USS San Francisco Memorial
The real bridge of a warship, torn by shells in battle
The story
Before you is not a sculpture but real metal from a ship. These are the bridge wings of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco. In November 1942 the cruiser fought off the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific. According to the National Park Service, she took forty-five hits, and twenty-five fires broke out on board. About one hundred sailors died, among them Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan, along with seven Marines. Another one hundred thirty-one men were wounded. Look at the ragged holes in the steel: they are the marks of that battle. The damaged wings were taken off the ship after the battle, in late 1942 or early 1943. Now they stand here, turned toward Guadalcanal. Since 2005 the memorial has been cared for by a foundation set up by former crew members. By the parking lot below the memorial was the last stop of a steam railroad from downtown. Trains ran here until 1905. Farther on, the trail follows the bed of that railroad.
On the trail
- Lands End — 2.9 miles round trip, 1.5 h
Sources
- National Park Service — Lands End: Point Lobos, Sutro Baths, the cruiser memorial (45 hits and 25 fires), Harris vs. Sutro in 1897
- USS San Francisco Memorial Foundation — the memorial made from the cruiser’s bridge wings, losses in the battle
- Wikipedia (EN) — USS San Francisco Memorial
- National Park Service — Steaming Down the Track: the steam railroad to Lands End
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