Steam Tug EPPLETON HALL, Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Significance: The steam side paddlewheel tugboat EPPLETON HALL was the last of the famed British paddleboats to be built. Its engine is the once-common, but now rare, twin sidelever "grasshopper" engine. It was typical of tugs on the River Tyne and other streams and estuaries in England. In 1970, the EPPLETON HALL became the last sidewheeler to cross the Atlantic.

EPPLETON HALL is the last extant Tyne River paddle tug afloat. The type was developed on the Tyne River in England to assist colliers up and down the river. EPPLETON HALL was a late model of the type, so it cannot claim the role of ancestor to American paddle tugs. The EPPLETON HALL and the American paddle tug do share a common progenitor. This is especially relevant since no American built paddle tugs remain in existence.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N323
Survey number: HAER CA-63
Building/structure dates: 1914 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1969 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work