The Niantic was not alone. During the Gold Rush, hundreds of ships were abandoned in San Francisco Bay as their crews jumped ship to seek gold. Many were hauled onto the mudflats of Yerba Buena Cove and converted to buildings -- warehouses, stores, hotels, even a jail. As the city expanded its waterfront by filling in the cove, these ships were buried beneath new streets and buildings. The Niantic, beached at what is now the corner of Clay and Montgomery Streets, was one of the largest.

After being abandoned by her crew, the Niantic was converted into a storeship -- her hold used as warehouse space, her upper decks reconfigured as offices and hotel rooms. A large sign reading NIANTIC HOTEL was erected on her side. The ship served this second life until a fire in 1851 burned her upper works. The charred hull was then covered over as the city filled in the cove around her.

The Niantic's remains were rediscovered during construction projects in the twentieth century. Excavations uncovered portions of her hull, artifacts from the Gold Rush era, and evidence of the daily life of the thousands of people who passed through San Francisco in 1849. The ship's location -- now deep beneath office buildings and streets -- is a reminder that downtown San Francisco is built on layers of history that include, quite literally, the ships that brought the city into being.