Peralta Joins the Fleet
Published: December, 2001
The name Peralta recalls California in 1820, when the last Spanish governor gave Luis Maria Peralta a 44,800-acre land grant, extending from Albany through Oakland and Alameda all the way to San Leandro, in tribute to Peralta’s 40-year military career.
Peralta land on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary became the site of the first regular ferry service between San Francisco and the East Bay via the ferryboat Kangaroo. By the early 1900s, Oakland and Alameda had become centers of the ferryboat building industry.
Automobiles brought East Bay/San Francisco ferry services to an end by the early 1950s. Ferry boats returned to the public eye on October 17, 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake collapsed a span of the Oakland Bay Bridge. The City of Alameda and the Port of Oakland responded by founding the Alameda/Oakland Ferry, which marks its 12th anniversary in October 2001.
The $5.5 million Peralta acquisition project was funded through a $4.75 million State of California grant plus contributions of $375,000 each from the City of Alameda and the Port of Oakland. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Washington built the vessel. Walther Engineering Services, Inc., developed vessel plans and specifications and provided construction management.
