The Coronado Ferry Era (1886-1969)

In late 1885 and early 1886, prospective land investors arriving in San Diego had to negotiate with commercial boatmen at the foot of Fifth Avenue to be rowed across the harbor in open whaleboats or small steam launches. During rough weather, passengers were routinely soaked with salt spray before stepping ashore onto Coronado’s sandy mudflats.

Recognizing that the success of Hotel del Coronado required an elegant, weatherproof arrival experience, Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story incorporated the Coronado Ferry Company in April 1886. They immediately constructed deep-water pilings and ferry slips at the foot of Orange Avenue on First Street.

In 1888, the company placed in service the grand paddlewheeler Silver Gate. Built in San Francisco for $65,000, she was a magnificent 160-foot side-wheel steamer with an ornate Victorian cabin salon, hand-carved mahogany bench seating, cut-glass lanterns, and large observation windows. For a fare of just five cents, guests enjoyed a serene seven-minute voyage across the bay, serenaded by chamber musicians hired by the hotel.

When John D. Spreckels acquired the Coronado Beach Company and ferry franchise in the 1890s, he recognized that wood-hulled paddle steamers were vulnerable to marine borers and boiler explosions. Drawing upon his naval architects, Spreckels commissioned a groundbreaking vessel that changed maritime transit along the West Coast.

Launched in 1903, the Ramona was the very first double-ended steel-hull passenger ferry boat ever constructed on the Pacific Coast. Equipped with twin screw propellers on both bows and stern, the Ramona eliminated the cumbersome necessity of backing out of slips or turning around in mid-channel. She could dock smoothly from either direction, cutting turnaround times in half and dramatically reducing coal consumption.

By the 1930s, the Coronado Ferry was no longer just a luxury tourist conveyance; it was the essential community link for thousands of daily cross-bay commuters who affectionately called themselves "Ferry Folk."

Every morning between 6:30 AM and 8:30 AM, lines of automobiles queued along Orange Avenue. The ferry slips functioned like clockwork: as a boat touched the timber pilings, deckhands dropped the heavy iron apron chains, cars disembarked in parallel columns, and the outbound queue rolled aboard in under ninety seconds.

Commuters used the brief seven-minute crossing as a floating social lounge. Permanent card clubs maintained uninterrupted bridge and cribbage tournaments that lasted for decades across thousands of crossings. Schoolchildren from Coronado attended private academies in San Diego, while newsboys hopped between vehicle running boards selling copies of the San Diego Union and Coronado Journal.

By the late 1960s, the ferry fleet was carrying 8.8 million vehicles and over 15 million passengers annually, straining the slips to their absolute mechanical capacity. During peak summer holidays, automobile lines stretched over two miles down Orange Avenue, with wait times exceeding two hours.

The opening of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge on August 2, 1969, brought the 83-year ferry era to a dramatic conclusion. That night, over 3,000 citizens packed the First Street ferry docks. As midnight approached, the final auto ferry, the Crown City, prepared for its last departure.

At precisely 11:59 PM, Captain Clarence Frank pulled the brass whistle cord for a continuous two-minute blast. Navy destroyers, tugboats, and yachts across the harbor answered with a thunderous chorus of foghorns. A municipal brass band on the wharf struck up "Auld Lang Syne," and hundreds of passengers threw streamers and flowers into the dark bay as the vessel slipped away into history.