Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Coal Sheds, Waterfront Avenue, northwest corner of Waterfront Avenue & Fourth Street, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

Significance: Buildings 141-153 are contributing elements of the Mare Island Historic District. The building numbers, 141-153, apply to a series of large coal sheds, located along the waterfront near the northern end of the historic shipyard. Building 153 has been recorded as a representative example of the group. The coal sheds are significant chiefly as a reminder of how quickly the technology of ship propulsion changed from the late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century. The buildings were constructed in 1903 to serve as a fuel depot for coal-burning ships that stopped at Mare Island. They served in that capacity for little more than a decade, however, as the Navy quickly abandoned coal in favor of diesel and other petroleum-based fuels. Since about 1914, these buildings have been used for incidental storage.
Survey number: HABS CA-1543-M
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 75002103