Oakland Ferry Terminal
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Oakland Ferry Terminal (also known as Clay Street Ferry Terminal and Jack London Square Ferry Terminal) is a ferry terminal on the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
, located in
Jack London Square Jack London Square is a neighborhood on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, Amtrak's Jack London Square st ...
in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
.


History


Origins

The terminal opened in the twentieth century to provide a commute option for passengers headed to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
across the bay. It was predated by numerous passenger, cargo, and vehicle ferries that connected the mainland with San Francisco's rather isolated peninsula before the advent of numerous bridges crossing the bay. The ferries declined upon the opening of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge but as traffic and time increased a water crossing service was reborn.


Rebirth

The service was created by pressure from the community to have a ferry service similar to that offered from
Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...
to San Francisco's north. Their ferry service declined after the opening of bridges and although routes and terminals were closed, streamlined, or eliminated - the service was never abandoned. This was much to the benefit of the waterfront communities of that region. Oakland also presented the unique challenge of an adjacent island, the city of
Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...
being located just hundreds of feet away with only one congested roadway tunnel linking the city's downtown and business core to the island's population centers directly. The Oakland Alameda Estuary presented many unique localized peculiarities. It is a major shipping channel and the shipping traffic of the
Port of Oakland The Port of Oakland is the port authority for the city of Oakland, California, United States. Its primary responsibilities are the operation of the Oakland Seaport and the Oakland International Airport. It also operates a commercial real est ...
along with a highly developed shoreline prohibited a new bridge. Another fact, tunneling in an earthquake and liquefaction plagued region is extremely expensive for a rather poor community. Lastly what remains of the wetlands of the once large estuarine habitat is fervently protected by locals in order to preserve wildlife in addition to flood and pollution controls offered by these natural tidal flats and shoreline vegetation.


Ferry

For these reasons a service was established between a new Alameda Ferry Terminal and Oakland with continuing commuter service to the
San Francisco Ferry Building The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal station, terminal for ferry, ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on Embarcadero (San Francisco), The Embarcadero in San Francisco, Ca ...
and also Fisherman's Wharf at
Pier 41 Pier 41 is a ferry terminal on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The former headquarters of Blue & Gold Fleet, their box offices are now located at Pier 39. The Pier is located east of the Fisherman's Wharf district and to the west of Pie ...
. When the new shoreside
Oracle Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...
opened season service was added in addition to expedition service to
Angel Island State Park Angel Island (Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Isla de los Ángeles'') is an island in San Francisco Bay. The entire island is included within Angel Island State Park, administered by California State Parks. The island, a California His ...
. In 2012 service was added to a new
South San Francisco Ferry Terminal The South San Francisco Ferry Terminal is the only operating ferry terminal in San Mateo County, California. Boats are operated there by the San Francisco Bay Ferry company, and connect the city of South San Francisco to the Oakland Ferry Term ...
at the Oyster Point
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...
and park.New East Bay-South S.F. ferry service starts
Michale Cabanatuan, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'', 04-06-2012, access date 04-06-2012


References


External links


San Francisco Bay Ferry
{{SFBAtransit Ferry terminals in the San Francisco Bay Area Transportation in Oakland, California Transportation buildings and structures in Alameda County, California