Embarcadero in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Captain Leidesdorff
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, April 8, 2014
1. Captain Leidesdorff Marker
Inscription.
Captain Leidesdorff’s father was a Danish sea captain; his Creole mother was from Danish-held St. Croix, where Leidesdorff was born in 1812. Educated in New Orleans, William Alexander Leidesdorff became an accomplished linguist and master of the ship Julia Ann. Trading Hawaiian sugar for California hides, Leidesdorff settled in Yerba Buena in 1838 where he built a warehouse on the beach at California and today’s Leidesdorff Street. Appointed Vice-Consul by Consul Larkin, he built the City Hotel at Kearney and Clay. Leidesdorff bought the 37-foot-long Sitka from the Russians at Fort Ross, to operate the first steam-powered vessel on San Francisco Bay. In February 1848, “Little Sitka had as much as she could do to keep her head above water long enough to say her prayers. She tossed and tumbled, and to the bottom she went.” Vice Consul Leidesdorff had invested in numerous city lots when he died from cholera in May 1848 – only months before the Gold Rush immensely increased the value of his estate
Captain Leidesdorff’s father was a Danish sea captain; his Creole mother was from Danish-held St. Croix, where Leidesdorff was born in 1812. Educated in New Orleans, William Alexander Leidesdorff became an accomplished linguist and master of the ship Julia Ann. Trading Hawaiian sugar for California hides, Leidesdorff settled in Yerba Buena in 1838 where he built a warehouse on the beach at California and today’s Leidesdorff Street. Appointed Vice-Consul by Consul Larkin, he built the City Hotel at Kearney and Clay. Leidesdorff bought the 37-foot-long Sitka from the Russians at Fort Ross, to operate the first steam-powered vessel on San Francisco Bay. In February 1848, “Little Sitka had as much as she could do to keep her head above water long enough to say her prayers. She tossed and tumbled, and to the bottom she went.” Vice Consul Leidesdorff had invested in numerous city lots when he died from cholera in May 1848 – only months before the Gold Rush immensely increased the value of his estate
Erected by San Francisco Art Commission for the Waterfront Transportation Projects.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1848.
Location. 37°
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47.763′ N, 122° 23.712′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Embarcadero. Marker can be reached from The Embarcadero near Washington Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: San Francisco CA 94105, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. This marker is embedded in the sidewalk in front of Sue Bierman Park.
Also see . . . Leidesdorff, William Alexander (1810-1848) - BlackPast. Although little remembered today, Leidesdorff was a social, economic and political force in pre-gold rush San Francisco, with a number of “firsts” credited to his name. When he was named the U.S. Vice Consul to Mexico in 1845, he became the nation’s first
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, April 8, 2014
2. Captain Leidesdorff Marker
African American diplomat.(Submitted on April 19, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 570 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on April 22, 2014, by Keith S Smith of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 19, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
