SS Palo Alto

Palo Alto on sea trials, on 10 September 1920. (Naval History and Heritage Command - Photo NH 799)
History
United States
Name	SS Palo Alto
Namesake	Palo Alto, California
Builder	San Francisco Shipbuilding Company, Oakland, California
Launched	29 May 1919
Fate	Grounded as a fishing pier at Seacliff Beach in Aptos, California
General characteristics [1]
Type	Design 1100 tanker
Tonnage	6,144 GRT 3,696 NRT
Length	420 ft (130 m)
Beam	54 ft (16 m)
Depth	35 ft (11 m)
Propulsion	Llewellyn Iron Works 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine 359 nhp 1 shaft

SS Palo Alto was a concrete ship built as a tanker at the end of World War I. Completed too late to see war service, she was mothballed until 1929, when she was intentionally grounded off Seacliff State Beach in the Monterey Bay, becoming part of a pleasure pier entertainment complex. Palo Alto was damaged by the sea, leading her to be stripped and used only as a fishing pier. Subsequent decades have seen her be further broken by the sea, but large sections of her wreck remain somewhat intact.