{"id":501111,"date":"2026-10-19T15:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T15:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501111\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T15:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T15:18:10","slug":"fdrs-floating-white-house-oakland-ship-holds-whole-lot-of-history-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501111\/","title":{"rendered":"FDR\u2019s \u2018floating White House\u2019: Oakland ship holds whole lot of history \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the USS Potomac took off from its home slip in Oakland last Friday, taking its place in San Francisco Fleet Week\u2019s Parade of Ships, it quietly celebrated its own special milestone \u2014 the 90th anniversary of it being commissioned as a United States Navy vessel and given its new name.<\/p>\n

The 165-foot steel-hulled United States Coast Guard cutter Electra, which hunted down rumrunners and bootleggers, would go on to ferry royalty, dignitaries and their family members as a presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, for then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.<\/p>\n

Its history is full of \u201ctwists and turns \u2026 not only during FDR\u2019s time, but afterward,\u201d said Jennifer Pettley, executive director of the USS Potomac Association, the nonprofit group that restored and now owns, operates and maintains the USS Potomac. It was used in the Bahamas, \u201cwhere it became submerged and then raised up to journey through the Panama Canal.\u201d Elvis Presley purchased it in 1964 and then donated it to St. Jude\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital Foundation.<\/p>\n

Then, there was \u201cthe drug-running operation it was caught up in in the 1980s, when it was impounded by the Drug Enforcement Administration,\u201d Pettley said. The Port of Oakland acquired it for $15,000 in the early 1980s through an auction sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s endless,\u201d she said. \u201cSomeone should do a miniseries. Potomac\u2019s story has everything!\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, the 92-year-old ship\u2019s mission is quite placid by comparison.<\/p>\n

Designated as a national historic landmark, it serves as an educational platform spotlighting the Franklin D. Roosevelt era during a consequential time in our nation\u2019s history \u2014 the Great Depression and World War II.<\/p>\n

For history and maritime lovers alike, the USS Potomac offers dockside tours, sightseeing and history cruises, as well as themed cruises. It also hosts 2,000 students, usually fifth graders, annually.<\/p>\n

\"Then-PresidentThen-President Franklin D. Roosevelt relaxes on the custom fantail settee he helped design on the USS Potomac, now permanently docked in Oakland. (Courtesy of the USS Potomac Association)\u00a0<\/p>\n

On board this particular Fleet Week day, there were 20 invited young active members of the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard, many stationed in Alameda and many who had never made this special trip before. They would later stand at attention and perform \u201chonors\u201d by saluting dignitaries on the waterfront.<\/p>\n

Along with them were 15 USS Potomac crew members and docents and almost 60 paying guests spread out over two decks, mingling with each other, sipping mimosas, nibbling on fresh fruit and pastries and admiring the spectacular waterfront and view of the Marin Headlands as the ship idled in the calm waters just outside the Golden Gate Bridge, waiting for the \u201cbig boys\u201d of the parade to arrive.<\/p>\n

And, soon enough, the massive gray bows of two United States Navy vessels \u2014 the USS Ashland from San Diego and the USS Cape St. George from Everett, Washington \u2014 broke through the fog to suddenly appear on the horizon.<\/p>\n

With sailors manning their rails, the two ships, followed by United States Coast Guard cutters Munro and Benjamin Bottoms from San Pedro, smoothly passed by the USS Potomac as it waited to join the formation.<\/p>\n

Hands-down, what makes this ship fascinating is its history, but so are its many specific accessible design adaptations for the president who had contracted a paralytic disease, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down at age 39.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt, an experienced sailor and a former assistant secretary of the Navy, helped design the layout of the USS Potomac to make it more accessible for him.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Living quarters on main deck. To ensure the president could be safely extracted in an emergency and for his own ease in getting around the ship, the Secret Service and Navy shipwrights made sure his primary living spaces were located on the main deck.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The presidential stateroom. Roosevelt wanted a simple single bed constructed to a specific height so that he could swing his torso to and from his wheelchair easily.<\/p>\n

\"Franklin<\/p>\n

Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s specially designed single bed on the main deck of the USS Potomac. (Photo by PJ Bremier)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The restored USS Potomac is docked near Jack London Square in Oakland. (Photo by Valary Bremier)\n<\/p>\n

\"Then-President<\/p>\n

Then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt relaxes on the custom fantail settee he helped design on the USS Potomac, now permanently docked in Oakland. (Courtesy of the USS Potomac Association)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The engine room aboard the USS Potomac is seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The crew quarters aboard the USS Potomac are seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt is displayed aboard the USS Potomac during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A miniature model of the USS Potomac is displayed inside the USS Potomac Visitor Center on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The bathroom of the President\u2019s Stateroom aboard the USS Potomac is seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The radio room aboard the USS Potomac is seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An original bell of the USS Potomac is displayed aboard the ship on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A guest stateroom aboard the USS Potomac is seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The crew quarters aboard the USS Potomac are seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A blueprint of the USS Potomac is displayed inside the USS Potomac Visitor Center on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Visitors<\/p>\n

Visitors board the USS Potomac during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Eichel, a docent for the USS Potomac Association, gives a tour of the USS Potomac on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Eichel, a docent for the USS Potomac Association, gives a tour of the USS Potomac on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Eichel, a docent for the USS Potomac Association, center, gives a tour of the USS Potomac on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An interior view of the President\u2019s Stateroom aboard the USS Potomac is seen during a tour on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt is displayed inside the USS Potomac Visitor Center on May 21, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The USS Potomac is viewed from the Port of Oakland\u2019s free monthly cruise, Friday evening, June 14, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. The ship was known as the Floating White House during the term of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Karl Mondon\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ John A.B. Dillard Jr seen from the historic U.S. Presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, take part in the Parade of Ships during the San Francisco Fleet Week in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 21<\/p>\n

Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s specially designed single bed on the main deck of the USS Potomac. (Photo by PJ Bremier)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 The president\u2019s private bathroom. Bathtubs were rare on Navy ships, but this one, located behind a door near the end of his bed, was a custom, heavy-duty stainless-steel bathtub built into the floor. According to USS Potomac docent coordinator Joe Winkel, this allowed the president to sit on the side platform and bathe himself without the need for assistance.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The fantail settee. This custom, elongated leather (now Naugahyde) couch on the shaded aft, or rear, deck was co-designed by Roosevelt and allowed him to stretch out his legs and converse with guests at eye level. According to Winkel, it was one of the president\u2019s favorite spaces where, when he relaxed in the center of the settee, he was able to enjoy wide views of the Chesapeake Bay.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The false smokestack hoist. The manual rope-and-pulley elevator hidden inside the dummy rear smokestack functioned as a primary vertical escape route even in a power outage. If the main deck became compromised in an emergency, the elevator provided a direct conduit to the upper deck\u2019s lifeboats.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The main saloon. Roosevelt specified that the main saloon should act as a central workspace, legislative office and formal dining room.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The radio room. Although there was a highly sophisticated radio room onboard for official communications between the Pentagon and world leaders, it\u2019s believed that his broadcast from the Potomac on March 29, 1941, in which he called upon Americans to have \u201ccourage and more courage,\u201d was likely made from his stateroom or the aft section of the ship, where there was more room to accommodate a wheelchair and multiple microphones.<\/p>\n

Details: Dockside tours of the USS Potomac are at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays at 540 Water St. in Oakland. Tickets for one-hour docent-led dockside tours cost $20 for adults or $10 for kids. Children ages 9 and younger are admitted free. Cruise times, dates and ticket prices vary. For more information, call 510-627-1215 or go to usspotomac.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PJ\u00a0Bremier\u00a0writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at\u00a0pj@pjbremier.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the USS Potomac took off from its home slip in Oakland last Friday, taking its place in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,7,8,332,967,418,19505,181,971,1338,2311,100,143,145,144,2944,420],"class_list":["post-501111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-east-bay","tag-entertainment","tag-history","tag-home-and-garden","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lifestyle","tag-morning-wire","tag-museums","tag-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-photos-and-videos","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}