Ferry service between Oakland and San Francisco has played a vital role over 145 years. The earliest licensed operator was Captain Thomas Gray who started his stern-wheeler river boat, the "General Sutter", from a landing at the foot of Broadway in the Fall of 1851. As the demand for transportation of mail, horses, wagons, passengers and cargo grew, so did the number of ferry boat services (many of "questionable reliability"). Ferry transit reached its peak in the 1930's and then declined due to bridge construction and the popularity of automobiles. Service between Oakland and San Francisco was discontinued in the 1950's. The present Alameda/Oakland Ferry was launched in October 1989, following the Loma Prieta earthquake. A joint project of the Port of Oakland and the City of Alameda, the service carried its one millionth passenger in June 1994 and now serves 340,000 passengers annually. The ferry began operations from the Clay Street ferry terminal in 1991.
Donated by
Summit Medical Center
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