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 is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

, located in

Jack London Square Jack London Square is an entertainment and business destination 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 ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

History

Origins

The terminal opened in the twentieth century to provide a commute option for passengers headed to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

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 acros ...

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 Avenue (landscape), 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 ...

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 a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...

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 for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California and is served by Golden Gate Ferry and San ...

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 Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

opened season service was added in addition to expedition service to

Angel Island State Park Angel Island 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 Historical Landmark, has been used by humans for a variety of purposes, ...

. 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 by San Francisco Bay Ferry and connect the city of South San Francisco to the Oakland Ferry Terminal in Jack London ...

at the Oyster Point

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") 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 o ...

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. de ...

'', 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