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151-547: The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate . It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena : a port, as was said in its early days, in which all the fleets of the world could find anchorage. The port area under

302-610: A dishonorable discharge , but President James K. Polk quickly commuted Frémont's sentence due to services he had rendered over his career. Frémont resigned his commission in disgust and settled in California. In 1847 Frémont purchased the Rancho Las Mariposas , a large land grant in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Yosemite , which proved to be rich in gold. Frémont was later elected one of

453-713: A sourdough bread bowl. Pier 39 was first developed by entrepreneur Warren Simmons and opened October 4, 1978. Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. There are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, an interpretive center for the Marine Mammal Center , the Aquarium of the Bay , virtual 3D rides, and views of California sea lions hauled out on docks on Pier 39's marina. The marina

604-573: A convenient landing for their commerce in hides and tallow . It is the same location where Russian ships anchored to load supplies of meat and grain. Early European visitors were the British Raccoon in 1814 and the French frigate Artemise in 1839. The sloop USS St. Louis , which arrived in 1840, was the first warship to fly the American flag in San Francisco Bay . On July 9, 1846,

755-552: A cove named Yerba Buena Cove. As the city grew, the cove was filled. Over 50 years a large offshore Seawall was built and the mudflats filled, creating what today is San Francisco's Financial District. The roadway follows the Seawall, a boundary first established in the 1860s and not completed until the 1920s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 2002. Constructed between 1879 and 1916,

906-545: A deep red color to these ponds from the pigment within the algae protoplasm. The salt marsh harvest mouse is an endangered species endemic to the wetlands of the San Francisco Bay with a high salt tolerance. It needs native pickleweed , which is often displaced by invasive cordgrass, for its habitat. The seasonal range of water temperature in the bay is from January's 53 °F (12 °C) to September's 60 °F (16 °C) when measured at Fort Point , which

1057-552: A few blocks west of the filled zone. Rock was also imported from Brooks Island off Point Richmond. Temporary steam train lines carried the earthen fill for dumping onto the mudflats. Both the Ferry Building and the Southern Pacific Building at the foot of Market Street were built upon thousands of Douglas-fir piles , up to 135 feet (41 m) deep. In 1890 the port commissioners began developing

1208-973: A hotspot for polybrominated diphenyl ether ( PBDE ) flame retardants used to make upholstered furniture and infant care items less flammable. PBDEs have been largely phased out and replaced with alternative phosphate flame retardants. A 2019 San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) study assayed a wide range of these newer flame retardant chemicals in Bay waters, bivalve California mussels ( Mytilus californianus ), and harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) which haul out in Corkscrew Slough on Bair Island in San Mateo County , with phosphate flame retardant contaminants such as tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) found at levels comparable to thresholds for aquatic toxicity. Thousands of man-made chemicals are found in Bay water, sediment, and organisms. For many of these, there

1359-552: A large new container handling facility like the Seventh Street Terminal at the Port of Oakland. A few piers added container handling equipment, but heavy traffic congestion in the area and poor rail access have long militated against the large-scale development of the container trade at the port. Insufficient clearances of rail tunnels and overpasses have also prevented the development of roll-on/roll-off capability at

1510-667: A major seaport . The Port of Oakland is one of the largest cargo ports in the United States, while the Port of Richmond and the Port of San Francisco provide smaller services. An additional crossing south of the Bay Bridge has long been proposed. San Francisco Bay is popular for sailors (boats, as well as windsurfing and kitesurfing ), due to consistent strong westerly/northwesterly thermally-generated winds – Beaufort force 6 (15–25 knots; 17–29 mph; 8–13 m/s)

1661-557: A position to rise superior to the narrow influences of local politics... The development of the waterfront itself, the Embarcadero, the Seawall and piers, the Belt Railroad and the Seawall lots, could not have been carried out under private or municipal auspices in the manner so beneficial, so efficient, and so economical as is now apparent". With the fire after the 1906 earthquake , a new era of port development began on

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1812-564: A professional soldier's soldier, and he "may have been the only general in the Mexican War who did not long to become president. Kearny is the namesake of Kearny, Arizona and Kearney, Nebraska . Kearny, New Jersey near Kearny's place of birth, is named after his nephew, Philip Kearny, Jr. of American Civil War fame. Many schools are named after Kearny, including Kearny Elementary in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Kearny High School in

1963-530: A replacement to Pier 35 . The modern terminal has electric shore power, larger holding areas, and secure customs screening. Pier 35 had neither the sufficient capacity to allow for the increasing length and passenger capacity of new cruise ships nor the amenities needed for an international cruise terminal. The port currently handles sixty to eighty cruise ship calls and 200,000 passengers and expects an increase to 300,000 in 2015. Itineraries from San Francisco include round trip cruises to Alaska and Hawaii. So far,

2114-472: A report stating that if current infill trends continued, the bay would be as big as a shipping channel by 2020. This news created the Save the Bay movement in 1960, which mobilized to stop the infill of wetlands and the bay in general, which had shrunk to two-thirds of its size in the century before 1961. The San Francisco Bay continues to support some of the densest industrial production and urban settlement in

2265-615: A safe eating advisory for fish caught in the San Francisco Bay based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail is a planned system of designated trailheads designed to improve non-motorized small boat access to the bay. The California Coastal Conservancy approved funding in March 2011 to begin implementation of the water trail. Stephen W. Kearny Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney ) ( / ˈ k ɑːr n i / KAR -nee ) (August 30, 1794 – October 31, 1848)

2416-547: A series of switchyards and warehouses on the reclaimed land for use of the San Francisco Belt Railroad , a line of over 50 miles that connected every berth and every pier with the industrial parts of the city and railways of America with all the trade routes of the Pacific. For a decade or more, railcar ferry transfers on steamers were the means of carrying railcars to the transcontinental systems. In 1912,

2567-467: A smaller number of concrete piers with wider slips between them were constructed. The port also built the six-story China Basin Warehouse to bring together ships, rail, and truck for the handling of products. At India Basin, it built a plant to handle vegetable oils. The federal government in 1922 began dredging a 40-foot channel through the Bay's outer bar in at the entrance to the harbor after 1922 and

2718-454: A waterway and harbor , many thousands of acres of marshy wetlands at the edges of the bay were, for many years, considered wasted space. As a result, soil excavated for building projects or dredged from channels was often dumped onto the wetlands and other parts of the bay as landfill. From the mid-19th century through the late 20th century, more than a third of the original bay was filled and often built on. The deep, damp soil in these areas

2869-506: A wet December 6, 1846 day Kearny's forces encountered Andrés Pico (Californio Governor Pio Pico 's brother) and a force of about 150 Californio Lancers . With most of his men mounted on weary untrained mules, his command executed an uncoordinated attack of Pico's force. They found most of their powder wet and pistols and carbines would not fire. They soon found their mules and cavalry sabers were poor defense against Californio Lancers mounted on well-trained horses. Kearny's column, along with

3020-560: A widespread distribution in the bay, with uptake in the bay's phytoplankton and contamination of its sportfish. In January 1971, two Standard Oil tankers collided in the bay, creating an 800,000-U.S.-gallon (3,000,000-liter) oil spill disaster , which spurred environmental protection of the bay. In November 2007, a ship named COSCO Busan collided with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled over 58,000 U.S. gallons (220,000 liters) of bunker fuel , creating

3171-472: Is also home to the floating Forbes Island restaurant. A two-story carousel is one of the pier's more dominant features, although it is not directly visible from the street and sits towards the end of the pier. The San Francisco Ferry Building was built by the Harbor Commission for less than one million dollars and quickly became one of the most profitable investments in state history. It survived

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3322-563: Is common on summer afternoons – and protection from large open ocean swells. Yachting and yacht racing are popular pastimes and the San Francisco Bay Area is home to many of the world's top sailors. A shoreline bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the San Francisco Bay Trail encircles the edge of the bay. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail , a growing network of launching and landing sites around

3473-574: Is considered by some to be the prototype for participatory museums around the world. On January 2, 2013, the Exploratorium closed its doors to the public at the Palace of Fine Arts and began its move to a new location on Piers 15 and 17 along The Embarcadero . The museum opened to the public at Pier 15 on April 17, 2013. The new James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 opened in August 2014 as

3624-462: Is likely N. de Morena who was left at New Albion at Drakes Bay in Marin County, California , by Sir Francis Drake in 1579 and then walked to Mexico. The first recorded European discovery of San Francisco Bay was on November 4, 1769, when Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá , unable to find the Port of Monterey , continued north close to what is now Pacifica and reached the summit of

3775-433: Is little or no data on their impacts on the environment or human health, and they are not regulated by state or federal law. These are often referred to as "contaminants of emerging concern." The San Francisco Estuary Institute has studied these chemicals in the Bay since 2001. Scientists have identified the following most likely to have a negative impact on Bay wildlife: San Francisco Bay's profile changed dramatically in

3926-484: Is near the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge and at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. For the first time in 65 years, Pacific Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) returned to the bay in 2009. Golden Gate Cetacean Research, a non-profit organization focused on research on cetaceans , has developed a photo-identification database enabling the scientists to identify specific porpoise individuals and

4077-423: Is operated as a heritage streetcar service, using exclusively historic equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. In March 2000, service on the F line began along the new extension to Fisherman's Wharf. The E Embarcadero became San Francisco's second heritage streetcar line in 2016. The line runs along the entire length of the Embarcadero, along existing track used by

4228-562: Is subject to soil liquefaction during earthquakes, and most of the major damage close to the bay in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 occurred to structures on these areas. The Marina District of San Francisco, hard hit by the 1989 earthquake, was built on fill that had been placed there for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition , although liquefaction did not occur on a large scale. In

4379-516: Is the foundation of the Embarcadero Historic District, which includes the bulkhead buildings and finger piers that extend into the Bay. After the Seawall was built, in 1900 alone, six million tons of goods passed through the Port of San Francisco. To support the demand, the Port constructed new piers – by 1908, 23 new piers were built. In 1922, with the new Seawall and piers in place, 14.5 million tons of goods passed through

4530-476: Is the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco and Marin County. The Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District is a Registered Historic District , consisting of Piers 1, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 , 3 and 5, and is one of the largest surviving pier complexes along San Francisco's Embarcadero. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 2002. The F Market & Wharves line

4681-647: Is trying to ascertain whether a healthier bay has brought their return. Pacific harbor porpoise range from Point Conception , California, to Alaska and across to the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Recent genetic studies show that there is a local stock from San Francisco to the Russian River and that eastern Pacific coastal populations rarely migrate far, unlike western Atlantic Harbor porpoise. The common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) has been extending its current range northwards from

Port of San Francisco - Misplaced Pages Continue

4832-546: The Queen Mary 2 is the largest cruise ship that docked in San Francisco. On March 16, 2013, Princess Cruises Grand Princess became the first ship to home port in San Francisco year round. The ship offered cruises to Alaska, California Coasts, Hawaii, and Mexico. In 2018, the Port of San Francisco was expected to meet three cruise ships for the first time: the Silver Explorer , Ponant's Le Soléal , and

4983-582: The Battle of Queenston Heights , Kearny and Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott led a charge, which took the British position; but the enemy retook it, when the "untrained militiamen" did not reinforce the U.S. Regular's which had taken the objective. "Humiliated, Kearny and Scott were forced to surrender;" wounded and prisoners, he and Scott spent several months in captivity before being paroled. But this experience would "harden" his prejudice against militias for

5134-662: The California Trail , accompanied by some members of the Mormon Battalion who had re-enlisted, they found and buried some of the Donner Party 's remains on their trip over the Sierra Nevadas . Once at Fort Leavenworth, Frémont was restricted to barracks and ordered court-martialed for insubordination and willfully disregarding an order. A court martial convicted Frémont and ordered that he receive

5285-775: The Carquinez Bridge in May 1927, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936, the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge in 1956, and the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge in 1967. During the 20th century, the bay was subject to the 1940s Reber Plan , which would have filled in parts of the bay in order to increase industrial activity along the waterfront. In 1959, the United States Army Corps of Engineers released

5436-598: The Carquinez Strait , carving out sediment and forming canyons in what is now the northern part of the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate strait . San Francisco Bay has been filled and emptied of sea water many times during the Pleistocene in accordance with sea level changes caused by glacial advances and retreats. During the Wisconsin Glaciation , between 15,000 and about 10,000 years ago,

5587-553: The Oregon Trail , Kearny often ordered his men to escort the travelers across the plains to avoid attack by the Native Americans. The practice of the military's escorting settlers' wagon trains would become official government policy in succeeding decades. To protect the travelers, Kearny established a new post along Table Creek near present-day Nebraska City, Nebraska . The outpost was named Fort Kearny . However,

5738-499: The Pacific Coast Campaign . In August 1846 and September the regiment trained and prepared for the trip to California. Three private merchant ships, Thomas H Perkins , Loo Choo and Susan Drew , were chartered, and the sloop USS  Preble was assigned convoy detail. On 26 September the four ships left New York for California. Fifty men who had been left behind for various reasons sailed on November 13, 1846, on

5889-571: The Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. However, this entire group of interconnected bays is often called the San Francisco Bay . The bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2, 2013, and the Port of Oakland on the bay is one of the busiest cargo ports on the west coast. The bay covers somewhere between 400 and 1,600 square miles (1,000–4,000 km ), depending on which sub-bays (such as San Pablo Bay), estuaries, wetlands , and so on are included in

6040-484: The Pasha Group ), 92, 94, and 96. The drydock located at Pier 70 offers full service ship repair. BAE Systems Ship Repair manages San Francisco's ship repair facility. San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf gets its name and neighborhood characteristics from the city's early days of the mid to later 1800s when Italian immigrant fishermen came to the city by the bay to take advantage of the influx of population due to

6191-670: The San Francisco Bay Area . It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco , San Jose , and Oakland . San Francisco Bay drains water from approximately 40 percent of California. Water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and from the Sierra Nevada mountains, flow into Suisun Bay , which then travels through the Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay , which connects at its south end to San Francisco Bay. It then connects to

Port of San Francisco - Misplaced Pages Continue

6342-589: The San Francisco Municipal Railway . The Belt Railroad Engine House and Sandhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1986. The Embarcadero (Spanish: Wharf) is the eastern waterfront and roadway of the Port of San Francisco constructed atop an engineered Seawall on reclaimed land. San Francisco's shoreline historically ran south and inland from Clarke's Point below Telegraph Hill to present-day Montgomery Street and eastward toward Rincon Point, enclosing

6493-579: The Santa Fe Trail . When they arrived back to Ft. Leavenworth on August 24, 1845, they had successfully conducted a reconnaissance of over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) in 99 days. "The march of the 1st dragoons was truly an outstanding example of cavalry mobility. " At the outset of the Mexican–American War , Kearny was promoted to brigadier general on June 30, 1846, and took a force of about 2,500 men to Santa Fe, New Mexico . His Army of

6644-698: The Southern California Bight . The first coastal bottlenose dolphin in the Bay Area in recent times was spotted in 1983 off the San Mateo County coast in 1983. In 2001, bottlenose dolphins were first spotted east of the Golden Gate Bridge and confirmed by photographic evidence in 2007. Zooarcheological remains of bottlenose dolphins indicated that bottlenose dolphins inhabited San Francisco Bay in prehistoric times until at least 700 years before present, and dolphin skulls dredged from

6795-790: The first transcontinental railroad was connected to its western terminus at Alameda on September 6, 1869. The terminus was switched to the Oakland Long Wharf two months later on November 8, 1869. In 1910, the Southern Pacific railroad company built the Dumbarton Rail Bridge , the first bridge crossing San Francisco Bay. The first automobile crossing was the Dumbarton Bridge , completed in January 1927. More crossings were later constructed –

6946-630: The "father of the United States Cavalry". The regiment was stationed at Fort Leavenworth in present-day Kansas , and Kearny was promoted to the rank of colonel in command of the regiment in 1836. He was also made commander of the Army's Third Military Department, charged with protecting the frontier and preserving peace among the tribes of Native Americans on the Great Plains . By the early 1840s, when emigrants began traveling along

7097-458: The 1,200-foot-high (370 m) Sweeney Ridge , now marked as the place where he first sighted San Francisco Bay. Portolá and his party did not realize what they had discovered, thinking they had arrived at a large arm of what is now called Drakes Bay . At the time, Drakes Bay went by the name Bahia de San Francisco and thus both bodies of water became associated with the name. Eventually, the larger, more important body of water fully appropriated

7248-411: The 1850s, when hydraulic mining released massive amounts of sediment from the rivers that settled in those parts of the bay that had little or no current. Later, wetlands and inlets were deliberately filled in, reducing the bay's size since the mid-19th century by as much as one third. Recently, large areas of wetlands have been restored, further confusing the issue of the bay's size. Despite its value as

7399-571: The 1860s, supplies could also be delivered up Mission Creek by boat to the vicinity of Mission Dolores . Chapter 306 of the Statutes of 1863 created the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners and set about the task of building a Seawall on the San Francisco waterfront. The project that would eliminate the patchwork and jagged lines of the waterfront, ending it cleanly at the modern Embarcadero . After four years of litigation,

7550-532: The 1906 earthquake with little damage. In the 1920s, 50 million passengers a year and a great number of automobiles used the ferries. On either side of the ferry slips, bay and river steamers arrived and departed with passengers and produce to and from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys . Beyond were wharves for regular coastal steamers bound for Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, British Columbia, Alaska, and ships bound for Hawaii, Central and South America and

7701-405: The 1990s, San Francisco International Airport proposed filling in hundreds more acres to extend its overcrowded international runways in exchange for purchasing other parts of the bay and converting them back to wetlands. The idea was, and remains, controversial. ( For further details, see the " Bay fill and depth profile " section. ) There are five large islands in San Francisco Bay. Alameda ,

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7852-554: The American Union: Zachary Taylor , Abraham Lincoln , and Kearny's rival, John Charles Frémont . New Mexico's statehood and self-government were not restored until 1912. Kearny, per orders from President Polk , set out to " conquer and take possession of California " on September 25, 1846, with a force of 300 men. En route he encountered Kit Carson , a scout of John C. Frémont 's California Battalion , carrying messages back to Washington, D.C. , on

8003-571: The American merchant James Wiley Magoffin, who had 20 years of trading experience in Mexico; Kearny was able to comply with the president's wishes, and conquer New Mexico without firing a shot. Kearny established a joint civil and military government, appointing Charles Bent , a prominent Santa Fe Trail trader living in Taos, New Mexico as acting civil. He divided his forces into four commands: one, under Col. Sterling Price , appointed military governor,

8154-665: The Army realized the site was not well-chosen, and the post was moved to the present location on the Platte River in central Nebraska. In May 1845, Kearny marched his 1st Dragoons of 15 officers and 250 men in a column of twos out the gates of Ft. Leavenworth for a nearly four-month-long reconnaissance into the Rocky Mountains and the South Pass , "the gateway to Oregon ." The Dragoons traveled light and fast, hauling 17 supply wagons, driving 50 sheep, and 25 beefs on

8305-517: The Californios. In January 1847 a combined force of about 600 men consisting of Kearny's dragoons, Stockton's marines and sailors, and two companies of Frémont's California Battalion won the Battle of Rio San Gabriel and the Battle of La Mesa and retook control of Los Angeles on January 10, 1847. The Californio forces in California capitulated on January 13 to Lt. Col. John C. Frémont and his California Battalion . The Treaty of Cahuenga ended

8456-493: The Embarcadero Seawall was built by dredging a trench through the mud, filling that trench with rock and rubble, covering the filled land with a timber pile bulkhead wall and wharf, then filling the tidal marshland area behind the Seawall. More than 500 acres of land were filled behind the Seawall, thus extending the footprint of the city. The Seawall acts as a retaining wall for the filled land behind it. The Seawall

8607-584: The F Market & Wharves historic streetcar and the N Judah and T Third Street Muni Metro lines. Initial service will run from Jones Street and Jefferson Street in Fisherman's Wharf to the Caltrain station. The line will be extended west past Aquatic Park and through an unused railroad tunnel to Fort Mason . The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco that has created over 1,000 participatory exhibits that mix science and art, all of which are made onsite. It

8758-777: The Historic Landmarks committee, Native Sons of the Golden West , 1921." The bay became the center of American settlement and commerce in the Far West through most of the remainder of the 19th century. During the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), San Francisco Bay suddenly became one of the world's great seaports, dominating shipping in the American West until the last years of the 19th century. The bay's regional importance increased further when

8909-399: The Italian immigrant fishermen settled in the North Beach area close to the wharf and fished for the local delicacies and the now famed Dungeness crab. From then until the present day it remained the home base of San Francisco's fishing fleet. Despite its redevelopment into a tourist attraction during the 1970s and 1980s, the area is still home to many active fishermen and their fleets. One of

9060-490: The Pacific Rim. In 2003, the building reopened after the restoration of major public spaces, as well as renovations for new uses: it has a re-dedicated ferry terminal, an upscale gourmet marketplace in the former baggage area featuring local goods, and upper floors adapted for office use. San Francisco Bay Ferry operates from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Oakland, Alameda, Bay Farm Island, South San Francisco, and north to Vallejo in Solano County. Golden Gate Ferry

9211-425: The Port of Oakland. Some six million cubic yards (160 million cubic feet; 4.6 million cubic meters) of mud from the dredging was deposited at the western edge of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park to become a 188-acre (0.294 sq mi; 0.76 km ) shallow-water wetlands habitat for marine and shore life. Further dredging followed in 2011, to maintain the navigation channel. This dredging enabled

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9362-403: The Port of San Francisco to a secondary role. For the next few decades, the port steadily but inexorably lost market share to the twins ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach , as well as its crossbay rival Port of Oakland . The advent of containerization in the 1960s effectively sounded the death knell for the Port of San Francisco as a major marine terminal, as it had no room to expand to build

9513-405: The Port of San Francisco. In 1898, the Ferry Building was built and served as the headquarters for the Harbor Commission. According to port historian Edward Morphy, the achievement of building a great port, "was rendered possible solely by the fact that its harbor commissioners, through the succeeding of generations, not only had behind them the credit of the state of California but also were in

9664-522: The San Diego neighborhood of Kearny Mesa . Kearny Street , in downtown San Francisco, is also named for him, as is a street within Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Camp Kearny in San Diego, a U.S. military base which operated from 1917 to 1946 on the site of today's Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , was named in his honor. Fort Kearny in Nebraska is also named for him. Two U.S. postage stamps relate to Kearny. Scott catalog number 970, printed in 1948, commemorates Fort Kearny, and number 944, issued in 1946,

9815-430: The San Francisco waterfront. In 1909, the San Francisco Harbor Improvement Act was passed. A total of $ 9 million was allocated by the state legislature and in 1913, Islais Creek and India Basin lands were purchased. The Board of State Harbor Commissioners began extensive development along the waterfront, always meeting expenses from the revenues of the busy port. Upon completion of the modern piers, odd-numbered to

9966-441: The Statutes of 1929 created the State operated San Francisco Harbor Bond Finance Board . The 1929 act provided for the issuance and sale of state bonds to create a fund for the improvement of San Francisco Harbor by the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners . Chapter 368 of the Statutes of 1937 changed the name of the commission to the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners for San Francisco Harbor . Chapter 112 of

10117-439: The Statutes of 1957 renamed the commission yet again as the San Francisco Port Authority which still remained under State authority/jurisdiction. Chapter 1333 of the Statutes of 1968 transferred all authority, jurisdiction and control of the San Francisco Port Authority over San Francisco Harbor and facilities to the City and County of San Francisco . Upon the transfer of these authorities, the port authority ceased to function and

10268-433: The United States on December 3, 1849, and was accepted as the 31st State of the Union on September 9, 1850. In 1921, a tablet was dedicated by a group of men in downtown San Francisco, marking the site of the original shoreline. The tablet reads: "This tablet marks the shore line of San Francisco Bay at the time of the discovery of gold in California, January 24, 1848. Map reproduced above delineates old shore line. Placed by

10419-411: The United States. The San Francisco Bay Area is the American West's second-largest urban area, with approximately seven million residents. Despite its urban and industrial character, San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta remain perhaps California's most important ecological habitats . California's Dungeness crab , California halibut , and Pacific salmon fisheries rely on

10570-450: The West (1846) consisted of 1600 men in the volunteer First and Second Regiments of Fort Leavenworth, Missouri Mounted Cavalry regiment under Alexander Doniphan ; an artillery and infantry battalion; 300 of Kearny's 1st U.S. Dragoons (mounted infantrymen) and about 500 members of the Mormon Battalion . With this force, and due largely to the behind the scenes and coordinated efforts of U.S. President Polk , New Mexico Governor Armijo, and

10721-431: The arrival of Europeans. Indigenous peoples used canoes to fish and clam along the shoreline. Sailing ships enabled transportation between the bay and other parts of the world—and served as ferries and freighters within the bay and between the bay and inland ports, such as Sacramento and Stockton. These were gradually replaced by steam-powered vessels starting in the late 19th century. Several shipyards were established around

10872-628: The arrival of the largest container ship ever to enter the San Francisco Bay, the MSC Fabiola . Bay pilots trained for the visit on a simulator at the California Maritime Academy for over a year. The ship arrived drawing less than its full draft of 50 feet 10 inches (15.5 m) because it held only three-quarters of a load after its stop in Long Beach. San Francisco Bay was traversed by watercraft before

11023-401: The average depth of the bay is only as deep as a swimming pool—approximately 12 to 15 ft (4–5 m). Between Hayward and San Mateo to San Jose it is 12 to 36 in (30–90 cm). The deepest part of the bay is under and out of the Golden Gate Bridge, at 372 ft (113 m). In the late 1990s, a 12-year harbor-deepening project for the Port of Oakland began; it

11174-459: The base and nine feet high was constructed. The area inside the wall was pumped out and filled with rock, rubble and trash to the city grade. It took the board several years to acquire the leases on private wharves. The opening of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869 halted harbor development and the building of the Seawall. The tonnage of vessels arriving at the port dropped by nearly half in

11325-641: The basin which is now filled by the San Francisco Bay was a large river valley with small hills, channeling the Sacramento River through the Golden Gate Strait into the ocean. When the great ice sheets began to melt, around 11,000 years ago, the sea level started to rise rapidly, by about 1 inch per year. Melting glaciers in the Sierra Nevada washed huge amounts of sediment down the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which accumulated on

11476-588: The bay as a nursery. The few remaining salt marshes now represent most of California's remaining salt marsh, supporting a number of endangered species and providing key ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants and sediments from the rivers. San Francisco Bay is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy , with oversight provided by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership . Most famously,

11627-533: The bay for non-motorized small boat users (such as kayakers) is being developed. Parks and protected areas around the bay include Eden Landing Ecological Reserve , Hayward Regional Shoreline , Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge , Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center , Crown Memorial State Beach , Eastshore State Park , Point Isabel Regional Shoreline , Brooks Island Regional Preserve , and César Chávez Park . The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed

11778-598: The bay is a key link in the Pacific Flyway . Millions of waterfowl annually use the bay shallows as a refuge. Two endangered species of birds are found here: the California least tern and the Ridgway's Rail . Exposed bay muds provide important feeding areas for shorebirds , but underlying layers of bay mud pose geological hazards for structures near many parts of the bay perimeter. San Francisco Bay provided

11929-417: The bay suggest occasional visitors in historic times. San Francisco Bay faces many of the same water quality issues as other urban waterways in industrialized countries, or downstream of intensive agriculture. According to state water quality regulators, San Francisco Bay waters do not meet water quality standards for the following pollutants: Industrial, mining, and other uses of mercury have resulted in

12080-481: The bay, augmented during wartime (e.g., the Kaiser Shipyards , Richmond Shipyards ) near Richmond in 1940 for World War II for construction of mass-produced, assembly line Liberty and Victory cargo ships . San Francisco Bay is spanned by nine bridges, eight of which carry cars . The Transbay Tube , an underwater rail tunnel, carries BART services between Oakland and San Francisco. Prior to

12231-447: The bay, including those at Market, Sacramento, Washington, California, Clay, Jackson and Pacific Streets. The filling of Yerba Buena Cove and extensive corruption and legislation led to a period, during the gold rush, when major portions of the city were built on water lots, reclaimed by hook or by crook, on pile driven and rough planking overlain. Early San Francisco was a wharf city of planks and sheds and subject to devastating fires. Half

12382-537: The bay, with the Leslie Salt Company the largest private land owner in the Bay Area in the 1940s. Low-salinity salt ponds mirror the ecosystem of the bay, with fish and fish-eating birds in abundance. Mid-salinity ponds support dense populations of brine shrimp , which provide a rich food source for millions of shorebirds. Only salt-tolerant micro-algae survive in the high salinity ponds, and impart

12533-538: The bay. Thousands of sea otter skins were taken to Sitka, then Guangzhou (Canton), China, where they commanded a high price. The United States seized the region from Mexico during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). On February 2, 1848, the Mexican province of Alta California was annexed to the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . A year and a half later, California requested to join

12684-540: The belt line was driven across Market Street in front of the Ferry Building to link the entire commercial waterfront with railways both south and north and across the continent. The line was extended north along Jefferson Street through the tunnel to link up with U.S. Transport Docks at Fort Mason and south to China Basin. Much of the Belt Railroad's right-of-way was removed following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and replaced with streetcar tracks now used by

12835-620: The bridges and, later, the Transbay Tube, transbay transportation was dominated by fleets of ferryboats operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Key System transit company. However, in recent decades, ferries have returned, primarily serving commuters from Marin County, relieving the traffic bottleneck of the Golden Gate Bridge (see Ferries of San Francisco Bay ). The bay also continues to serve as

12986-468: The building of the Seawall and the modern piers built into the early 20th century. Amidst intense disputation over ownership and litigation unparalleled in the history of any port in the world, the establishment of the Board of State Harbor commissioners created a San Francisco waterfront as a separate institution by law, having no connection to the city government and indirectly controlled by the state. Until

13137-835: The busiest and well known tourist attractions in the western United States, Fisherman's Wharf is best known for being the location of Pier 39 , the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and its adjacent museum, the Cannery Shopping Center, Ghirardelli Square , a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum, the Musée Mécanique , the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf , the floating Forbes Island restaurant, and restaurants and stands that serve fresh seafood, most notably Dungeness crab and clam chowder served in

13288-399: The capture of Santa Fe. The accuracy of the latter's depiction has been questioned. Actor Robert Anderson (1920–1996) played General Kearny in the 1966 episode "The Firebrand" of the syndicated western television series , Death Valley Days . Gregg Barton was cast as Commodore Robert F. Stockton , with Gerald Mohr as Andrés Pico and Will Kuluva as Pio Pico . The episode

13439-407: The center line of the trench until they stopped sinking, to make an evenly graded ridge the whole way at the height of mean low tide. The rocks became the foundation for the Seawall. Coffer dams were sunk and forms constructed inside them while constant pumping occurred. A mass of concrete 2 feet (0.61 m) thick and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide was poured over the rocks and a masonry wall seven feet at

13590-541: The center of the bay, following the ancient drowned river valley. In the 1860s and continuing into the early 20th century, miners dumped staggering quantities of mud and gravel from hydraulic mining operations into the upper Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. GK Gilbert's estimates of debris total more than eight times the amount of rock and dirt moved during construction of the Panama Canal. This material flowed down

13741-494: The commission's control comprises nearly eight miles of waterfront lands, commercial real estate and maritime piers from Hyde Street on the north to India Basin in the southeast. The list of landmarks under port control include Fisherman's Wharf , Pier 39 , the Ferry Building , Oracle Park (formerly AT&T Park, SBC Park and Pacific Bell Park), located next to China Basin and Pier 70 at Potrero Point . Huge covered piers on piles jut out into San Francisco bay along much of

13892-548: The commissioners offered a thousand dollar prize for the best plan for the San Francisco Seawall. One of the designers of the plan, W.J. Lewis was appointed engineer in chief of the project. Another engineer on the project, T.J. Arnold designed the curving waterfront eventually settled on. A 60-foot-wide (18 m) pit or channel in the mudflats was dredged to a depth of 20 feet (6.1 m) below low tide level and huge loads of rock were placed from watercraft at

14043-607: The company established floating drydocks at Hunter's Point . The North Point dock at the north side of Telegraph Hill was built in 1853 and became the landing site for immigrant ships from Italy and France. Numerous other wharves, privately built and owned, stretched along the northern waterfront; Flint's, the India docks, Cowell's, Shaw's, Law's, Buckelew's, Cunnigham's and the Long Wharf. Many of these wharves were on city lands that might be filled at any time, and most disappeared with

14194-400: The decades surrounding 1900, at the behest of local political officials and following Congressional orders, the U.S. Army Corps began dredging the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the deep channels of San Francisco Bay. This work has continued without interruption ever since. Some of the dredge spoils were initially dumped in the bay shallows (including helping to create Treasure Island on

14345-533: The dredging of Islais Creek with the so-called reclamation of 30 acres (120,000 m) of adjacent creek tidelands. Two graving docks at Hunter's Point that could accommodate the largest ocean-going vessels, five floating drydocks , eight marine railways, four shearleg derricks and ten floating boom derricks were available. In the 1920s, the emergence of Los Angeles as the West Coast's largest city—and in particular, as its major industrial center—relegated

14496-495: The early city was built on trembling wharves and the scrub and sandy hills were not appreciated, amongst them only a few abodes and scattered tents were found. The early wharves and their buildings fell into the bay and by 1857, the waterfront was a jumble of abandoned ships and rickety piers. Businesses looked for more solid facilities. Two wharves of notice projected out into the bay from the foot of Taylor street: McMahon's Wharf, and Meiggs Wharf. They had T- and L-shaped extensions;

14647-473: The fact that California was initially brought under U.S. control by Commodore Stockton's, Pacific Squadron 's forces. This began an unfortunate rivalry with Stockton, whose rank was equivalent to a rear admiral (lower half) today. Stockton and Kearny had the same equivalent rank (one star) and unfortunately, the War Department had not worked out a protocol for who would be in charge. Stockton seized on

14798-538: The fighting of the Mexican–American War in Alta California on that date. Kearny and Stockton decided to accept the liberal terms offered by Frémont to terminate hostilities, despite Andrés Pico 's breaking his earlier, solemn pledge that he would not fight U.S. forces. As the ranking Army officer, and per orders from President Polk, Kearny claimed command of California at the end of hostilities despite

14949-558: The first U.S. senators from California and was the first presidential candidate of the new Republican Party in 1856. Kearny remained military governor of California until May 31, when he set out overland across the California Trail to Washington, D.C., and was welcomed as a hero. He was appointed governor of Veracruz , and later of Mexico City . He also received a brevet promotion to major general in September 1848, over

15100-604: The first map of the area. A number of place names survive (anglicized) from that first map, including Point Reyes , Angel Island , Farallon Islands , and Alcatraz Island . Alaskan Native sea otter hunters using Aleutian kayaks and working for the Russian–American Company entered San Francisco Bay in 1807 and again over 1810–1811. Led by the Russian Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov , these hunting raids probably wiped out sea otters in

15251-615: The first real passenger landing in the city. It was at this site that the population of San Francisco met the Pacific mail liner the Oregon to receive the official announcement that California had been admitted to the Union. The bluff at the point was quickly leveled and on the land created a wharf was built that became the first regular berthing place, for a short time, for the Pacific mail steamships. Whatever products came to California, and whatever California produced, had to be carried by ship. In

15402-550: The first year of the gold rush, hundreds of ships were beached and abandoned in the tidal flats of Yerba Buena Cove, and numerous ships were run aground to become parts of the city itself. In 1853, the Vallejo Street wharf lease was granted, and a larger wharf was built. In the ensuing years, the state legislature passed bills concerning the sale of water lots and authorizing the city to construct wharves beyond its boundary and to set wharfage rates. The battles over control of

15553-561: The former shoals to the north of Yerba Buena Island ) and used to raise islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The net effect of dredging has been to maintain a narrow deep channel—deeper perhaps than the original bay channel—through a much shallower bay. At the same time, most of the marsh areas have been filled or blocked off from the bay by dikes . Large ships transiting the bay must follow deep underwater channels that are maintained by frequent dredging as

15704-419: The former was a landing for wood and charcoal. The latter, after Harry Meiggs absconded, became the landing for the ferry to Sausalito . Merchant's (or Cousin's) Dock built and repaired ships at the site that is now Kearney and Bay streets. It was swallowed up when a new location for the Seawall was established along the cure that is now the Embarcadero. Merchant's Drydock was moved to the foot of Harrison and

15855-861: The four ships brought 648 men to California. The companies were then deployed throughout Upper ( Alta ) and Lower ( Baja ) California from San Francisco to La Paz, Mexico . These troops finally allowed Kearny to assume command of California as ranking Army officer. The troops essentially took over all of the Pacific Squadron 's on-shore military and garrison duties and the California Battalion and Mormon Battalion 's garrison duties as well as some Baja California duties. With all these reinforcements in hand Kearny assumed command, appointed his own territorial military governor and ordered Frémont to resign and accompany him back to Fort Leavenworth , Kansas. On Kearny and Frémont's trip back east on

16006-460: The gold rush. One in particular, Achille Paladini found it so lucrative he made a fortune wholesaling the local crustaceans and went on to become California's second most wealthy Italian, second to none other than the founder of the Bank of Italy, later to become the Bank of America. He was also a pioneer in developing the fish industry on the west coast and went on to be known as the "Fish King". Most of

16157-515: The heated opposition of Frémont's father-in-law, Senator Thomas Hart Benton . After contracting yellow fever in Veracruz, Kearny had to return to St. Louis. He died there on October 31, 1848, at the age of 54. He was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery , now a National Historic Landmark in St. Louis. Historian Allan Nevins , examining his attacks on Frémont, states that Kearny: Kearny "was simply,

16308-524: The hoof (cattle). Kearny's Dragoons covered nearly 20 miles (32 km) a day and upon their approach to Ft. Laramie they had traveled nearly 600 miles (970 km) in four weeks. "Barely two weeks later Kearny and his troopers stood atop South Pass, held a regimental muster on the continental divide , and turned toward home." Marching his Dragoons down the Rocky Mountains, past the future site of Denver Colorado, then Bent's Fort , then onto

16459-523: The land from the Port of San Francisco. The city, acting through the Port of San Francisco, launched the Embarcadero Seawall Program to improve seismic performance, provide near-term flood protection improvements, and plan for long-term resilience and sea level rise adaptation along the Embarcadero. San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California , and gives its name to

16610-482: The largest oil spill in the region since 1996. The bay also has some of the highest levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen known from any coastal water body, mostly originating from treated wastewater from Publicly owned treatment works . In other bays, such nutrient levels would likely lead to eutrophication , but historically, the bay has had less harmful algal blooms than other water bodies with similar nutrient concentrations. Potential explanations have included

16761-438: The largest island, was created when a shipping lane was cut to form the Port of Oakland in 1901. It is now a suburban community. Angel Island was known as " Ellis Island West" because it served as the entry point for immigrants from East Asia. It is now a state park accessible by ferry. Mountainous Yerba Buena Island is pierced by a tunnel linking the east and west spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . Attached to

16912-561: The late 19th century and again with the initiation of dredging by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 20th century. Before about 1860, most bay shores (with the exception of rocky shores, such as those in Carquinez Strait; along Marin shoreline; Point Richmond; Golden Gate area) contained extensive wetlands that graded nearly invisibly from freshwater wetlands to salt marsh and then tidal mudflat. A deep channel ran through

17063-410: The line of what is now Broadway and Battery Streets. Yerba Buena Cove swept inland from the subsequently named Clarke's Point to as far as Montgomery Street to the west, and further south and east to Rincon Point at the south of Market area at the foot of Folsom and Spear streets. The founding padres of Mission Dolores and the other northern California missions found the jetty at Clarke's Point

17214-605: The measurement. The main part of the bay measures three to twelve miles (5–19 km) wide east-to-west and somewhere between 48 miles (77 km) and 60 miles (97 km) north-to-south. San Francisco Bay is the second-largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas, following the Salish Sea in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. The bay was navigable as far south as San Jose until

17365-548: The name San Francisco Bay . The first European to enter the bay is believed to have been the Spanish explorer Juan de Ayala , who passed through the Golden Gate on August 5, 1775, in his ship the San Carlos and moored in a bay of Angel Island now known as Ayala Cove. Ayala continued to explore the San Francisco Bay Area and the expedition's cartographer, José de Cañizares, gathered the information necessary to produce

17516-823: The nation's first wildlife refuge, Oakland's artificial Lake Merritt , constructed in the 1860s, and America's first urban National Wildlife Refuge, the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SFBNWR) in 1972. The bay is also plagued by non-native species. Salt produced from San Francisco Bay is produced in salt evaporation ponds and is shipped throughout the Western United States to bakeries, canneries, fisheries, cheese makers and other food industries and used to de-ice winter highways, clean kidney dialysis machines, for animal nutrition, and in many industries. Many companies have produced salt in

17667-548: The new Norwegian Bliss that will become the largest ship to visit the city. Oracle Park is a ballpark used for Major League Baseball located in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets along the shore of San Francisco Bay. It has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000. The Giants rent

17818-468: The next two years. By 1871, the commissioners could report that they were in possession of all the wharves along the city front except those that bordered Channel Street between Third and Fourth streets. In 1881, the harbor commissioners began contracting for the construction of the San Francisco Seawall. The Seawall took 50 years before completion of the last sections in the China Basin . Chapter 835 of

17969-524: The north is the artificial and flat Treasure Island , site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition . From the Second World War until the 1990s, both islands served as military bases and are now being redeveloped. Isolated in the center of the bay is Alcatraz , the site of the famous federal penitentiary. The federal prison on Alcatraz Island no longer functions, but the complex is a popular tourist site. Despite its name, Mare Island in

18120-432: The north of the Ferry Building and even-numbered to the south, the port of San Francisco became the only port in the United States under a single control. The piers were leased to tenants. By the early 1920s, the port's assets were valued at $ 50 million and $ 8 to $ 9 million worth of merchandise and raw goods were handled yearly. In the 1920s and 1930s, numerous old piers on both sides of Market Street were razed and

18271-594: The northern part of the bay is a peninsula rather than an island. San Francisco Bay is thought to represent a down-warping of the Earth's crust between the San Andreas Fault to the west and the Hayward Fault to the east, though the precise nature of this remains under study. About 560,000 years ago, a tectonic shift caused the large inland Lake Corcoran to spill out the central valley and through

18422-630: The outright banning of their trading in the port, then relocated from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7, 1846, during the Mexican–American War , and Captain John B. Montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. In 1847, the first American alcalde , Lt.  Washington Allon Bartlett changed the name from Yerba Buena to San Francisco , "so that

18573-414: The port. With limited ability to expand physically as a result of environmentalist opposition to further reclamation and the soaring cost of real estate in San Francisco, the Port of San Francisco has instead become a niche player, specializing in break bulk and dry bulk cargo , ship repair, and ferry services. With the advent of containerization and San Francisco's limited real estate, Oakland became

18724-416: The presence of intensive "top-down control" from grazing clams like Potamocorbula , high sediment supply limiting light availability for the algae, and intensive tidal mixing. The occurrence of an unprecedented harmful algal bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo in 2022, resulting in mass fish deaths and anoxia, suggests that the mechanisms of control on algal growth may be eroding. The bay was once considered

18875-427: The primary Bay Area port in the 1960s. The finger piers located along the northern waterfront quickly became outdated. San Francisco made an attempt to retain cargo capabilities by building new facilities in the southeast corner of the city. San Francisco's limited cargo facilities are located at Pier 80 ( 37°45′00″N 122°22′44″W  /  37.750°N 122.379°W  / 37.750; -122.379 , leased to

19026-455: The region. By way of Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr. , he was invited as a guest of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1833, Lieutenant Colonel Kearny was appointed second in command of the newly organized 1st Dragoon Regiment . The U.S. Cavalry eventually grew out of this regiment, which was re-designated the 1st United States Cavalry in 1861, earning Kearny his nickname as

19177-706: The rest of his army career. Kearny was promoted to captain on April 1, 1813. After the war, he chose to remain in the US Army and was promoted to brevet major in 1823; major, 1829; and lieutenant colonel, 1833. He was assigned to the western frontier under command of Gen. Henry Atkinson , and in 1819 he was a member of the expedition to explore the Yellowstone River in present-day Montana and Wyoming . The Yellowstone Expedition of 1819 journeyed only as far as present-day Nebraska , where it established Cantonment Missouri, later renamed Fort Atkinson . Kearny

19328-463: The rivers, progressively eroding into finer and finer sediment, until it reached the bay system. Here some of it settled, eventually filling in Suisun Bay, San Pablo Bay, and San Francisco Bay, in decreasing order of severity. By the end of the 19th century, these " slickens " had filled in much of the shallow bay flats, raising the entire bay profile. New marshes were created in some areas. In

19479-457: The shores of the bay, forming huge mudflats and marshes that supported local wildlife. By 5000 BC the sea level rose 300 feet (90 m), filling the valley with water from the Pacific. The Farallon Islands are what used to be hills along the old coastline, and Potato Patch Shoal is an area of sand dunes now covered by the ocean. The indigenous inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay are Ohlone . The first European to see San Francisco Bay

19630-536: The sloop USS Portsmouth gave a 21-gun salute and Captain John Berrien Montgomery and his detachment rowed ashore and hoisted the American flag on the Mexican flagpole in the small settlement's plaza, later named Portsmouth Square in honor of the ship. The earliest development of a port in San Francisco, two and a half miles east of the Presidio, was under the Mexican regime, begun in 1835 as

19781-601: The small force of Marines and volunteer militia, suffered defeat. About 18 men of Kearny's force were killed; retreating to a hill top to dry their powder and treat their wounded, they were surrounded by Andre Pico's forces. Kearny was slightly wounded in this encounter, the Battle of San Pasqual . Kit Carson got through Pico's men and returned to San Diego. Commodore Stockton sent a combined force of U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy bluejacket sailors under Capt. Archibald H. Gillespie (USMC), and Lieutenant Edward F. Beale (USN), to relieve Kearny's column. The U.S. forces quickly drove out

19932-528: The small storeship USS Brutus. The Susan Drew and Loo Choo reached Valparaíso , Chile by January 20, 1847, and after getting fresh supplies, water and wood were on their way again by January 23. The Perkins did not stop until San Francisco, reaching port on March 6, 1847. The Susan Drew arrived on March 20 and the Loo Choo arrived on March 16, 183 days after leaving New York. The Brutus finally arrived on April 17. After desertions and deaths in transit

20083-568: The state of New Mexico, which he thought was the flag of Mexico. In its place he hoisted the Stars and Stripes and gave the speech which is summarized on the monument. New Mexico was then a state with a democratically constituted government, which Kearny overthrew, installing in its place under the Kearny Code a military dictatorship. The next year, in 1847, three men pressed the case for the restoration of New Mexico's statehood and its admission to

20234-474: The status of hostilities in California. Kearny learned that California was, at the time of Carson's last information, under American control of the marines and bluejacket sailors of Commodore Robert F. Stockton of the U.S. Navy 's Pacific Squadron and Frémont's California Battalion . Kearny asked Carson to guide him back to California while he sent Carson's messages east with a different courier. Kearny sent 200 dragoons back to Santa Fe believing that California

20385-584: The stepdaughter of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition . The couple had eleven children, of whom six died in childhood. He was the uncle of Philip Kearny , a Union general in the American Civil War who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly . In 1812 Kearny was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the War of 1812 in the 13th Infantry Regiment in the U.S. Army. On 13 October 1812 during

20536-417: The town may have the advantage of the name given on the public map". The United States governor of the newly occupied territory of California, General Stephen W. Kearny , renounced the rights of eminent domain of the American government in favor of the city of San Francisco. The early city built up on the west side of Yerba Buena Cove around Portsmouth Square . Immediately, the municipality of San Francisco

20687-551: The town of Yerba Buena . Before this time, the port at Monterey was considered the official port of entry to California. Captain Richardson erected the first abode of a European on the hill overlooking the Bay. He became the first harbor master by appointment of the Governor Mariano Guadaloupe de Vallejo. Whalers took umbrage at the taxes charged by the Mexican governor Manuel Micheltorena in 1843, and

20838-482: The treaty of capitulation and appointed Frémont military governor of California . In July 1846, Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson of New York was asked to raise a volunteer regiment of 10 companies of 77 men each to go to California with the understanding that they would muster out and stay in California. They were designated the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers and fought in the California Campaign and

20989-577: The waterfront, bordered by the Embarcadero roadway. In 2015, the city, acting through the Port of San Francisco, launched the San Francisco Seawall Earthquake Safety and Disaster Prevention Program (Seawall Program). The first landing place on the north-eastern tip of the San Francisco peninsula was a rocky promontory below Telegraph Hill later known as Clarke's Point that jutted into the San Francisco Bay at

21140-520: The waterfront, water lots, and docking privileges began. The great Central Wharf was built in 1849, named for the central wharf in Boston , and was located where Commercial street is now. Eventually a huge forest of masts from a fleet of abandoned vessels filled Yerba Buena Cove. By 1851, the Central Wharf had ten times more business offered than it could handle, and many new wharves were struck into

21291-564: The wealthy merchant Robert Watts of New York and Mary Alexander, the daughter of Major General "Lord Stirling" William Alexander and Sarah "Lady Stirling" Livingston of American Revolutionary War fame. Stephen Watts Kearny attended Columbia University in New York City for two years. He joined the New York militia as an ensign in 1812. In the late 1820s, after his career was established, Kearny met, courted and married Mary Radford,

21442-603: Was also on the 1825 expedition that reached the mouth of the Yellowstone River. During his travels, he kept extensive journals, including his interactions with Native Americans. In 1826, Captain Kearny was appointed as the first commander of the new Jefferson Barracks in Missouri south of St. Louis . While stationed there, he was often invited to the nearby city, the center of fur trade, economics and politics of

21593-462: Was directed to follow Kearny with wagons to blaze a new southern wagon route to California. On the plaza in Santa Fe, a monument marks a fateful day. Gen. Kearny had entered the city after routing the militia of New Mexico under the command of Governor Armijo and entered a city then undefended but very hostile. He marched to the plaza in front of the Palacio Real, and took down the flag of

21744-453: Was dissolved. The newly created Harbor Commission of the City and County of San Francisco assumed responsibility and control. Eventually this commission was renamed, yet again, Port Commission of the City and County of San Francisco and the Port of San Francisco to this day. Steam powered machines called " paddies " were eating away at the sand dunes and rock hills, especially Telegraph Hill,

21895-457: Was erected to the depth of water, 26 feet (8 m), made the landing available to deep water ships. this project was followed by other wharves built below Broadway and Clay streets, and at Commercial street. When gold was discovered in California, the first hulk of an old iron revenue steamer, the James K. Polk , was beached at the foot of the bluff near Clarke's Point and became the foundation of

22046-447: Was given the right, by General Kearney acting as governor of California, to sell "water lots" in the tidelands between Clarke's Point and Rincon Point so the city might gain revenues from the sale. At the same time, the owner of the land at the foot of Telegraph Hill, W. S. Clarke built a timbered wharf and the location became known as Clarke's Point. Later, a substantial wharf 750 feet (229 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide

22197-646: Was largely completed by September 2009. Previously, the bay waters and harbor facilities only allowed for ships with a draft of 46 ft (14 m), but dredging activities undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Port of Oakland succeeded in providing access for vessels with a 50-foot (15 m) draft. Four dredging companies were employed in the US$ 432 ;million project, with $ 244 million paid for with federal funds and $ 188 million supplied by

22348-658: Was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army . He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American War , especially the Conquest of California . The Kearny Code , proclaimed on September 22, 1846, in Santa Fe , established the law and government of the newly acquired territory of New Mexico and was named after him. His nephew was Major General Philip Kearny of American Civil War fame. Stephen Watts Kearny

22499-431: Was secure. After traveling almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km) his weary 100 dragoons and most of his nearly worn-out mounts were replaced by untrained mules purchased from a mule herder's herd being driven to Santa Fe from California. On a trip across the Colorado Desert to San Diego Kearny encountered marine Major Archibald H. Gillespie and about 30 men with news of an ongoing Californio revolt in Los Angeles . On

22650-411: Was the fifteenth and youngest child of Philip and Susanna Watts Kearny. His father, who was of Irish ancestry (the family name had originally been O'Kearny), was a successful wine merchant and landowner in Perth Amboy, New Jersey , before the start of the American Revolution (1775–83). Kearny was born in Newark, New Jersey , the son of Philip Kearny Sr. and Susanna Watts. His maternal grandparents were

22801-495: Was to occupy and maintain order in New Mexico with his approximately 800 men; a second group under Col. Alexander William Doniphan , with a little over 800 men was ordered to capture El Paso , in the state of Chihuahua , Mexico and then join up with General John E. Wool ; the third command of about 300 dragoons mounted on mules, he led under his command to California along the Gila River trail. The Mormon Battalion, mostly marching on foot under Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke ,

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