Mare Island Alden Park - Mast Arm

Alden Park in Vallejo, California is a public park located on the grounds of the former Mare Island Naval Base. It was the first naval base on the west coast, occupying the site from 1854 to 1996. When the city of Vallejo redeveloped the property as a park beginning in 2002, they integrated an assortment of naval weaponry from the past 200 years into a luscious landscape filled with a variety of plants from all over the world, many of which were planted by Navy Commander James Alden in the 1860s. Among the remnants of the Naval Base is large wooden mast flagpole, which was installed on October 3, 1854 on the south side of the shipyard’s main administration building by Naval Commander David Farragut. The wooden mast flagpole has been identified as a cultural resource as a part of the former Naval Base, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Resources, both in 1975. It was also named a Historic District by the City of Vallejo. Deterioration of the flagpole mast in recent years became cause for concern, and it was removed and placed into temporary storage by the City of Vallejo in anticipation of future treatment.

EverGreene was contracted by the City of Vallejo, Public Works Department’s Engineering Division to complete a condition assessment, paint analysis, and wood species identification of the Mare Island Alden Park Mast Arm. Our staff worked alongside the Silman Company, a structural engineering firm known for their work on historic preservation projects, to create a well rounded understanding of the historic materials and current conditions of the mast arm in preparation for future conservation and reinstallation efforts.