ONLY -- Dreadnought-Type Battleship Built on the Pacific Coast - U.S.S. California
N 38° 34.571 W 121° 29.510
10S E 631373 N 4270825
This false and misleading superlative caption is etched on a plaque above the bell as well as mentioned in inlaid letters on a pillar that supports the bell and is located in Capitol Park near the state capitol in Sacramento, CA.
Waymark Code: WMJA9W
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2013
Views: 6
Near the state capitol in Capitol Park is a large bell that is a static display. There are inscriptions on two pillars that hold this bell aloft as well as a smaller, bronze plaque above the bell that reads:
THE U.S.S. CALIFORNIA WAS
ACTUALLY THE ONLY
DREADNOUGHT TYPE BATTLESHIP
BUILT ON THE PACIFIC COAST.A DREADNOUGHT IS SO NAMED
BECAUSE THE MAIN ARMAMENT
IS ENTIRELY OF BIG GUNS
ALL OF THE SAME CALIBER |
On the left pillar that supports the bell are inlaid metal words that read:
ONLY BATTLESHIP BUILT ON THE PACIFIC COAST. LAUNCHED AT MARE ISLAND NAVY YARD NOV. 20, 1919.
SHIP'S BELL DEDICATED AND RUNG FOR THE LAST TIME BY GOVERNOR EARL WARREN OCT. 27, 1949
On the right pillar that supports the bell are inlaid words that highlight the places around the world that this bell was witness to on the battleship. They read:
WORLD WAR II
PEARL HARBOR
MARIANAS
LEYTE GULF
SURIGAO
LINGAYEN GULF
OKINAWA
JAPAN
PLACED OUT OF COMMISSION IN RESERVE AT PHILADELPHIA FEB 14, 1947. THIRD U.S. NAVAL SHIP SO NAMED
I later found out from reading the state capitol's website (link below) that this superlative claim is false. The website reads:
An inscription on the structure to which the bell was attached in Capitol Park identifies the USS California as the only battleship to be built on the West Coast.USS California Launch Subsequent information reveals that this claim is erroneous; the USS Nebraska, USS Oregon, USS Wisconsin, and the USS Ohio were all built in West Coast shipyards Despite a resolution sponsored by three Navy Veteran Assembly Members in 1954, the inscription was never corrected.