NPS About This BlogThrough Around the Horn, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park hopes to keep visitors informed on projects that might impact their voyage and enlightened by stories from our past. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey! Chinese Women, Immigration, and the First U.S. Exclusion Law: The Page Act of 1875
August 02, 2022
Most U.S. legislation affects men and women equally, but some laws target women specifically. The Page Act of 1875, the first restrictive federal immigration law in the U.S., was a significant barrier to Asian women who sought economic and social opportunities on American shores The Human Stories of Dock Labor – Part 3, Pete Panto: Longshoreman Martyr for Human Rights
July 29, 2022
Pietro “Pete” Panto was a longshoreman who stood up against mobsters on the Brooklyn waterfront in 1939. In dock labor and Italian-American History, his name is synonymous with honesty and bravery in the face of tremendous odds. The Eyes Have It - Figureheads Through History
January 28, 2022
Eyes. That’s what figureheads are all about. Eyes to see the distant shore. Eyes to spot potential dangers. Eyes to guide through stormy seas. Eyes to find the way there and home again. Did The Age Of Sail End Part 5: Birth Of A New Tradition
June 10, 2021
Without cargo, a sailing ship becomes a white elephant, beautiful, inspiring, but ultimately a hole in the water into which one throws money. The idea that a ship could carry, in essence, a cargo of memory and become a reservoir of skill, was a new one. It was not expressed in those terms, but these remaining vessels, representatives of the past were the means by which the knowledge and culture of the sea that remained were preserved Did The Age of Sail End?: The Last Grain Race: The Intertwined Stories of Pamir and Passat
May 26, 2021
Have you ever known you would miss an experience that would change your life if you didn’t find a way to get to that place in that moment in time? William Stark felt that way in 1948. His summers for the last five years had been spent working in steamships and he thought the grain races and tall ships that he had read about in his teens had all sailed into the pages of history. The Age of Sail Training: The Thirties and the End of Commercial Sail
May 26, 2021
By the 1930s, sail training was considered one of the last great adventures. Thanks to the articles and memoirs of Alan Villiers and others, the Erickson Line could continue to carry not only aspiring officers but also those who wanted to test themselves against the Horn for the sake of the adventure. Most were men, but a few women managed to get past the gangway and into the fo'cs'le. Did The Age Of Sail End? Part 2: Forerunners of Sail Training: Grain Races and Brassbounders
April 21, 2021
The age of sail training was built on the age of sail that preceded it. In this post we’ll explore two of the traditions that allowed commercial sail to survive and evolve into the vibrant world of ships and sailors that are still carrying cargoes of skill, memory and adventure today. Did The Age Of Sail End? Part 1: Sail Gives Way To Steam
March 18, 2021
This is the first post in a series called “Did the Age of Sail End? We’ll begin with a bit of background about the beginning of steam power and how it changed the way people and cargo moved around the world. By the end of it, you will have seen sailing ships go from workaday waterfront carriers to the bringers of dreams Masks of 1918 and Today
December 02, 2020
Did you know that the humble face mask, that uncomfortable bit of cloth that we love to hate, was invented in its current form and tested back in 1918? The Human Stories of Dock Labor - Part 2
June 02, 2020
This is the second blog post on The Human Stories of Dock Labor. The previous post focused on the “shape-up” system of hiring longshoremen, from the book Shape-Up and Hiring Hall: A Comparison of Hiring Methods and Labor Relations on the New York and Seattle Water Fronts, by Charles P. Larrowe. In part 2, we look at the "hiring hall." The Human Stories of Dock Labor - Part 1
May 08, 2020
This is the first blog in a series called "The Human Stories of Dock Labor." We will look at United States dock labor history through books that are in the park's Maritime Research Center collection. The first book we'll look at is Shape-up and Hiring Hall; a Comparison of Hiring Methods and Labor relations on the New York and Seattle Water Fronts by Charles P. Larrowe. San Francisco Italian Language Coverage of the 1918 Influenza Outbreak
April 28, 2020
Is collective memory only as durable as the generation that weathered the crisis? American newspaper accounts from the 1918-19 influenza pandemic suggest that when generational events like pandemics fall out of American living memory, the lessons gained are largely forgotten. In the San Francisco Italian language news article from 1918 translated below, the parallels with the current COVID19 pandemic are jolting. The Steam Chimney: A Maritime Research Blog
April 27, 2020
Though the name and use of Steam Chimneys appear to have fallen out of use, they are not the only things to have had their names fall out of favor and disappear. Donkey pumps, for example, are almost unheard of unless you use the modern term “general service pump.” Now, though, we know what this piece of equipment was for and what it was called when it was utilized onboard the walking beam engine Ferryboat Eureka. Setting Sail: Traditional Sail in the 21st Century
April 10, 2020
Although the Golden Age of Sail has long past, there are still some sailors who seek out traditionally rigged vessels in order to learn the ropes. During my time onboard the Lady Washington, a replica of a brig from the 1780’s, I learned how to sail. I hope to take you step by step through the process of setting sail on a boat re-made for education in the 21st century. Maritime Museum Building: A Gift to the People
October 15, 2019
Paints, brushes, canvas, mosaics, tile, stone, printing machines, clay, easels, pencils, steel, tools. No, this is not a list of things you can buy on Amazon, but how would you choose if you had a few dollars to buy food, pay rent or buy clothing? The Federal Arts Project (FAP) in the 1930s purchased the tools and subsidized rents for artists and craftsmen, The FAP kept the artists supplied with things they needed, but to others the federal program was a life saver. Two of Hyde Street's Best-Kept Secrets
September 12, 2019
A century ago, Harry Dring was born. If you’ve never heard of him, you can be forgiven, but without him and his close friend Karl Kortum, there would be no historic vessels at Hyde Street Pier. Sea Stories on the Skin: A Brief Consideration of Maritime Tattoos
July 16, 2019
How did we get to this point, when we now see tattoos where we never saw them before, on the arms and legs of upstanding citizens and public servants--soldiers, teachers, doctors, police…and park rangers? We have sailors to thank. Celebrating the 85th Anniversary of the 1934 Longshore and General Strikes
May 08, 2019
May 9 marks the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the largest labor strike in West Coast History, when in 1934, longshoremen up and down the West Coast went on strike. Everyone Knows We Need The Rain…Except The Mussels
April 01, 2019
Extreme weather events may become the norm as climate change effects are becoming more and more visible. Rain is precious in California, yet greater-than-average rainfall can have an adverse effect on the hardiness of invertebrates and mollusks that live in tidal pools or attach to ships and pier pilings. Women Sailors of the 1930s: Annette Brock Davis
March 12, 2019
Have you ever heard the old saying, “A woman aboard ship is bad luck?” Back in the 1930s, that was one of the things Annette Brock Davis was told when she decided to set sail aboard a training ship. Luckily for us, she didn’t listen—and she wrote down her adventures where we can all read about them. Festive Ferryboats
December 18, 2018
We have written previously about the creative materials and ingenuity that deep-water sailors employed to celebrate and decorate their ships for the holidays, while they were away from home for months at a time. I want to talk about how holidays were celebrated aboard ferryboats in the San Francisco Bay, where the crews and passengers had the luxury of going home every evening after work. A Hidden Victorian Wonderland: The Engine Room of the Ferryboat Eureka (Part 2 of 2)
September 07, 2018
Having discovered how steam power was generated on the ferryboat Eureka in our previous post, we now continue our trek through the engine room to explore how this power was used transport people back and forth across the bay. A Hidden Victorian Wonderland: The Engine Room of the Ferryboat Eureka (Part 1 of 2)
August 20, 2018
A Hidden Victorian Wonderland: The Engine Room of the Ferryboat Eureka (Part 1 of 2) Chief of Cultural Resources Gretchen Stromberg
July 11, 2018
To mark the Park’s 30th anniversary, we asked two staff members – one of our more senior crew, and one who just recently came aboard - to talk about how they came to work at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Today’s post tells Chief of Cultural Resources Gretchen Stromberg’s story. Curator of Maritime History Stephen Canright
July 11, 2018
To mark the Park’s 30th anniversary, we asked two staff members – one of our more senior crew, and one who just recently came aboard - to talk about how they came to work at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Today’s post tells Curator of Maritime History Stephen Canright’s story. What is happening under the Hyde Street Pier and in the Bay?
May 31, 2018
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is very proud of an ongoing partnership with our neighbor, Galileo High School. Together, we monitor the health of San Francisco Bay by documenting the presence or absence of certain species. Good People Doing Good Work
April 01, 2018
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (SFMNHP) has more than 250 active volunteers, including interpretation docents who help the national park accomplish its goals. Volunteer projects at a maritime historical park can be truly unique! These range from building and maintaining small boats, rigging tall ships, to interpreting the extensive maritime collections. Sideshow: Rose Kissinger and the Career of the Pacific Queen
March 20, 2018
Sideshow: Rose Kissinger and the Career of the Pacific Queen From Slaves to Seamen: Working on the Water (Part 2 of 2)
February 09, 2018
The sea and ships offered black sailors working opportunities that were somewhat more reliable than the jobs offered on land. From Slaves to Seamen: Seeking Freedom (Part 1 of 2)
February 07, 2018
During the fight for freedom, many slaves leveraged the Underground Railroad to escape the South. But did you know there was another way that slaves made their way to freedom? They escaped slavery via sea. Food, Trees, and More: Holiday Traditions From the Sea
December 14, 2017
As the holiday season gets underway, many maritime enthusiasts can’t help but wonder how 19th century sailors might have celebrated familiar traditions. History and Culture: Remembering Heroism at Sea Nearly 165 Years Ago
November 27, 2017
As the National Park Service’s November “Preserving History and Culture” initiative draws to a close, we would like to offer this account as a salute to an act of American heroism at sea nearly 165 years ago. A Hidden Community in Aquatic Park Cove
October 20, 2017
On any given morning in Aquatic Park Cove, you can see a number of organisms moving about the harbor. However, the biodiversity most mornings is somewhat limited; a herd of harbor seals, a flock of assorted sea birds, and the ever-faithful human contingent from the historic swim clubs. Through my internship with American Conservation Experience, I learned that with some planning there are select mornings when the variety of observable life significantly increases... A Summer of Service: Youth Conservation Corps at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
September 05, 2017
Everybody has a first job. For me it was washing dishes in a restaurant by the beach. You have to begin somewhere, and every summer hundreds of high school students get their start as a crew member with the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) at National Park Service sites across the United States. A Day on the Bay: Engaging Youth through Kayaking in Aquatic Park
August 02, 2017
For the past four summers, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, in partnership with San Francisco State University’s Summer Youth Sailing and Paddling program, host a month-long kayaking program. #NPS101: What is a Maritime Museum & What Do They Do?
April 17, 2017
National Park Week is America's largest celebration of national heritage. This year’s theme, “Parks 101,” plays off the 101st anniversary of the National Park Service and the idea of 101-type introductory classes. Join San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park this week as we share maritime and Parks 101 related anecdotes and stories through our digital platforms. |
Last updated: December 10, 2020