Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
Motor Vessel Kalakala was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967.
The MV Nisqually was a Steel Electric-class ferry formerly operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Illahee was a Steel Electric-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Klickitat was a Steel Electric-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Quinault was a Steel Electric-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The Steel Electric-class ferries are a class of auto/passenger ferries that became part of the Washington State Ferry System when Puget Sound Navigation Company was acquired in 1951. They were built in San Francisco Bay for service on Southern Pacific and Northwestern Pacific Railroad routes across the bay.
San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed established a sailboat ferry service in 1826. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and tourists.
Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers, vehicles and freight across Lake Washington, a large lake to the east of Seattle, Washington. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe or rowboat, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no easily navigable connection to Puget Sound, the Lake Washington Ship Canal now connects Lake Washington to Lake Union, and from there Puget Sound is reached by way of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.
The steamboat Yosemite operated for almost fifty years on San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento River, inland coastal waters and the lower Fraser River in British Columbia, and Puget Sound.
Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound and British Columbia. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.
The MV Tourist No. 2 was a 1924 wooden-hulled car ferry that has served passengers all over the Pacific Northwest. Originally, it took passengers across the Columbia River, with a dock in Astoria, Oregon. It was undergoing restoration in Astoria until it sunk in 2022. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The MV Kulshan was a passenger ferry operated by the Washington State ferry system on Puget Sound from 1970 to 1982.
Hornblower Cruises is a San Francisco–based charter yacht, dining cruise and ferry service company. In 2021, the company rebranded most of its services as City Cruises or City Experiences. In 2024, the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
The City of Seattle was a side-wheel driven steam-powered ferry built in 1888. This vessel was the first ferry to operate on Puget Sound. City of Seattle was also used in the San Francisco Bay area starting in 1913. The ferry was known as YFB54 when owned by the U.S. navy in World War II, and as Magdalena during naval service and for a time following the war. The upper works of the ferry have been mounted on a barge hull, and are now in use as a houseboat in Sausalito, California.
Sioux was a steamship which was operated on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca from 1912 to 1941. From 1924 to 1941, following reconstruction, the vessel operated as an auto ferry under the name Olympic. During the Second World War (1941-1945) this vessel was taken under the control of the U.S. Army and renamed the Franklin R. Leisenburg. The Liesenburg served as a ferry in the Panama Canal area under Army control, and then was sold to a firm which ran the vessel on the Surinam river in South America.
Six Minute Ferry operated an automobile ferry service across Carquinez Strait on the main highway between Sacramento and Oakland, California. Each crossing near the present Interstate 80 bridge took approximately 6 minutes. As automobile travel became increasingly popular, the company ordered some new steel ferries in 1921. The ferry company went out of business while the ferries were under construction after a March 1922 landslide destroyed the Six Minute Ferry north shore terminal on Morrow Cove. Southern Pacific Transportation Company purchased the ferries ordered by Six Minute Ferry and placed them in service between San Francisco and Oakland. The three ferries remained in service on various San Francisco Bay routes until completion of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.
The MV Willapa was a car ferry that served on the San Francisco Bay and later on Puget Sound. She was one of the Steel Electric-class ferries built in 1927 for service across the San Francisco Bay. Originally named MV Fresno, she was operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and provided ferry service across the bay.
SS San Mateo was a steamship ferry operating on the west coast of the United States. Launched in 1922, she served until 1940 in San Francisco Bay, operated by the Southern Pacific Golden Gate Ferries. In 1941 she was acquired by the Puget Sound Navigation Company, and then operated on Puget Sound until its retirement in 1969. At the time of her retirement she was the last operating vehicular steam ferry in the United States. After attempts to restore her for display in a Seattle waterfront park, she was acquired by a Canadian businessman and towed in 1992 to the Fraser River in British Columbia. The vessel became part of a small collection of derelict ferries. There she was partially scrapped; portions of her hulk are still visible in the river, and readily apparent on satellite photos, as of 2021. A photo at the dock in July 2021 shows her hulk partially or fully aground, and leaning toward the former BC Ferries Sidney-class ferry MV Queen of Sidney.
The steamship General Frisbie was a wooden two-deck passenger ship built in 1900, named after John B. Frisbie. She was designed for use as a ferry between Vallejo and San Francisco. The steamer was successful in that role and was the fastest ship on the route when she began service. Improved roads, bridges, and automobiles reduced demand for ferry service in the Bay Area, and newer ships were optimized for transporting cars, so General Frisbie was retired in the late 1920s.
