Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Ford Roosevelt, FDR’s grandson aboard the presidential yacht USS Potomac in Jack London Square, Oakland Harbor where Ford serves as Executive Director of the non-profit, Potomac Association.
The USS Potomac served as the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Floating White House” from 1936 until his death in 1945.
How the USS Potomac came to reside in Oakland, California is a fascinating journey.
Following the death of FDR, the vessel spent a ten year stint as a Coast Guard patrol boat, followed by service as a Caribbean ferry, Elvis Presley's private yacht, and a stint as a drug smuggler that ultimately led to its sinking while tied up on Treasure Island.
The Oakland Port Authority purchased the derelict USS Potomac and spent more than fourteen years, and six million dollars painstakingly restoring Roosevelt’s Presidential Yacht.
Today the vessel is a registered National Historic Landmark, permanently berthed at Oakland’s Jack London Square. Maintained by the Potomac Foundation, the historic vessel offers regularly scheduled, and charter San Francisco Bay cruises.
Funding for Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer is provided by the Foundation at Hearst Castle
Conserving the past to inspire future generations of dreamers and preserving the legacy of Julia Morgan.
Experience authentically curated historical events that recreate what it was like to be a guest of William Randolph Hearst—from swimming in the iconic Neptune pool to Dining in Hearst’s private guest house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
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