21.12.06

F I R S TP R E V443NEXTLAST

USS Potomac, Oakland Harbor
Known as 'The Floating White House', the USS Potomac served as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht until his death in 1945. It was built in 1935 as a Navy cutter, the Electra, but later it was commissioned for use by FDR, as he hated to fly. During humid days in Washington, DC the President would often cruise in the ship rather than remain in the sultry White House. FDR also entertained foreign heads of state aboard the vessel including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden.

After FDR's death the USS Potomac had many owners including, for a while, Elvis Presley and even some drug smugglers whose use of the vessel resulted in it being seized by the Customs Service. Today, after a $5 million restoration by the Port of Oakland, the USS Potomac is a National Historic Landmark open to the public.
[ MAP K-12 ]


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