I sent this to the City Council today:
Spending $300,000 to provide a design and cost estimate to build a new dock for the
SS Red Oak Victory is a bad idea and a profound waste of money that could be better spent maintaining the
SS Red Oak Victory, which is unfortunately on the way to becoming a rusted hulk, or hiring a fundraising genius to go some after really big grants.
Don’t get me wrong; maintaining and saving this ship should be a Richmond, if not a national, priority. There is an old saying that a boat is “a hole in the water into which you pour money.”
An 80-year-old Victory ship is a 455-foot-long hole that can swallow a lot of money. Spending tens of millions of dollars to move the ship just 2,000 feet from its current location is not going to save it.
Just when I thought I knew everything about shipbuilding and the WWII Home Front, I read the most recent book on the subject,
Launching Liberty, by Doug Most, published just last year. While the book covers a lot of the details with which many are familiar, it provided a historical backstory about how the shipbuilding program was born, and, most importantly, it made the case
that building thousands of ships in yards all over America, was absolutely critical to victory. In WW II. For the first years of the war, Hitler was sinking ships faster than they could be built, but that all changed. Without the cargo ships, the food, vehicles,
tanks and ammunition could not have been delivered to the front where they were needed. The war could actually have been lost!
Richmond was the home of the most productive shipyard, and that story, which includes the SS Red Oak Victory, deserved to be told for generations to come.
Early planning for Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park did, in fact, envision mooring the
SS Red Oak Victory at Sheridan Point, but the basis for that no longer exists.
Some history:
In the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment, Alternative C, which was adopted, the
SS Red Oak Victory was anticipated to be docked at Sheridan Point.
In alternative C the visitor would be directed to the Richmond waterfront where the World War II Homefront Visitor/Education Center the
SS Red Oak Victory and the views of shipyard No. 3 would provide a historic setting in which to learn about the American World War II home front stories…
With the
SS Red Oak Victory located at Sheridan Point Observation Park adjacent to the visitor/education center at the Ford Assembly Building park visitors would be able to explore a wartime ship that was produced in one of Kaiser’s shipyards. The views
from the SS Red Oak Victory and the World War II Home Front Visitor/Education Center would provide visitors with a sense of the size and scope of the war effort…
The
SS Red Oak Victory would be in the historic engagement area where visitors can become engaged in the activities associated with shipbuilding and the role of victory and liberty ships during World War II…
The World War II Home Front Visitor/Education Center, located in the waterfront portion of the Ford Assembly Building referred to as the craneway, would be the primary destination
for visitors to Rosie The Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Visitors
to the center would be surrounded by historic resources of Richmond’s World War II home front, including the historic Ford Assembly Building,
SS Red Oak Victory moored at the adjacent Sheridan Observation Point Park, views across the Santa Fe channel to the historic structures of Shipyard No. 3, and views of Richmond’s inner harbor. The concentration of these historic structures and
views would provide a setting that supports the in-depth exploration of the stories and events of America’s home front at the visitor/education Center…
Also, in Alternative C, Richmond Shipyard No. 3 was seen largely as something to be viewed from afar but not experienced except for guided tours:
In Alternative C, Shipyard No. 3 would be in the Industrial/Port Landscape Area While visitors would have access to this area only during scheduled guided tours, observing contemporary
port activities from a safe distance would provide them with a sense of size and scale represented by the open industrial landscape. The characteristics of the Industrial/Port Landscape Area are described in Table 2
Visitor Experience
In this alternative the World War II sites and structures of the Richmond shipyard No. 3 would provide the historic backdrop for interpreting the Kaiser shipyard and Homefront
stories. Periodic guided tours of the shipyard would be offered but visitors could also view and learn about the former Kaiser shipyards from the World War II Home Front Visitor/Education Center at the Ford Assembly Building and from designated viewing areas
located outside Richmond Shipyard No. 3 and along the Bay Trail.
Historic Resource Conditions
Richmond Shipyard No. 3 is a National Register Historic District that contains six World War II historic buildings (sheet metal shop, general warehouse ,machine shop, forge shop,
first aid station and cafeteria), whirley crane, and five graving basin/dry docks.
The preservation of the facades of the historic shipyard buildings would provide visitors with distant views of the historic district and help them to understand the scale and
impact that Kaiser and his shipyards had during Richmond’s World War II home front effort. The historic district would include the World War II sites and structures that illustrate the shipyards historic operations; these would be interpreted off-site. While
the historic structures and their features would continue to retain their World War II-era appearance, the interior spaces of the structures would be used for contemporary port uses and would be closed to park visitors.
Visitor Services and Facilities
in Alternatives C, visitor facilities would include viewing areas with parking and interpretive signs; all visitor facilities would be located outside the boundaries of Richmond
Shipyard No. 3
However, since the General Management Plan was adopted in 2008, there have been radical changes:
- The Visitor Center was not located in the Craneway; it was located in the Oil House, some 500 feet further east from its
anticipated location in the Craneway, and some 1,200 (almost a quarter mile) from Sheridan Point. - The Bay Trail and Canal Boulevard were extended to reach the southern tip of Shipyard No. 3, making it far more accessible
than anticipated in the General Management Plan. - The Riggers Loft was rehabilitated and became a public venue for over 10 years. It could be again.
- The SS Red Oak Victory was moved to Shipyard No. 3 (Potrero Point Marine Terminal) Basin 5 and became fully publicly accessible.
It also has abundant parking and laydown space, which would not exist at Sheridan Point. - The Richmond Ferry Terminal was constructed at the tip of “Ford Point,” and its parking (typically full) takes up all of
the landside area adjacent to Sheridan point Observation Point, the location identified in the General Management Plan for RSS Red Oak Victory mooring. - Richmond Moves can
provide a $2.00 ride from the Visitor Center to the SS Red Oak Victory.
It is also unlikely that BCDC will approve new Bay fill for this project when a mooring with public access already exists.
The Red Oak Victory is owned by the Richmond Museum Association, whose board has never endorsed or officially recognized the plan to move the Red
Oak Victory to the east side of the channel next to the Richmond Ferry Parking lot, Rather, the proposed move has become both an obsession and foregone conclusion with some Red Oak crew members, some Richmond City Council members and some City staff. The singular
motivation by the ship’s crew for the proposed move, as summarized in a Richmond Standard article, is anticipation of increased visitation resulting in increased revenue.
Fred Klink, the ship’s director or marketing, estimates “a three-fold increase in annual traffic” for the ship if it relocates to a more visible
location near Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park and the Ferry Terminal.
“The major benefit to us is increased visitor traffic and the revenue that comes with that,” Klink said.
Supporters of this proposed relocation include Mayor Eduardo Martinez, Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda and Congressman John Garamendi. But some in the community
don’t want to move the ship from its current location near Riggers Loft and the historic Whirley Crane, including former Mayor Tom Butt.
The City Council’s motivation is to clear out Point Potrero Marine Terminal to fulfill the dream of a future offshore
wind support facility or even a new shipyard.
Members of the Richmond City Council have been touting the Port of Richmond as a location to provide, “operations and maintenance facilities and potentially
light manufacturing” in support of offshore wind (The
Port of Richmond Investing in its Future, June 3, 2024). On May 23, 2025, the Port of Richmond
solicited proposals, “from qualified firms to provide conceptual design and preliminary engineering services for the Port of Richmond Offshore Wind Terminal.” In June of 2023, the City Council
invited a consultant to make a presentation about opportunities related to offshore wind. The Agenda item stated,
“Various state and federal studies show that the Port of Richmond is a good candidate site to support the offshore wind industry …There are opportunities for the Port of Richmond to support the offshore wind
industry as a manufacturing / fabrication site, construction support site, operations and maintenance site, or as a shipbuilding site.”
The City Council is so invested in the offshore wind opportunity that they have directed City staff to start clearing
out Point Potrero Marine Terminal, including two historical items that are in the way – the Riggers Loft and the Red Oak Victory – now, even the whirley crane. Unfortunately, our president for the next 3 years is doing everything he can to kill the prospect
of offshore wind power.
In January of 2025, Trump ended leasing of all offshore sites for wind projects, “Under the authority granted to me
in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition for wind energy leasing all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) as defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,
43 U.S.C. 1331. This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this
Presidential Memorandum is revoked.” Although the withdrawal did not technically affect already executed leases for California, it essentially shut down the program that was depending on federal finding.
President Trump strongly opposes the use of wind power for generating electricity and has pulled the plug on all offshore
wind projects. Just this month ,“The White House on Aug. 22
abruptly halted the nearly complete 65-turbine Revolution Wind project in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving developers and construction workers wondering how to proceed.
On August 30, 2025, the Trump administration canceled the $679 million previously earmarked for Humboldt County, the
target development that the Port of Richmond was hoping to support.
Estimates of the cost of moving the
Red Oak Victory range from $12 million to $20 million, and no source of funding has ever been identified. There is no documented basis for the estimate that the number of visits will “triple,” quoting Fred Klink, who also said, “We sell out many of our
events and we bring in a good revenue stream that is more than sufficient to maintain the ship as a museum. But I agree that’s not enough to meet our long-term goals.”
It’s no secret that the premier “long term goal” is to enable the ship to actually get underway on its own power, ultimately
providing cruises like the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. One obstacle is that the City’s agreement with Auto Warehousing Company (the adjacent car importer) prohibits the Red Oak Victory from firing up its boilers for fear the nearby imported vehicles will be damaged.
The other is Coast Guard approval based on the condition of the ship. Moving the
Red Oak to the channel is no solution, as it will still place it under the Auto Warehousing prohibition. The Coast Guard restriction is an indication that major maintenance is required.
The logic of maintaining the existing location is that the ship is part of an historic ensemble that includes not only
the ship, but the extant structures of historic Shipyard 3 — six buildings (four of which have been repurposed and are in active use), the graving basins and the whirley crane. By the way, the City wants to get rid of the whirley crane, also.
The argument for moving the ship is based on the assertion that it is too hard to find by the public and that if it
were in a more visible location, passers-by would flock to it like grocery shoppers buying impulse items at the check-out counter. The proposed new location is not exactly high visibility either. It would be seen only by Richmond ferry riders, who are mostly
in a hurry to get to work or get home and employees and patrons at the Ford Assembly Building (the Craneway is closed indefinitely). It would not be visible from the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center and would be over a quarter mile walk. In its current location,
you can park almost right next to it.
Despite lamentations about its “remote” location, The Red Oak Victory is well known and much appreciated by the public,
earning 4.5 stars from Trip Advisor and
rated as the 5th most popular of 44 things to do in Richmond. According to Trip Advisor, Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park is Richmond’s top attraction, but the largest photo
on the Trip Advisor Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park page is not the Visitor Center, it is the Red Oak Victory!
Figure 6
– Red Oak Victory earns 4.5 stars as Richmond’s 5th most popular "things to do in Richmond."
The revenue challenges of the Red Oak Victory are not a result of insufficient visitation; they are challenges shared
with other museum ships regardless of their location. Essentially, a museum ship cannot rely on visitor revenue for long term maintenance.
The Richmond Ferry parking lot is already maxed out, and there would be no proximate location for the hordes of future
anticipated visitors to park. There would be no laydown space as exists at the current Basin 5 location.
There is a lot of evidence that people will find their way to seemingly remote locations in Richmond if they want to.
The Riggers Loft, right next to the Red Oak Victory hosted 22,000 patrons in 2024. The East Brother Beer Co., on the way to the Red Oak Victory, probably hosted at least that many. There is no more remote location than Point San Pablo Harbor, but some 30,000
people annually find their way out there to the Sailing Goat and various events.
2025 was the 25th anniversary of Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park, and we should be building
it up, not dispersing and abandoning its components. There are many ways to increase visitation of the Red Oak Victory. Keeping the Riggers Loft as a public destination and event venue is one of them. Volunteers are already doing a good job organizing and
publicizing events like pancake breakfasts and movies, but surprisingly, there is no sign on I-580 identifying exits to the Red Oak Victory. There are wayfinding signs on Canal Boulevard, but they don’t start until you enter Pont Potrero Marine Terminal, and
they are small. Wayfinding signs could be added in Point Richmond and along Dornan Drive, providing wayfinding information to tens of thousands, at a fraction of the cost of moving the ship. A Bay Trail segment actually terminates at the Red Oak Victory, but
it could be better signed.
With no money to fund a move, and the logistics of such a move making it at least five years in the future, probably
more, the Richmond Museum Association should focus on maximizing revenue at the current location.
Despite that fact that Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park is Richmond’s No.1, attraction,
both City Council members and City staff have had a lukewarm affinity for it over the 25 years since its establishment, even though most of its assets are owned by the City of Richmond in a unique “partnership park” arrangement.
Instead of obsessing over moving the
SS Red Oak Victory, we need to all pull together to support Richmond’s top attraction, our own national park, and focus on the large grants or endowments needed to keep the
SS Red Oak Victory afloat. If there is $12 million to $20 million available for the Red Oak Victory, it should be used for maintenance, not for a move with no proven benefits.
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