Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company

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The El Paso in service around 1950

The Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company (originally Richmond–San Rafael Ferry and Transportation Company was a ferry service between Castro Point in Richmond, California in Contra Costa County and San Quentin in Marin County across the San Pablo Bay. It ran from 1915 until the 1956 opening of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge.

History[]

1920s postcard of the Charles Van Damme, City of Richmond, and City of San Rafael

The Richmond–San Rafael Ferry and Transportation Company began car ferry service on May 1, 1915.[1]: 20  The Marin County terminal was the former North Pacific Coast Railroad wharf at San Quentin.[2][3] The original Richmond terminal was at Point Orient. The East Shore and Suburban Railway extended its line 14 mile (0.40 km) from the Blake Brothers Quarry to the pier.[1]: 20  The Richmond terminal was moved about 12 mile (0.80 km) west to Castro Point in 1924. The streetcar line was again extended, while the was extended south from Winehaven to the pier.[2][1] Ferry service ran until the night of August 31–September 1, 1956, when the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge opened at midnight.[4]

Ferries[]

Service originally began with a rented ferry, the Ellen. A new ferry, the Charles Van Damme, began operating most service in 1916. It was named for the financier of the venture, an uncle of one of the founders. The Charles Van Damme was joined by the City of Richmond in 1921 and the City of San Rafael in 1924. All three were built by James Robertson of Benicia. The secondhand Sonoma Valley entered service in 1927, with the Charles Van Damme relegated to secondary use. It ran between Vallejo and Mare Island in the late 1930s, and between Martinez and Benicia from 1943 to 1956.[5]

Ex-Southern Pacific ferries[]

Class overview
BuildersBethlehem Steel, San Francisco
Operators
  • 1924–1938: Southern Pacific Transportation Company
  • 1938–1956: Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company
Built1924
In service1924–1956
Building3
Completed3
Retired3
General characteristics
Typeauto/automobile ferry[6]
Tonnage
  • gross tonnage: 1,952
  • net tonnage: 925
Length234 ft (71.3 m)
Beam45 ft (13.7 m)
Depth17 ft (5.2 m)
Installed powerTotal 1,300 hp (970 kW) from 3 water tube boilers
Propulsion3-cylinder triple-expansion engine powering a single screw
Capacity78 vehicles
Crew13

Richmond–San Francisco Transportation Company was formed to establish a ferry route between those two cities and ordered three ferries for that purpose. Southern Pacific Transportation Company purchased the new company before it began operations and integrated the route into its San Francisco Bay transportation system. The three new ferries were among the most modern on the bay, and saw use on many routes during the peak and declining years of San Francisco Bay ferry service. Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company purchased the ferries in 1938, and Southern Pacific discontinued ferry service to Richmond in 1939. A fourth ferry, Sierra Nevada, was purchased from Southern Pacific in 1947.[6]

El Paso[]

El Paso (documentation number 224327) was launched on October 27, 1924 and delivered to Southern Pacific on 8 December. She was put into service on Southern Pacific's route between San Francisco and Oakland, California. El Paso collided with the Southern Pacific ferry Berkeley on the foggy morning of November 30, 1936, but neither ferry was seriously damaged. El Paso was dismantled for scrap after the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.[6]

New Orleans[]

New Orleans (documentation number 224347) was launched on December 10, 1924 and delivered to Southern Pacific on January 2, 1925. The new ferry inaugurated service between Richmond and San Francisco on January 15, 1925 with fares of $1.20 for a car and driver and 20 cents per rider or pedestrian. This ferry was renamed Russian River when purchased from Southern Pacific for service across San Pablo Bay, and was dismantled for scrap after the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.[6]

Klamath[]

The Klamath as Landor's headquarters

A steamship ferry named for Klamath County, Oregon, it carried as many as 1,000 people and 78 cars. It was powered by a 1,400-horsepower, triple-expansion steam engine that drove two cast iron propellers, 10 feet in diameter, one on each end. The Klamath (documentation number 224401) was launched on December 27, 1924 and delivered to Southern Pacific Railroad on January 26, 1925.[6] The ferry ran auto routes between Oakland and the San Francisco Ferry Building until 1929, and later between Sausalito and San Francisco’s Hyde Street Pier from 1929 to 1938.

With the construction of the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, ferry traffic plummeted. The boat was sold to the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company and carried prison inmates between Point Molate and San Quentin for 18 years (1938-1956), until the arrival of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge which put an end to its role as a passenger vessel in 1956.

After nearly a decade, vacant in the Oakland Estuary, the Klamath was acquired at auction in 1964 by Landor, and Associates. Walter Landor had the boat refurbished and moored it at the old San Francisco Pier 5, where it served as the design firm's headquarters through the remaining 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. During this time, it was a cultural hub for artists, musicians, actors and writers, among them Andy Warhol, Tom Wolfe and Marshall McLuhan.

In 1992, the firelog creator Duraflame, INC bought the ferryboat and relocated to Ferry Harbor, a deep-water port of the Port of Stockton, docked for corporate meetings and private events. The Bay Area Council paid $1.85 million for the vessel, plus tax, and signed a 15-year lease on July 13, 2021 with the Port of San Francisco, to serve as its floating headquarters. With renovations, it will provide approximately 20,000 square feet of office space totaling about 40,000 square feet along with other improvements accommodating corporate meetings and events. As the last major steamboat of its kind to operate on the bay, the vessel will also serve as a conference center and be open to the public.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Hanson, Erle C. (March 1961). "East Shore & Suburban Railway". Pacific Railway Journal. Vol. 2, no. 12. LCCN 56-12943.
  2. ^ a b Changes in the Richmond Waterfront, access date 25-02-2009
  3. ^ Point Molate Casino EIR, Volume I, 2009, accessed May 25, 2010 Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Marin history: The San Rafael-Richmond Ferry Company". Marin Independent Journal. April 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Celebrating the Charles Van Damme" (PDF). The Richardson's Bay Maritime Association. August 8, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e Ford, Robert S. (1977). Red Trains in the East Bay. Interurban Press. pp. 166–169, 199, 342, 346. ISBN 0-916374-27-0.
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