National Historic Landmark · ship · Oakland, California

USS Potomac (yacht)

United States presidential yacht in Oakland, California. Added to the National Register in 1987, and a National Historic Landmark.

Has a visitor website National Historic Landmark Listed 1987

Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

USS Potomac (AG-25), formerly USCGC Electra, was Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945. On 3 August 1941, she played a decoy role while Roosevelt held a secret conference to develop the Atlantic Charter.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Property type	Structure
Address	1660 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA
County	Alameda County
Listed	Feb 20, 1987
Listed for	Politics and government
Level of significance	National
Also known as	FDR's Presidential Yacht; The Floating Whitehouse; Electra
Reference number	87000068
Type of place	ship, preserved watercraft
Designations	National Historic Landmark
Contributing resources	1 structure
Standing	Yes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Address	1660 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA
Website	usspotomac.org ↗
Coordinates	37.7953° N, 122.2801° W · Directions ↗
Also in Oakland	62 listed places in Oakland →
Nearest national park unit	San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park · 8 miles · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearby	Aquatic Park Cove, Black Point Overnight Anchoring, Sailing Vessels Only (Auxiliary Engine Ok) 8 miles · Rob Hill Group Campground 11 miles · Kirby Cove Campground 12 miles

Listing on the Register does not open the door. Unless a museum or park runs it, treat this as private property and see it from the sidewalk.

At a glance

State: California
County: Alameda County
Listed: 1987
Type: Structure
Landmark: Yes

Cell signal

Verizon: 5G (fast)
AT&T: 5G (fast)
T-Mobile: 5G (fast)

Outdoor coverage as modeled by carriers in FCC filings as of 2025-12-31. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.

Official links

Sister site

Park Atlas

Every unit of the National Park System, with its fees, hours, alerts and campgrounds.

Open Park Atlas →

This record is built from National Park Service sources, re-read every Saturday, and Wikidata, re-read on the first Saturday of each month. Register Atlas is independent and is not affiliated with any agency, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. How the data is built →

Explore

Map

Nearby in Alameda County

All listings in Alameda County →

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Lightship Wal-605, Relief

National Historic LandmarkListed 1989

Building · 0.3 km

Oakland Iron Works-United Works, and the Remillard Brick Company

BuildingListed 1983

Building · 0.5 km

Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon

Local history books for Oakland

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Italian Oakland
Rick Malaspina, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org
Jews of Oakland and Berkeley
Frederick Isaac, 2009
Find at Bookshop.org
Oakland aviation
Ronald T. Reuther, 2008
Find at Bookshop.org
Oakland's equestrian heritage
Amelia Sue Marshall, 2008
Find at Bookshop.org
Black artists in Oakland
Jerry Thompson, 2007
Find at Bookshop.org

Guidebooks to historic places in California

Walking L.A
Erin Mahoney Harris, 2017
Find at Bookshop.org
Secret stairs: East Bay
Charles Fleming, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org
Sacramento remembers the Civil War
Robert F. Bundy, 2010
Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was USS Potomac (yacht) listed on the National Register?

Feb 20, 1987. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

Can I visit USS Potomac (yacht)?

Probably. Places of this type are usually open to the public, but the record lists no hours; the official website will have them.

Source: Official website

Where is USS Potomac (yacht)?

1660 Embarcadero, Oakland, Alameda County, California. The nearest national park unit is San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, 8 miles away.

Source: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Where is the nomination form for USS Potomac (yacht)?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Are there campgrounds near USS Potomac (yacht)?

Three federal campgrounds are within reach. The closest is Aquatic Park Cove, Black Point Overnight Anchoring, Sailing Vessels Only (Auxiliary Engine Ok), 8 miles away. Rob Hill Group Campground is 11 miles away, and Kirby Cove Campground is 12 miles away.

Source: Campsite Atlas

Is there cell service at USS Potomac (yacht)?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

Sources

Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 87000068. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.