National Historic Landmark

Aquatic Park Historic District

San Francisco, San Francisco County, California
Listed
January 26, 1984
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
84001183

About this property

Aquatic Park Historic District is a National Historic Landmark and building complex on the San Francisco Bay waterfront within San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The district includes a beach, bathhouse, municipal pier, restrooms, concessions stand, stadia, and two speaker towers. The District's San Francisco Maritime Museum building was built as a bathhouse in 1936 by the WPA; in streamline moderne style, its interior is decorated with fantastic, colorful murals. The Steamship Room illustrates the evolution of maritime technology from wind to steam, and there are displays of lithographic stones, scrimshaw, and whaling guns and photo-murals of San Francisco's early waterfront. A visitors gallery hosts such exhibitions as Sparks (2005), which showcased shipboard radio, radiotelephone, and radio-teletype equipment from over the years. In front of the Maritime Museum is a man-made lagoon on the site of the former Black Point Cove. Black Point Cove was named for Black Point, which is a headland just above the cove, in Fort Mason. To the west is the horseshoe-shaped Municipal Pier. The lagoon is fronted by a sandy beach and a stepped concrete seawall. To the south is a grassy area known as Victorian Park, which contains the Hyde Street cable car turnaround. Hyde Street Pier, though part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, is not part of Aquatic Park Historic District. The Historic District was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1984. The park is at the foot of Polk Street and a minute's walk from the visitor center and Hyde Street Pier. Its beach is one of the cleanest in the state. In the park near the corner of Beach and Larkin streets is California Historical Landmark marker No. 236, honoring the Spanish packet ship San Carlos, which on August 5, 1775, was the first known European ship to enter San Francisco Bay. Media related to Aquatic Park Historic District at Wikimedia Commons Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-2225, "Aquatic Park Bathhouse, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA", 46 photos, 22 color transparencies, 12 measured drawings, 9 data pages, 7 photo caption pages HALS No. CA-113, "Aquatic Park", 102 photos, 20 color transparencies, 13 measured drawings, 61 data pages, 10 photo caption pages HALS No. CA-113-A, "Aquatic Park, Municipal Pier", 41 photos, 15 color transparencies, 64 measured drawings, 18 data pages, 4 photo caption pages

Location

San Francisco, San Francisco County, California
37.80846, -122.42454

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTARTMILITARYARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Nearby Historic Sites

Pumping Station No. 2 San Francisco Fire Department Auxiliary Water Supply System
Industrial
0.1 mi
BALCLUTHA
Industrial
0.1 mi
San Francisco Maritime National Historic Site
Listed
0.1 mi
WAPAMA
Industrial
0.2 mi
ALMA (Scow Schooner)
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Aquatic Park Historic District listed on the National Register?

Aquatic Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1984.

What type of historic resource is Aquatic Park Historic District?

Aquatic Park Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Aquatic Park Historic District a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Aquatic Park Historic District has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Aquatic Park Historic District?

The period of significance for Aquatic Park Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Aquatic Park Historic District?

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