{"nrhp_refnum":"96000962","name":"W. O. DECKER (tugboat)","other_names":["Susan Dayton","Russell 1"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"207 Front St., Pier No. 16, South Street Seaport Museum","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.70540441600008,"lon":-74.00275523499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Maritime History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 52-foot wooden harbor tugboat built in 1930 by Russell & Co. of Long Island City, New York, for work on Newtown Creek in the Port of New York. She is berthed at Pier 16, South Street Seaport Museum, in Manhattan.","why_significant":"The nomination argues she is a rare, largely unaltered wooden tugboat built for New York Harbor, significant under Criterion C in maritime history and naval architecture. Her only major outward change is the replacement of her steam funnel with a diesel stack in 1947. The preparer believes she is the only wooden New York Harbor tug still afloat in a largely original state.","narrative":"Built in 1930 as RUSSELL 1, the W. O. Decker is a small wooden harbor tugboat, 52 feet long, designed for the narrow, winding waters of Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens. Russell & Co. of Long Island City built her for the Newtown Creek Towing Company, where she shifted barges, assembled tows for larger tugs and berthed coastal vessels. She was launched with a steam engine, which a diesel replaced in 1947, along with her original funnel. That change is the only significant alteration to her outward appearance. The nomination argues that she is a rare, largely unaltered wooden tug from the period when New York was the busiest port in the world, and the only wooden New York Harbor tug known to the preparer still afloat in a largely original state. Renamed after the Decker family, who bought her in 1946, she is now kept in working order by the South Street Seaport Museum and regularly operates on the harbor.","period_of_significance":"1930-1946","architect_builder":"Russell & Co., Long Island City, New York","architectural_style":"Other: Harbor tugboat","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Fully operational and maintained in operating condition by the South Street Seaport Museum; used as a preserved boat exhibit.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.513277-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/96000962.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000962/5d78c0e868-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000962/5d78c0e868-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WO_Decker_bow_snow_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WO_Decker_bow_snow_jeh.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72000883","name":"South Street Seaport","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/south-street-seaport-72000883/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320037","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._O._Decker","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7945853"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/w-o-decker-tugboat-96000962/"}