This tourist attraction is in the parking lot at Fort Mason, San Francisco. Considered at that time as one of the fastest boats between San Francisco and Tahiti, this was built in Benicia shipyards in 1891 by Matthew Turner. Its name carved out and painted in the back of the stern GALILEE SAN FRANSISCO is still visible. The brigantine was two-masted, 132 feet in length and 33.5 feet in the beam, and with a registered tonnage of 354 tons. This boat later has served as a research vessel of scientific exploration by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and as a house boat after 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
There is a myriad of reasons why Galilee is a tourist attraction in SF.
The stern of the boat is now resting Fort Mason. The other parts of the vessel are given prominent display in San Francisco sites. Fort Mason is place not to miss in a visit to San Francisco. Though it is currently an art and cultural centre, Fort Mason was historically well-known as a coastal fortification in the 1860s due its majestic geography overlooking Pacific Ocean. This was the centre place of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation between 1910 and 1963. Historical remnants such as the old Fire House still remain in Fort Mason in their original shape. Fort Mason served World War II by ferrying and transporting 1.6 million troops and 23 million tons of cargo.
http://www.sftravel.com/article/13-things-do-fort-mason-center
The boat boasts the shipbuilding capabilities of San Francisco since the 18th century after SF became a major seaport following California Gold Rush. Captain Matthew Turner is regarded as a pivotal personality in the shipbuilding industry of North America. Originally working in San Francisco in 1875 he had constructed 57 sailing vessels within a decade. In 1883, he moved his shipyard to Benicia on Suisun Bay. His expertise with output of 228 vessels went into construction of Brigantine Galilee in Benicia in 1891.
http://www.maritimeheritage.org/inport/1880s.htm
Captain Turner later became a partner in the Tahiti Packet Line Company. A fast boat became a necessity for quicker transportation of passengers and export of perishable tropical produce such as oranges, coconuts, cotton, copra, vanilla from Tahiti to San Francisco. Galilee was regarded at that time as the fastest for the purpose.
https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/tahiti-history/
House boat is now a huge stake in Air B&B market in San Francisco.
https://www.bayarea.com/play/houseboat-living-bay-area/
House boat culture was erupted after The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
http://www.sfgate.com/living/article/What-it-s-like-living-on-a-Sausalito-houseboat-10326629.php
After serving the scientific community as a research vessel of exploration by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and retirement from voyages, Galilee became a house boat.
