Historic Structure Report: Steam Paddle Ferry Eureka

Tri-Coastal Marine, Inc.

Located in the Fisherman's Wharf neighborhood, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park offers visitors the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Pacific Coast maritime history. The Park includes a fleet of historic ships, a Visitor Center, Maritime Museum, Maritime Research Center, and Aquatic Park Historic District. A number of factors contribute to the historical significance that has earned Eureka the status of National Historic Landmark. Built in 1890 as Ukiah, she was the last "walkingbeam" ferry to operate in North America. Her engine is based on a design that remained essentially unchanged since the 1820s, and it remains one of the last intact examples of the type. Eureka typifies a class of vessels which were integral to the economic and cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area, during the period in which San Francisco was changing from a gold rush boom town into the largest seaport on the West Coast. There are many people alive today who remember Eureka, and other ferries like her, with a mixture of nostalgia and fondness. Almost as long as a football field, Eureka is one of the largest wooden structures afloat, and thus presents a major preservation and maintenance challenge. Although she was intact and in good condition when donated to the then State Historical Park in 1959, neither the State nor her subsequent National Park Service caretakers have been able to keep abreast with her maintenance needs. As a result, the ensuing thirty years have left her in a serious state of disrepair. The Historic Structure Report presents a plan of action that is intended to ensure Eureka’s long-term preservation. In addition, the report provides documentation of Eureka through measured scale drawings, and in a physical history that describes the physical changes the vessel has undergone. A baseline for treatment is also provided in the form of a survey of existing condition. It is hoped that this document will serve as a resource in planning for Eureka’s preservation and use.

Historic Structure Report: Steam Paddle Ferry Eureka

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