THE HARBOR OF SAN FRANCISCO 



WALTER J. KENYON 



THE expansive, land-locked bay of San Francisco, with the Golden Gate 

 as a deep-water outlet to the Pacific, constitutes one of the few great 

 harbors of the world. Here is a protected marine area sixty-seven 

 miles in length and as much as twelve miles in width, including within 

 its reaches several localized harbors, such as those of Oakland and 

 Mare Island, and hundreds of miles of fairway and anchorage. The ulti- 

 mate possibilities of this great expanse as a harbor baffle the imagination 

 and lead into unknown future centuries. All of the prime factors are pres- 

 ent which constitute a harbor of the first magnitude. These are (1) a 

 thoroughly protected arm of the sea with a deep-water outlet, (2) an ex- 

 tensive and highly productive tributary country, (3) navigable rivers tra- 

 versing this tributary area, (4) a favorable groundsite for the upbuilding 

 of a great seaport, (5) a soft winter climate permitting a perpetually open 

 port, (6) an absence of competing harbors. 



The adequate amount of engineering attention and State and Govern- 

 ment money have never been devoted to the improvement of San Fran- 

 cisco's harbor as circumstances warrant. Along the waterfronts of both 

 San Francisco and Oakland the need is urgent of certain extensive improve- 

 ments, including seawall and pier construction, and in the case of Oakland, 

 dredging. All that San Francisco has to show by way of permanent water- 

 front improvement are portions of the seawall, twelve piers on concrete 

 piling, the Ferry Building, and the Belt Railroad. For these permanent im- 

 provements not much over $4,000,000 has been spent to date. There is 

 much to be done if San Francisco is to retain her primacy as the com- 

 mercial metropolis of the Pacific. Commerce follows the wharves. 



The improvements of San Francisco's waterfront now being installed 

 or contemplated for the early future are additional wharves of the improved 

 concrete type and an extension of the seawall. At present the latter is 

 9,803 feet in length and extends from Taylor Street on the north to a 

 point just south of the Ferry Building. A small section is also completed 

 at the Pacific Mail docks. 



The old type of pier supported on wooden piles is a thing of the past. 

 The teredo and the limnoria make such short work of the wooden piles that 

 it is distinctly a false economy to put them down. The wharves that have 

 more recently been built are supported on concrete piling, which is, by any 

 ordinary standards, indestructible. In the wharves now building and to be 

 built the concrete pile, in improved forms, will be used, and it is likely that 

 concrete may enter more or less into the superstructure also. 



The harbor of Oakland Is an important individual feature of the water 

 frontage included in San Francisco Bay. It is perfectly land-locked, and 

 vessels may lie at anchor in the severest storms without fear of dragging 

 anchor. Millions of dollars are represented in the manufactories along the 

 Oakland waterfront, and further expenditure of millions more is contem- 

 plated. Oakland Harbor bears a very Important place in the commerce of 

 San Francisco, the metropolis of the State. 



To-day, with the docks of San Francisco overcrowded and the com- 

 merce of the Pacific increasing very rapidly, Oakland, with Its fifteen miles 

 of waterfront, is the logical location to which the manufacturer and shipper 

 must look for relief. If the commerce of the Pacific that now comes to 

 California is to continue to come, the channel of Oakland Harbor must be 

 dredged to afford the required facility. Every day that a vessel lies idle in 

 San Francisco Bay for want of docking facilities is a large expense to the 

 owners of the craft. San Francisco's ability to maintain its commercial 

 primacy on the Pacific Coast concerns very intimately the further develop- 

 ment of Oakland's harbor facilities. 



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