USS Potomac

Category: Visit

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540 Water Street
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 627-1215

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Built in 1934, the US Coast Guard cutter Electra was recommissioned and converted in 1936 by the US Navy to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential yacht.  Renamed USS Potomac, the ship served FDR until his death in April, 1945.

Learn more about Potomac’s remarkable history and how she came to be here, in San Francisco Bay.

More than half a million people have visited and cruised aboard the Potomac, a National Historic Landmark, since she was opened to the public at Jack London Square in Oakland, California, in the summer of 1995 after a 14-year, $5 million restoration.   Tours and cruises are offered throughout the year.  Please see our current schedule.

At 165-feet-long, the ship was used by FDR for leisure time and to host dignitaries, high government officials, diplomats, kings and queens, and family members.  Today, the Potomac is dedicated to the story of FDR who, as the 32nd president of the United States, led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II.  He also authored the New Deal post-war rebuilding plan which included, among many local projects, the construction of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay bridges.

Now you can join us aboard this captivating vessel for two- or three-hour live narrated cruises on San Francisco Bay!  You can also take a dockside tour or charter the Potomac for your private event.

Watch this video that tells the fascinating, colorful history of FDR’s beloved USS Potomac: