam" is the last working example of an engine-type once common on America's inland and coastal waterways.
The engine was simple, compact, and easy to maintain. Oil was burned in boilers to produce steam, which drove a huge, vertical piston. Perched atop the engine, the walking beam changed this up-and-down motion into rotary motion via a connecting rod linked directly to the paddlewheel shaft. The twin paddlewheels (each 27 ft in diameter) made 24 revolutions per minute, delivering 1500 horsepower. Steam was originally supplied by four coal-fired direct flue return tube boilers. But with coal being shipped from the east coast, these proved costly to run and they were replaced in 1914 by four oil-fired Freeman dryback boilers built by the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company, each with two corrugated furnaces.
Restoration
In February of 1994, Eureka exited San Francisco Drydock after a $2.7 million restoration project. The steamship had been in the shipyard since October, where a crew of 45 skilled craftsmen caulked 2.5 miles of planking seams, and hammered in over 9000 eight-inch spikes. They applied stockholm tar, laid Irish Felt, and then plated the hull with 12,000 square feet of shining copper (cut down from modern dimensions to traditional-sized pieces to maintain the historical facade).
The vessel had suffered from rot in the edges of her main deck, and the caulking between her four-inch thick hull planks had softened. The immense beams holding up her paddle wheels and paddle boxes had deteriorated, and were replaced with steel. The overhanging ends and sides of the ferry were also repaired. To prevent the recurrence of rot, borate rods have been installed in all the new timbers. This is cutting edge preservation technology, pioneered by the park to treat its other ships. Over time, rainwater intrusion (a primary cause of dry rot) causes the rods to dissolve, and the borate leaches out into the wood, preventing rot from taking hold.
October of 1999, Eureka entered San Francisco Drydock for a $1 million restoration project focusing on the vessel’s superstructure – the above-water portions of the vessel. A significant portion of that drydock was the replacement of the boat’s "kingposts" – four large wooden structures which support the paddlewheels and upper decks.
Photo Galleries
Audio Presentations and Videos
#9 The Only Way Across the Bay
Learn the history and significance of the ferryboat, Eureka.
You’re listening to “Maritime Voices” from San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. I’m ranger Carol. In this episode we’ll consider the history and significance of the ferryboat Eureka.
Today, the trans-bay commuter has many options for travel. Be it by subway beneath the water, by bridge over the water, or modern ferryboats on the water, choices literally abound. However, during her time, ferryboats like the paddle wheeled Eureka were the only way to cross. Without them, San Francisco would have been cut off from its surroundings and paralyzed for lack of its work force. Eureka is a rare link to this long-ended era.
Although originally built to carry railroad cars, for most of her career Eureka’s staple job was carrying commuters across the bay. On other occasions, she carried automobiles and every once in a while, even carried cattle on their way to market. This last job could provide a lively crossing. One story recounts, “In the early twenties, a cattleman brought his stock to town on the steamer Eureka from Sausalito… [However,] the rope pen was inadequate… One thing led to another, and soon the cattle were trying the stairs, demanding -and getting- attention in the restaurant, and herding a flock of frightened passengers hither and yon in wild disorder.”
After a peak year in 1930, however, the diversity and quantity of Eureka’s passengers and cargo steadily declined. When construction started on the Bay Bridge in 1933 even ferryboat diehards were given a tangible sign that the end was not far off. One story stated “… the towers and girders that seemed to rise out of the Bay were recognized… as a gallows for the ferryboats.”
For Eureka the end finally came in 1957 when she suffered a minor engine break down. Although an easy fix, it was the final and ever-so-gentle nudge that pushed her off the precipice of commercial feasibility. Eureka would steam no more. If you look and listen carefully, however, you can still picture the white-water tracks of paddle wheels across the bay, the two thousand odd commuters during rush hour, and hear the cacophony of footsteps, and perhaps a hoof step or two, echoing off the wooden decks.
#10 The Passenger Experience: A Culture of Its Own
You’re listening to “Maritime Voices” from San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. I’m ranger Carol. In this episode we’ll imagine taking a ride on the ferryboat Eureka.
If you could have looked upon the ferryboat Eureka in 1930, you would have witnessed the peak of ferry travel across San Francisco Bay. Imagine being a newcomer to this scene.
After buying a ticket in the Ferry Building in San Francisco, you make your way to the waiting area and then down a creosote-scented corridor. Suddenly you are in the open and confronted by the huge white mass of the Eureka. You step onto her wooden lower deck, make your way up a large stairway, and then inside. You see row upon row of pew-like seats facing both directions. After settling yourself in one of them you are suddenly confronted by a man with a perturbed expression.
Man: “Excuse me, but you’re sitting in my seat.”
Narrator: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know this seat was reserved.”
Man: “Well, these seats aren’t technically reserved, but this is where I always sit. All of us here play cards. That’s why we’re sitting together. If you look around, you’ll see other groups involved with checkers, book discussions, or whatever. But this here is my seat.” As you rise and look around you see that the whole deck is filled with these groups.
Looking for a new seat, you walk past the bustling restaurant with the aroma of roast beef and vegetable soup. Then you step out onto the open deck where you smell the salt-air and you notice the Eureka is underway. You see the receding skyline of the city and the white paddle wheel tracks left astern in the waters of the bay. You feel the magic of the Eureka and no longer feel like a newcomer. Now you understand how this boat has become a floating home to its passengers.
Finally, as Eureka docks at the end of her trip in Sausalito, you find yourself thinking about next time. No other ferryboat will do. You will want to ride only on your boat, the Eureka.
You’re listening to “Maritime Voices” from San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. In this episode we’ll explore the ferryboat Eureka, a steam juggernaut.
When you step into in the engine room of the ferryboat Eureka you’re taking a step back in time. Imagine Eureka’s engine during its heyday of operation in the 1930s.
Stepping inside, it’s hard not to feel insignificant. The engine is of a type referred to as a walking beam steam engine. It gets the name from the diamond shaped beam mounted at the top that rocks back and forth like a seesaw. This titan of an engine is five stories tall, it has only one cylinder of 65 inch bore and 12 foot stroke, and this mammoth engine is then connected to two 27 foot diameter paddle wheels.
However, despite these dinosaur-like proportions, without its crew the engine would remain silent and Eureka immobile. Upon climbing down to the deepest parts of the engine room, you see two crewmen toil at Eureka’s boilers. You notice that they keep a wary watch on the steam and water gauges and every so often they jump to some seemingly offending valve and nudge it one way or another. Elsewhere, you notice other crew scampering back and forth and up and down the five story engine. Wherever an extra bit of lubricating oil is required they are on hand to administer it.
Overseeing the crewmen are the chief and first engineers. They’re standing watch on a perch-like platform which gives them access to all of the important engine controls. You see one of them slaving away with a long metal bar, pushing it up and down, to manually open and close a series of valves to start the engine. It looks easy, but only a practiced hand with the right amount of finesse can get the engine started correctly.
Finally, you notice the swishing white noise of the paddle wheels churning through the water and you hear the breath-like whoosh as steam exerts itself within this juggernaut of an engine.
Stepping back onto the main deck, this world slowly fades to silence as the present day reasserts itself. Even today, this juggernaut of an engine reminds us of an era when steam ruled the waterways.
A timelapse video of the ship Eureka's tow away from Hyde Street Pier. The video takes place over several days, with workers and crew loading maretials onto the ship before towing Eureka away.
