Pacific Mail Steamship China

William H. Webb designed and built the SS China in New York City for trans-Pacific passenger, cargo, and mail service. The vessel came to its San Francisco homeport via the Straits of Magellan in 1867 for the first of thirty round trips to Yokohama and Hong Kong. In 1879, the wooden sidewheel steamer, also rigged for sail, was laid aside in favor of iron steamers. In 1886, it was brought to the marine crematory in Tiburon Cove to be burned for scrap metal, but the Social Saloon with attached staterooms was removed from the top deck and barged to Belvedere Cove, where it was used as a residence for ninety years and became commonly known as the China Cabin. The Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society, with the cooperation of the City of Belvedere, saved the China Cabin from demolition in 1978 and, with donations and grants, restored it to its original grace. When the preservation project was completed in 1986, the Social Saloon was opened to the public as a treasure of the maritime heritage of the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards.

Belvedere, California · United States