{"nrhp_refnum":"88002030","name":"STAMBOUL (Whaling Bark)","other_names":["Whaling Bark STAMBOUL"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Foot of W. 12th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Benicia","county":"Solano County","state":"CA","lat":38.06148179500008,"lon":-122.15812034499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Archeological remains of the 1843 whaling bark Stamboul, buried in the sediment of Carquinez Strait at the foot of West 12th Street in Benicia, California, near the former Turner/Robertson shipyard. The hull was built in Medford, Massachusetts.","why_significant":"The nomination argues national significance for the ship's role in the Boston ice trade, American deepwater whaling and the Matthew Turner/James Robertson Shipyard, where she served as a shear hulk. Her roughly 70 percent intact hull is described as one of three surviving American whaling ships of the era. It also holds potential information on mid-19th century New England shipbuilding and ice-trade vessel construction.","narrative":"Buried in the mud of Carquinez Strait at the foot of West 12th Street in Benicia, the remains of the bark Stamboul preserve a long maritime career. Built in 1843 at Medford, Massachusetts, by Waterman and Ewell, she first served in the Boston ice trade and reportedly carried ice to Egypt. From 1865 she was a whaler, sailing from New Bedford and later San Francisco to Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic grounds. In 1895 shipbuilder Matthew Turner bought her for use as a shear hulk at his Benicia yard, where she was scuttled and fitted with winches and shear poles for stepping masts. She remained in use until about the First World War. Divers found her in 1986 during a survey of the shipyard and confirmed that the lower hull, from the 'tween deck to the keel, survives, about 70 percent of the vessel. The nomination calls her one of three surviving American whaling ships of her period and a source of information on New England shipbuilding.","period_of_significance":"1843-1918","architect_builder":"Waterman and Ewell","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Hull lies partially buried in about six feet of water; about 70 percent of the hull survives intact. Owned by the City of Benicia; listed as unoccupied.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.899516-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/88002030.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862029","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/solano-county/stamboul-whaling-bark-88002030/"}