Niantic (whaling vessel)

Niantic

Painting of Niantic at the Whampoa anchorage near Canton
History
United States
Builder	Connecticut
In service	1832
Out of service	1849
Renamed	Niantic Hotel, 1849
Fate	Converted to storeship and hotel 1849; destroyed by fires 1850-1852 Artifacts in San Francisco Maritime Museum; some unexcavated at Clay and Sansome Streets, San Francisco, California
General characteristics
Type	ship or barque
Tons burthen	"could probably take eight or nine hundred tons in storage"[1]
Length	119 ft 6 in (36.42 m)
Beam	29 ft (8.8 m)
Depth of hold	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Complement	28
Niantic (Storeship)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
California Historical Landmark No. 88[3]
Location	NW corner of Clay and Sansome Sts., San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°47′42.3″N 122°24′8″W / 37.795083°N 122.40222°W / 37.795083; -122.40222
Area	0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Architect	Childs, Thomas
NRHP reference No.	91000563[2]
CHISL No.	88[3]
Added to NRHP	16 May 1991

Niantic was a whaleship that brought fortune-seekers to Yerba Buena (later renamed San Francisco) during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Run aground and converted into a storeship and hotel, she was a prominent landmark in the booming city for several years. The site of Niantic beside the Transamerica Pyramid is now a California Historical Landmark. Artifacts excavated in 1978 and the ship's log from her last voyage are on display in the San Francisco Maritime Museum.