The Yacht Harbor was one of the first things built, and for a practical reason: the exposition needed somewhere to land lumber. Work began in December 1912. By April 1913 it was far enough along for heavy lumber orders to be delivered at its wharves, and rock for the roads came in through its bunkers. Nearly 81,000,000 ft of Douglas fir came over the exposition's docks by a fleet of 30 steam schooners.
In the finished fair it formed the western end of the Marina promenade; the road 'broke at the Yacht Harbor,' and travelers had to turn back to the Esplanade. On a mole projecting east from its northwest corner, dressed up as a miniature 'Moro Castle,' stood the Scintillator. Todd also mentions the harbor mole's 'make-believe Pharos.' Across the basin was the fireworks pier, where a Southern Pacific locomotive stood with its wheels spinning clear of the rails to make steam for the searchlights to paint.
The harbor was busy all season. The Crowley Launch and Tugboat Company ran bay trips from its wharf, including visits to the Oregon and the other warships offshore, and carried over 150,000 people. From the west side the Loughead hydro-aeroplane took passengers on ten-minute flights over the Golden Gate for $10. The war shrank the international regatta, but the Royal Danish Yacht Club sent King Christian X's Nordug IV, and Director John Barneson had the six-meter Lady Betty built in 30 days to race her, winning one race of three.
The Yacht Harbor, with the Scintillator pier as a breakwater, is a permanent addition to the water-front facilities at this point.
Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 5 (1921), ch. XXXVIII
At a glance
- Work began in December 1912 (Todd vol. 2, ch. IV).
- In January 1915 the exposition appropriated $25,000 for the yachting and motor-boat regattas, which were postponed by the war from April to August and September 1915 (Todd vol. 2, ch. LXXIII).
- The Loughead hydro-aeroplane concession took in over $4,700 (Todd vol. 2).
- Lumber salvaged in the 1916 wrecking was stacked east of the Yacht Harbor (Todd vol. 5).
- The exposition's removal rules allowed that 'the Yacht Harbor may remain as long as the Exposition owns the property' (Todd vol. 5).
Afterward
Survives. Todd reported it as a permanent harbor for yachts and motor boats, with the Scintillator pier as its breakwater. The St. Francis Yacht Club's clubhouse was later built on a jetty of exposition landfill here (Wikipedia). The basin is today's Marina small-craft harbor, between the Marina Green and Crissy Field.
The site today
Present-day photographs and video of this spot are being made for the film. You can stand there yourself: it is a stop on the self-guided walk.
On the walk: S21 The Yacht Harbor · S22 The Scintillator's mole
Marina Blvd at the harbor, by the St. Francis Yacht Club
Have a photo of this spot? Email it to hello@288days.com with code S21 and up to 50 characters of credit. It appears here and in the film.
Out on the breakwater east of the St. Francis Yacht Club, toward the Wave Organ
Have a photo of this spot? Email it to hello@288days.com with code S22 and up to 50 characters of credit. It appears here and in the film.
Where it stood
Yacht Harbor stood at about 37.80606 N, 122.44387 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, chs. II, IV, LIII, LXIII, LXIX, LXXIII
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 5, chs. XXXVII–XXXVIII, appendix
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 1, ch. XXXIII (plan)
- Wikipedia: St. Francis Yacht Club, clubhouse on exposition landfill