Presentation: The Buried Ships of San Francisco

Saturday, 2/22/2025
2:00 - 3:00
Noe Valley Meeting Room
Noe Valley/Sally Brunn

451 Jersey Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States

415-355-5707

Learn about the buried ships of San Francisco with Richard Everett and the San Francisco Historical Society. Every day thousands of people unknowingly walk over the now buried hulls of Gold Rush ships, their wharves, and cargoes. Others ride in Muni tunnels beneath the street passing right through the oaken hull of a 19th century ship. Nearly a thousand ships from all over the world came to San Francisco in the early years of the Gold Rush. About fifty of them burned in the May 4, 1851 fire, some still tied to their wharves. All of it was buried as the sandy hills were leveled to push the shoreline out to deeper water. These ships started to be found in the early 1920s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that archaeologists and the San Francisco Maritime Museum began researching, documenting, and even defending them, as they were encountered by construction projects. 

Connect: San Francisco Historical Society

History

Learn more about local history.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

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