Mare Island Naval Shipyard | |
![]() USS Wadleigh at Mare Island Naval Yard, 10 April 1945. | |
Location | Vallejo, California |
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Coordinates | 38°5′24″N 122°15′48″W / 38.09000°N 122.26333°W |
Built | 1854 |
NRHP reference No. | 75002103[1] |
CHISL No. | 751[2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 15 May 1975 |
Designated NHLD | 15 May 1975[3] |
Designated CHISL | 1960 |
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean[4] and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, 23 miles (37 km) northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, California. MINSY made a name for itself as the premier U.S. West Coast submarine port as well as serving as the controlling force in San Francisco Bay Area shipbuilding efforts during World War II.[5]
The naval base was closed on 31 March 1996, with more than 7,500 civilians on its payroll,[6] and has gone through several redevelopment phases. It was registered as a California Historical Landmark in 1960,[2] and parts of it were declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1975.[3]
On Sunday, 31 March, before more than 3,000 people, Cavender, the commanding officer of the Mare Island Navy Yard, closed the base and ended both his career and an era in naval history.