Alameda Terminal (also known as Alameda Wharf ) was a railroad station and ferry wharf at the foot and west of present-day Pacific Avenue and Main Street in Alameda , California , on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay with ferry service to San Francisco . It was built in 1864 and operated by the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad . In 1869, it served as the original west coast terminus of the U.S. First transcontinental railroad , until the opening of Oakland Pier two months later. The western terminus was inaugurated September 6, 1869, when the first Western Pacific through train from Sacramento reached the shores of San Francisco Bay at Alameda Terminal, — thus completing the first transcontinental railroad "from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean" in accordance with the Pacific Railroad Acts .
35-507: In 1863, Alfred A. Cohen, a San Francisco lawyer, along with his associates, formulated plans to build a railroad and wharf to carry passengers not only to Alameda, but also by ferry to San Francisco. In 1864, he built a 3,750-foot-long (1.14 km) wharf, starting from a spot near today's Pacific Avenue and Main Street westward, into the Bay at that time, and ending at part of today's Alameda Point where
70-647: A 68-acre (28 ha) parcel on the former Naval Air Station Alameda by the City of Alameda, California and its private partner, Alameda Point Partners LLC as a part of the $ 1-billion mixed-use, transit-oriented waterfront development. APP is now led by Trammell Crow Residential and includes srmERNST Development, Madison Marquette, Cypress Equity Investments and affordable housing non-profit Eden Housing. Phase 1 will create 637 housing units, including 130 units of affordable housing developed by Eden Housing, Inc. and designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning. The general contractor for
105-611: Is the name given to the lands of the former Naval Air Station Alameda in the City of Alameda, California . Alameda Point consists of 1,560 acres (6.3 km ) of land area at the western end of the island of Alameda. Most of the land was reclaimed from the San Francisco Bay . NAS Alameda was identified for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Program in 1993, and ceased operation in April 1997. An agreement between
140-506: The Port of Oakland , while passenger train service operates at the nearby Jack London Square/Dellums Station and another nearby station in Emeryville. The first use of the site for boats was in 1852, when Gibbons' Wharf was constructed at Gibbons' Point, westward into San Francisco Bay . In 1862, Gibbons' Point was renamed Oakland Point , and the wharf was first used as a ferry landing as part of
175-635: The San Francisco and Oakland Railroad service. On November 8, 1869, it succeeded Alameda Terminal and became the western terminus of the First transcontinental railroad trains. In 1868 the Central Pacific Railroad acquired this pier and immediately began extending and improving it, renaming it the Oakland Long Wharf. The first through train on the transcontinental route left Oakland on
210-667: The Southern Pacific in the 1880s, and in 1882 the Oakland Pier was opened about a half-mile east of the west end of the Long Wharf, which was then used only for freight until being abandoned in 1919. Freight trains served docks just south of the train shed after the original was abandoned. The mole became one of the busiest piers in the United States. A huge stained-glass window of the SP logo
245-584: The USS Hornet sits anchored. On August 25, 1864, Cohen inaugurated passenger service, for 25 cents, from the wharf at Vallejo and Davis Street in San Francisco, via the leased river packet Sophie MacLane , to the Alameda Wharf and then 5 miles (8.0 km) to his San Francisco and Alameda Railroad High St station. In September 1864, he leased the slightly larger Contra Costa . As business grew, he replaced
280-625: The Alameda Naval Air Station Historic District and existing residents and leases. In August 2001, Alameda selected Alameda Point Community Partners as the master developer for the property. Alameda Point Community Partners (APCP) was a partnership of financier Morgan Stanley, Shea Homes of Livermore, Centex Homes of Dallas and the Industrial Realty Group. The development was estimated to cost $ 2 billion and take 15 years to complete. Alameda Point Community Partners
315-457: The Navy and the City of Alameda for transferring the land to the city for future development was reached in 2006. One of the larger issues between the Navy and the city has been paying the costs of the environmental cleanup required. Prior to the transfer, some of the facilities of the former base have been leased to private tenants and the City of Alameda. The Alameda Point beach is one of the cleanest in
350-625: The Oakland Long Wharf is the SP Mole's switchman's tower, which was restored and moved to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park . In the early 1970s, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trunk line and the east portal of the BART Transbay Tube connecting Oakland with San Francisco were added near the alignment of the Long Wharf in the Port. In order from north to south, the other moles and wharves along
385-467: The Pacific Railroad as well. From there San Francisco Bay ferries carried both commuters and long distance passengers between the Long Wharf and San Francisco. The CPRR floated freight to San Francisco starting in 1871; by then the Long Wharf reached out into the Bay 11,000 feet from Oakland Point to deep water. It was fully opened for business on January 16, 1871. In 1879-1880 the Long Wharf
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#1732851971443420-789: The Pacific Railway Acts to the Western Pacific Railroad for the route between Sacramento and San Jose , including land grants . The plan was that the transcontinental railroad would follow the Western Pacific from Sacramento to San Jose and then connect with the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ), completed in 1864, to San Francisco . By 1866, Western Pacific had built 20 miles (32 km) of track north and east from San Jose, reaching halfway into Niles Canyon , to about Farwell near Milepost 33. The Western Pacific used 500 Chinese laborers to grade and construct
455-608: The Transcontinental Railroad a reality". At the terminal there is a plaque that marks terminus of the First Transcontinental Passenger train that started in New York City and terminated at Alameda Point pier on September 6, 1869. Alameda Point, Alameda, California 37°47′09″N 122°19′06″W / 37.785775°N 122.31843°W / 37.785775; -122.31843 Alameda Point
490-515: The Western Pacific track laid in 1866 was linked with the Central Pacific track laid in 1869, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 6 September 1869 completion of the first transcontinental railroad to the Pacific coast terminus at Alameda Terminal. Also, the mayor of the City of Alameda issued a proclamation recognizing "the outstanding contributions of the many Chinese immigrants who helped make
525-515: The development plan and withdrew from the project. In May 2007, the City selected SunCal Companies as the master developer to redevelop 770 acres. In July 2007, the City and SunCal entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement as SunCal began to gather community input and develop preliminary plans. In August 2010, the Alameda City Council voted unanimously to terminate the exclusive negotiating agreement with SunCal and halt its proposal for
560-471: The east ( Chicago ) and north ( Seattle ). Some San Francisco-Los Angeles Coast Route trains had Oakland sections (that combined with the San Francisco sections at San Jose) and these also departed from Oakland Pier. SP also contracted with other railroads, allowing them to utilize Oakland Pier as a passenger terminal and ferry transfer. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway ran trains here between 1933 and 1937. Later, between 1949 and 1958, it served as
595-536: The ferry Alameda and crossed the Bay to the Davis St Wharf in San Francisco. The steamer Oakland , strengthened and converted into a car ferry capable of carrying up to four freight cars at one time, also began service in September 1869, from Alameda wharf to the San Francisco freight slip. Two months later, Central Pacific Railroad switched the western transcontinental terminus to its expanded Oakland Pier , which
630-545: The first transcontinental railroad reaching Alameda Terminal on September 6, 1869, is marked by a plaque in the Naval Air Station Alameda and a California Historical Landmark (CHL #440) nearby. The GPS coordinates of the two markers are given respectively by 37.786779,-122.30292 (plaque); and 37.77535,-122.276891 (CHL #440). On 6 September 2019, a "golden spike" ceremony was held in Niles Canyon, where
665-510: The former Naval Air Station. Various reasons were cited in the staff report leading up to the vote, including a developer- and city-initiated ballot measure related to the project that was defeated in February 2010 by a margin of 85%. SunCal had incurred over $ 17 million in expenses over the three years it worked on developing plans for the property. Ground breaking began in May 2018 on Phase 1 of Site A,
700-545: The infrastructure is DeSilva Gates Construction. Oakland Pier The Oakland Long Wharf was an 11,000-foot railroad wharf and ferry pier along the east shore of San Francisco Bay located at the foot of Seventh Street in West Oakland . The Oakland Long Wharf was built, beginning 1868, by the Central Pacific Railroad on what was previously Oakland Point . Beginning November 8, 1869, it served as
735-512: The leased boat, in February 1866, with his very own ferry boat, the Alameda . After the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 authorized construction of the First transcontinental railroad and telegraph line, the first construction activity took place in 1863 eastward from Sacramento on the Central Pacific Railroad line. In October 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad assigned all the rights of
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#1732851971443770-506: The line be finished in time for the opening of the State Fair on September 6. Thus in September 1869, a temporary connection was made at the bay side (west of Alvarado and Davis Sts) of San Leandro with the old tracks of the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad, which led to the SF&;A Alameda Wharf with ferry service to San Francisco. On September 6, 1869, the first Western Pacific train reached
805-457: The morning of November 8, 1869, with the inaugural west bound arrival at the Oakland wharf that evening. Local commuter trains also used the pier, while trains of the Pacific Railroad (aka: " First transcontinental railroad ") used another wharf in nearby Alameda for about two months in 1869 (September 6 to November 7), after which the Oakland Long Wharf became the western terminus of
840-553: The rail line into the rugged canyon with its tight curves and narrow banks. Construction was then halted because of disagreements between the railroad's contractors and its financiers. In 1868, Central Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of which had acquired the Western Pacific and Oakland Point , restarted work on the Western Pacific Railroad line starting at Sacramento working southward, as well as near Lathrop and Livermore, using upwards to 2,000 Chinese laborers. The new plan
875-496: The shores of San Francisco Bay at Alameda Terminal, thus achieving the transcontinental Pacific Railroad envisioned in the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act. According to the Daily Alta California , this first through train left Sacramento at 10 am, got delayed by some construction trains, exited Niles Canyon late at 9:30 pm, and an hour later arrived at Alameda Terminal to a cheering crowd. Continuing passengers boarded
910-749: The state. Alameda Point has a number of film sites. Beginning in late 2006 the Mythbusters began to test various experiments on the former runway while in 2009, NBC's Trauma staged a plane crash. The City of Alameda has been planning the redevelopment of Alameda Point since 2000. Complicating the redevelopment are number of constraints associated with the approximate 1,500 acres (6.1 km ). There are land use constraints consisting of Tidelands Trust, soil and groundwater contamination, and wildlife refuge buffer requirements. Physical constraints include geotechnical issues and 100 year flood plans. Institutional and contractual constraints revolve around Alameda Measure A,
945-801: The terminal of Western Pacific Railroad 's California Zephyr . After January 15, 1939 the electric commuter trains of the East Bay Electric Lines , by then called the Interurban Electric Railway, no longer ran to Oakland Pier but instead used tracks on the lower deck of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge , running to the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco. The IER trains were discontinued by Southern Pacific in July 1941. The last Southern Pacific ferry ran to San Francisco on July 29, 1958. The San Francisco–Oakland ferry service
980-548: The west coast terminus of the First transcontinental railroad . In the 1880s, Southern Pacific Railroad took over the CPRR, extending it and creating a new ferry terminal building with the official station name Oakland Pier . The entire structure became commonly and popularly called the Oakland Mole . Portions of the Wharf lasted until the 1960s. The site is now part of the facilities of
1015-418: Was inaugurated on November 8, 1869, in another round of celebration. Alameda then went back to local passenger train service. Freight service from Alameda continued until 1870 when the freight slip at Oakland wharf and the new line through First Street, Oakland, were completed. In 1870 the SF&A was absorbed into Central Pacific and in 1873 the SF&A pier was abandoned, at least for rail-ferry purposes. It
1050-640: Was placed on the western end of the train shed in 1929. When the building was demolished, it was removed and put in storage. It is now at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California . For decades, Oakland Pier was the main intercity connection to San Francisco . SP operated ferries between the San Francisco Ferry Building and Oakland Pier for passengers traveling between San Francisco and intercity destinations to
1085-534: Was reconstructed by filling part of it with rocks and earth brought in from Fruitvale and from Niles Canyon, where hundreds of Chinese workers were blasting rocks. About one million cubic yards of rocks and fill was estimated for this first landfill project. On this solid fill, a large depot covered in corrugated iron and glass and lit by electric lighting was constructed in 1881, creating the Oakland Pier or Mole , which opened for traffic on January 22, 1882. The Central Pacific's operations were consolidated under
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1120-474: Was replaced with buses over the Bay Bridge between San Francisco's Third and Townsend Depot and 16th Street Station , two miles from Oakland Pier. Throughout the pier's existence, progressively greater portions of the bayshore tidelands were filled in. It was demolished in the 1960s to make way for an expansion of the growing container ship facilities of the Port of Oakland . The only structure that remains of
1155-458: Was selected over Catellus and Harbor Bay/Lennar, and signed a two-year exclusive negotiating contract as the property's master developer. By 2005, only Shea Homes and Centex Homes were working on redevelopment plans, and a Preliminary Development Concept called for building 1,700 homes on the site. In July 2006, the City of Alameda and the Navy agreed to a $ 108 million purchase deal. In September 2006, APCP decided that it would not move forward with
1190-511: Was subsequently used by the Pacific Coast Oil Company which established its refinery adjacent to the wharf in 1880. It was listed in the local city directory as the business address of the E.M. Derby lumber yard from at least 1874 to about 1885. The railroads and their wharfs are gone from Alameda. The last rails were removed in 1960 from Lincoln Ave (formerly Railroad Ave and along which the SF&A rails ran). The achievement of
1225-542: Was to connect with Oakland and Oakland Point with its ferry service to San Francisco. After the golden spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, work resumed in June 1869 in Niles Canyon with track laying towards Livermore. Also in June 1869, J. H. Strobridge came to Niles (then Vallejo Mills [now part of Fremont ]) to oversee the construction of the new line, with his crew of up to 600 Chinese laborers, heading towards Oakland. By midsummer, Governor Stanford made known his hopes that
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