S. S. Palo Alto
Welcome aboard, And fare thee well
The S. S. Palo Alto, The ship
The S. S. Palo Alto, was among a number of vessels built under a goverment project called the concrete hull exsperament. A norwiegian engineer developed the idea in 1910. Due to wartime steel shortages his idea was put into use in 1917 at the Okland Navy shipyards. Three of these ships built with cement constuction hulls, were the Faith, Peralta, and the Palo Alto. The Peralta and the Palo alto were built as wartime use tankers. The war ended befor the work was completed on these two ships.
The Palo Alto remained at the Oakland Navy yards til it was bought by Cal-Nevada Company for use as a amusement and fishing ship. The Palo Alto maid her maiden voyage under tow to SeaCliff State beach where she now rests and the end of the pier. After being positioned there the sea cocks were opened and she settled onto pillings under her. she was refitted for her new job as an amusement and fishing platform and opened in the summer of 1930.
There was a dance floor on the main deck, a cafe in the supersructure, a fifty four foot swimming pool and carnival type conssesions on the after deck. She was in business for two seasons then the Cal-Nevada Company went bank rupt, the Palo Alto was striped of her fitting's and steel and was used as a fishing platfrom and operated by the state ever since.
My time on this ship was spent fishinging with my dad. I remember often walking the deck wondering what life onborad was like, then I didnt know the ship's history and I imagined the comings and goings of sailors working far away at sea. I'd walk to the bridge were you could look down into the ship's inner quarters and I'd watch as the tide would rise and fall, wondering what the receeding water would reveal or what lay beyound the corraders and rooms which I could see.
On the well deck was two holes cut and bricked around so people could use droplines to fish for lobbster or star fish which were often cought there. I miss this place and my dad now both are gone but the memories are mine forever.
