U.S. NAVY YARD MARE ISLAND, AND CITY OF VALLEJO. SOLANO CO. CAL

San Francisco: C.B. Gifford del. et lith., Printed by L. Nagel, [ca. 1860].. Lithograph, 20 3/4 x 27 3/4 inches. Expertly cleaned and conserved, and with large margins. Near fine. A rare and attractive view of the naval base at Mare Island in San Francisco Bay, the first United States naval base on the Pacific Coast, and also showing the nearby town of Vallejo.

The town of Vallejo, in the northeast part of the San Francisco Bay Area and on the east coast of San Pablo Bay, was planned in 1850 by the noted political and military leader, Mariano Vallejo, who hoped to attract the state capitol to that location. Located just across the Napa River from Vallejo, the long peninsula of Mare Island is well-situated strategically not only at the north end of the greater Bay Area, but also to guard the entrance to Carquinez Strait and the large network of inland waterways that constitute the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which was an important transportation route to the Central Valley of California, the mining camps, and beyond. Mare Island was recommended as a naval base in 1852, and in 1854 it was established as the first official United States Navy Base on the Pacific Coast.

This attractive bird's-eye view looks southward from north of Vallejo, and shows the growing town on the left side of the image. The community consists of a number of tightly-grouped buildings near the shore of the Napa River, predominantly consisting of one- and two-storey buildings, with one building as tall as four storeys. Unimproved land, some of it used for farms, bounds the town. The naval base on the long Mare Island peninsula is well-illustrated on the righthand side of the image. Residences and offices run down one end of the base, and industrial buildings consume the land along the Napa River side. A number of vessels are shown in the water, most of them sailing ships, but also including at least one steamer. A many-masted ship is shown in an elevated dry dock, undergoing repairs or construction.

No copies of this print are located in OCLC. Reps locates only three copies, at the California Historical Society, the Society of California Pioneers, and the Bancroft Library. A rare and important view of the first American naval base on the Pacific Coast, and the growing town of Vallejo. PETERS, CALIFORNIA ON STONE, p.169. REPS, VIEWS AND VIEWMAKERS 438.