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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
South Beach in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Ghost Ship - Lydia

 
 
Ghost Ship - <i>Lydia</i> Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, December 18, 2014
1. Ghost Ship - Lydia Marker
Inscription. "Alas, the whaling bark Lydia which has lain near the old Pacific Mail Dock for so long is no more. With stem embedded in the mud and bow high in the air, she has lain impervious to wind and weather. Her stout oak frames held together by copper spikes have defied time and elements." San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 1907.

On June 16, 1978, San Francisco's sewer construction steam shovel bit into Lydia's remains opposite Pier 42. Built in 1840 in Rochester, Massachusetts, Lydia made twenty-three whaling voyages in fifty-seven years from Nantucket, New Bedford, and San Francisco. At 329.77 tons, she measured one hundred and five feet and six and one-half inches long. Her bow was destroyed in 1907 when the seawall was put in place; a mid-section was removed for research in 1978; her stem lies on an east-west line, encased in mud beneath King Street, approximately eleven feet from the surface and touching a depth of thirty feet.
 
Erected by Embarcadero Historic and Interpretive Signage Project.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is April 10, 1837.
 
Location. 37° 46.846′ N, 122° 23.302′ W. Marker is in San Francisco
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, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in South Beach. Marker is on King Street / The Embarcadero near Townsend Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1431 King Street, San Francisco CA 94111, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Shipbuilding at Steamboat Point (a few steps from this marker); Whaling Out of San Francisco (within shouting distance of this marker); Java House (within shouting distance of this marker); Townsend Street (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Orlando Manuel Cepeda (about 500 feet away); Gaylord Jackson Perry (about 500 feet away); King Street (about 500 feet away); Remnants of Rincon Hill (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.
 
More about this marker. This marker is embedded in the sidewalk next to South Beach Park.
 
Regarding Ghost Ship - Lydia. The Lydia is on the National Register of Historic Places, No. 81000173.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Other buried ships along the old San Francisco waterfront.
 
Also see . . .  Shipwreck of Whaling Bark Lydia. According to a newspaper article, "In the buried hull they found a sense
Ghost Ship - <i>Lydia</i> Marker detail image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, December 18, 2014
2. Ghost Ship - Lydia Marker detail
Caption: Lydia in Oakland Creek in 1897. Courtesy of Mystic Seaport Museum
of twenty-four bottles of 'high class' ginger beer brewed between about 1860 and 1906 by A. S. Watson and Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong and Manila."
(Submitted on August 12, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
Additional keywords. Whaling, Buried Ships Ghost Ship - Lydia
 
Ghost Ship - <i>Lydia</i> Marker detail image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, December 18, 2014
3. Ghost Ship - Lydia Marker detail
Caption: Reconstruction site drawing made by Raymond Aker on September 2, 1980, of the whaler Lydia as she lies buried at this place, along the line of King Street
Ghost Ship - <i>Lydia</i> Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, December 18, 2014
4. Ghost Ship - Lydia Marker
The Ship <i>Lydia</i> image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mystic Seaport Museum
5. The Ship Lydia
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 12, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,196 times since then and 66 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week April 8, 2018. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 12, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 18, 2024