The SS Palo Alto in late evening light.
Historical
Concrete Ships to Serve as Emergency Fleet in WWI
Toward the
end of the First World War, the United States commissioned the construction of
twelve experimental concrete ships. None of the ships were finished until after
the end of the war. Most were eventually sunk as breakwaters or recreational
piers. Here is the story of three of them: the SS Palo Alto and her sister ship the SS Peralto, and their famous East Coast cousin the SS Atlantus.
During a recent afternoon at the Seacliff Beach on a sunny afternoon, I waited until sunset and captured these images of the SS Palo Alto as it serves as a bird sanctuary for cormorants, brown pelicans, gulls, terns and other sea birds at the end of the old pier.
SS Palo
Alto
A unique
pier in Aptos isn’t just a pier…it is also home to a
historic WWI era concrete ship that once floated offshore as an
entertainment vessel for dining, dancing and fun. Known as The SS Palo Alto
(“The Cement Boat”), you’ll find the historic ship located south of Santa
Cruz off Highway 1, at Seacliff State Beach. This two mile, sandy beach at the foot
of sandstone cliffs offers day parking, camping, swimming, fishing, bicycling
and roller blading for starters. The pier is easily viewed from land or air as
you fly out of destinations such as Monterrey.
The SS Palo
Alto was built by the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company in Oakland in 1919 as
an oil tanker for the World War I effort. The war ended before she ever saw
service and with time on her hands, she was sold to the Seacliff Amusement
Company of Nevada, and towed in 1929 to what would later become Seacliff State
Beach. A casino and dance hall, arcades and entertainment were featured on this
monster party boat until its owners went belly when the Great Depression rocked
the world in the early 1930’s.
Today,
the Palo Alto sits on the floor of the Monterey Bay. One of the most
photographed landmarks of the region, birds have discovered a haven not
accessible to humans. Bring a pair of binoculars to watch the hundreds of birds
that sit on the ship. Time has taken its toll on the ship and the cement is
cracked and crumbling, yet it is still a sight to see. Beach facilities where
you can enjoy watching birds include a beautiful stretch of sandy beach,
covered picnic areas with barbecues public restrooms, trailer campsites and an
interpretive center which has natural and local cultural history exhibits.
SS Palo Alto on the end of the Pier, now broken in at least 3 pieces.
SS Palo Alto at the end of the historical Pier
Warm light at the end of the day
The Pier after Sunset
At the end of the day...
SS
Peralta
The SS
Peralta is the sister ship of the SS Palo Alto, built as an oil tanker also by the San Francisco
Shipbuilding Company and launched in February of 1921. In 1924, the Peralta was purchased and converted into a sardine cannery
in Alaska. 24 years later, the ship was moored off Antioch, CA.
Finally, in 1958, the Peralta was purchased by Pacifica Papers to
be used as part of a giant floating breakwater on the Powell River to protect
its log storage pond. She floats aside several of concrete ships built during
World War II. The Peralta is still afloat as part of a breakwater for
a pulp and paper mill in Powell River in British Columbia, Canada. She is the
last ship of the World War I fleet still afloat. At 420 feet, she is also the
largest concrete ship afloat.
In
December of 2000, the mill was downsized as the result of a corporate merger
between Pacifica Papers and NorskeCanada. The mill no longer processes raw
materials, so they were planning to remove a few ships from the breakwater.
There was discussion of sinking the Peralta as an artificial reef; however, the
company changed its mind and decided to keep all ten breakwater ships. The
Peralta is safe for now.
SS
Atlantus
The 3rd
concrete ship, the SS Atlantus was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company
in Brunswick, Georgia and launched on December 5, 1918 and was the second
concrete ship constructed in the World War I Emergency Fleet.
The war had ended a month
earlier, but the Atlantus was used to transport American troops back home from
Europe and also to transport coal in New England. In 1920, the ship was retired
to a salvage yard in Virginia.
In 1926, the Atlantus was purchased
by Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld to be used as ferry dock in Cape May, New Jersey for
a proposed ferry between Cape May and Cape Henlopen, DE. The plan was to dig a
channel into to the shore where the Atlantus would be placed. Two other
concrete ships would be purchased to form a Y-shape where the ferry would dock.
In March 1926, the groundbreaking
ceremonies were held for the construction of the ferry dock. The Atlantus was
repaired and towed to Cape May. On June 8th, a storm hit and the ship broke
free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach.
Several attempts were made to free the ship, but none were successful.
Since then the Atlantus has become
a tourist attraction seen by millions. People used to swim out to the ship and
dive off, until one young man drowned. At one time, a
billboard was also placed on the ship. Starting in the late 50's, the ship
began to split
apart in the midsection.
The S. S. Atlantus can be
seen at Sunset Beach in Cape May, NJ. As with the SS Palo Alto, unfortunately the
ocean has taken its toll on the ship and she has broken apart. It's only a
matter of time before the last of her remains crumble beneath the waves.
[Ref: (1) http://concreteships.org/ships/
(2) David W. Heron wrote a
book about the SS Palo Alto, Forever
Facing South, The story of the S.S. Palo Alto "The Old Cement Ship"
of Seacliff Beach.]
I hope you enjoyed this little bit of maritime history.
Til next time,
Meggi
Meggi
