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OPPOSITE, clockwise from
Crowley quickly secured the rights to operate passenger
Although international expositions of this scale are
top left: These two brochure pages services from the fair site. He refurbished the Crowley No. 17 and a marvel of the past, San Francisco remains a popular
show the various passenger services Crowley No. 18, both initially constructed for the 1915 Panama- destination for tourists. The Golden Gate Bay Cruise, which
Crowley offered for the Golden
Gate International Exposition. He Pacific Exposition, and used them again for the company’s was launched eighty years ago as part of the Exposition, is as
renovated the original Crowley No. new tour offerings. Crowley also added four speedboats and popular today as it was then, showcasing the best of what the
17 and No. 18, then added some two water taxis to his fleet, increasing the variety of passenger Bay has to offer. Close to a century after Roosevelt’s message
new water taxis and speedboats tours and services that could be offered. His drive to stay of unity, the Red and White Fleet’s current leader, Tom
to suit the varied interests of both at the forefront of new technology and his belief in using Escher, still believes in San Francisco’s important role in this
sightseers and thrill seekers. • This cutting-edge solutions was ever-present. The water taxis, the international relationship. “We’re connected by the ocean,” he
illustration of the fair shows the
iconic central spire standing at the Crowley No. 1 and Crowley No. 2, utilized the most up-to-date says of California’s neighbors across the Pacific. “We should
center of the island, with the harbor diesel engines for the time, giving them a 40 percent increase in never forget that the San Francisco Bay has always been one
where Crowley ran his tour and horsepower over their predecessors. They were also constructed of the great gateways between the East and the West, fostering
thrill-ride services in the foreground. • with glass enclosures to protect guests from waves and weather, sustained friendships between many nations and cultures
A postcard depicts an overhead view providing a more service-oriented means of transport. around the Pacific.”
of the fair.
RIGHT: A ticket for the GGIE.
FOLLOWING PAGES: Four
high-powered speedboats provided
one of the more exciting services
offered in Crowley’s company history:
water-skiing along the shores of
the Golden Gate International
Exposition. Even the Crowleys
themselves got in on the fun, with
Thomas B. Crowley and a friend
shown here attempting a particularly
acrobatic maneuver (right).
Milestones • 47