Berkeley (ferryboat)

Berkeley was one of several ferryboats of the Southern Pacific Railroad that for sixty years operated on San Francisco Bay between the Oakland Pier and the San Francisco Ferry Building. Built in 1898 by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, she served after the 1906 earthquake, ferrying refugees across the bay to Oakland.
"Berkeley" was in regular service beginning in 1898. On October 3, 1900, "Berkeley" was leaving her dock in San Francisco, when she collided with the coastal passenger liner . Due to a misunderstanding of signals, Captain Blaker of "Berkeley" thought that his ship would be able to pass in front of "Columbia" while the larger liner was travelling forward at a slow speed towards her dock. When the realization came that "Berkeley" would not be able to overcome the massive "Columbia", it was too late. Despite both ships reversing thrust, the two ships collided. The collision resulted in the destruction of one lifeboat onboard "Berkeley" and badly injured "Columbia"s iron bow. The ferryboat "Newark" took over for "Berkeley", while the latter ship was undergoing repairs. The damage caused to "Berkeley" was less severe than the damage given to "Columbia".
In the spring of 1958, she was taken out of service for repairs. She never returned to service, as Southern Pacific decided to end all ferry service on July 29, 1958. "Berkeley" was put up for sale, and was purchased by the Golden Gate Fishing Company to be used as a whaling processing facility. Before she was put to this use, however, she was sold to ferryboat enthusiast and businessman Bill Conover. Conover had "Berkeley" docked in Sausalito, a small town on the Bay in Marin County, and converted her into a gift shop called "Trade Fair". However, "Berkeley" was not well-maintained in her gift shop incarnation and 12 years of serious deterioration took a toll. In 1973, she was sold to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. She was towed out of San Francisco Bay by tug on May 31, 1973 arriving 3 days later in San Diego where she was subsequently restored. She currently serves as the main "building" of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
"Berkeley" was notable for having been the first propeller-driven ferry on the west coast. At the time of her launching on October 18, 1898, she became the largest commuter ferryboat in the United States with a 1700-passenger capacity. She was also remarkable for being one of the earliest ferries to be powered by a triple-expansion steam engine.
"Berkeley" was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990 and California State Historical Landmark No. 1031 in 2000.
During the time she was docked in Sausalito, actor Sterling Hayden rented one of "Berkeley"s pilot houses as an office while he wrote his autobiography "Wanderer" (published in 1963).
While "Berkeley" was under construction in 1898, the battleship was being constructed adjacent to her.
On the evening of April 15, 1899, "Berkeley" may have carried the Stanford Axe from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Oakland after it was stolen by a group of University of California students following a baseball game against Stanford. 
Current Condition.
The boilers for the steam engine are no longer operable. One is cutaway so that visitors can see inside it.
Below deck, much of the original machinery is still semi-operational. Compressed air, rather than steam, is used to power the machinery so that visitors may see them in operation.
The aft of the Berkeley contains two workshops: woodworking is done on the main deck and a room for mixing and storing paint is below it.