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All the United States California Aptos SS Palo Alto

SS Palo Alto

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

Aptos, California

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SS Palo Alto, the cement ship at Seacliff State Beach   Ted Silveira on Flickr
SS Palo Alto was once used as a WWI tanker   Jw4nvc on WikiCommons
Off the pier at Seacliff State Beach   Jw4nvc on WikiCommons
Sunset at the SS Palo Alto   Puzzledrat on Wikipedia
  Mark Loftin / Atlas Obscura User
Remains if the board seen from the southern side of the pier   Broham / Atlas Obscura User
the rubble, circa 2021   Avoiding Regret
overtaken by birds (circa 2021)   Avoiding Regret
end of the pier closed off (circa 2021)   Avoiding Regret
March2021   amandams1147 / Atlas Obscura User
October 2019   brifer22 / Atlas Obscura User
View of the stern in late 2015, before it began listing to starboard due to heavy storms in 206 and 2017.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
The SS Palo Alto listing starboard into the ocean following heavy storms in early 2016.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
The SS Palo Alto listing starboard into the ocean following heavy storms in early 2016.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
As the SS Palo Alto is finally washed away into the sea, the end of the pier has been closed for safety.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
Update showing recent damage.   cmijoredux / Atlas Obscura User
Description   thedude771 / Atlas Obscura User
Looking down the pier   Corruptkitten / Atlas Obscura User
Looking Over The Ship   thedude771 / Atlas Obscura User
  Corruptkitten / Atlas Obscura User
17July2022   shaunk82 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The SS Palo Alto was one of three concrete tankers built in California to serve in World War I, but she was late to be finished and the war came to an end before construction did. Without any war duty ahead, the question became: what to do with 6,100 tonnage of concrete shaped like a ship?

By the end of WWI, iron and steel had become scarce, and a few ships were fashioned instead from concrete, intended to work as tankers. There were three such ships built in California, one being the SS Palo Alto. Construction started in Oakland in 1917, and the ship was set to sail a couple of years later – but the war soon ended, and so the Palo Alto needed to find a new job. She sat in the shipyard, unemployed, for the next 10 years until 1929 when an enterprising company from Nevada thought it might make a good entertainment and fishing destination. They bought the ship, found a willing beach town to set up excursions from, and towed it down the coast to Aptos, just a few miles south of Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay.

The excursion idea never really caught on, so the company tried to create a permanent home for their new venture. The ship was positioned just off Seacliff Beach, the hold was opened up, water poured in, and she nestled right down in the sand. The next year an access pier was built out to the ship, and she got a full facelift adding a ballroom and dancefloor, a casino, a café, a 54-foot swimming pool (heated – that Monterey Bay water is cold), and a number of carnival games and booths. The dancing, dining and swimming lasted only another two years, and the company went bankrupt in the wake of the Depression. The ship was stripped bare and turned into a fishing pier.

You used to be able to fish off the pier and the ship, but recent winter storms have blocked access to both. You can only see the wreck from the beach now. The SS Palo Alto has embarked on her fourth career though, and now acts as a different kind of destination. This time it’s the abundant marine life and shorebird populations of Monterey Bay who have the run of the ship. Bring a good zoom lens and you'll see all kinds of birds.

Update as of 2017: Strong waves broke the ship apart and flipped one of the pieces onto its side. The wreckage is still at the site, but now looks dramatically different than most pictures.

Update as of February 2023: In the severe storms of January 2023, the wreck was even further damaged and part of the pier was destroyed. The pier will be repaired but expect it to take several months. The pier is closed until further notice.

Update as of March, 2023: State Parks removed the damaged pier completely, and there is no information on if or when it will be replaced.

Related Tags

Ship Graveyards Ships Dancing Beaches Wwi

Know Before You Go

At the end of Seacliff State Beach Pier, off Seacliff Drive in Aptos, California.

Community Contributors

Edited By

relizh, deemicksee, zydeko, dubya...

  • relizh
  • deemicksee
  • zydeko
  • dubya
  • crandmck
  • Avoiding Regret
  • thedude771
  • cmijoredux
  • brifer22
  • James Ricci
  • Mark Loftin
  • shaunk82
  • Corruptkitten
  • amandams1147
  • Broham
  • gricemyers

Published

December 3, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.californiabeaches.com/ss-palo-alto-concrete-ship/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Palo_Alto
  • http://www.concreteships.org/ships/ww1/paloalto/
  • https://lookout.co/santacruz/storm-2023-and-recovery/story/2023-03-22/seacliff-state-beach-pier-demolition-california-state-parks-rio-del-mar
  • http://www.ksbw.com/article/aptos-cement-ship-tossed-over-by-storm-waves/8626480
SS Palo Alto
Seacliff State Beach Pier
Aptos, California, 95003
United States
36.969823, -121.915041
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