TESTING
The concrete structure you see in front of you, with the number 66 prominently displayed, is not just a random piece of public art or an unusual bench. It's actually a remnant of a unique shipbuilding innovation from World War II: the concrete ship.

During the war, steel was a critically scarce resource, needed for tanks, planes, and countless other armaments. To address this shortage, the United States government revived an idea from World War I and commissioned the construction of concrete ships. While they might sound improbable, these vessels were surprisingly successful for certain roles. Concrete ships were slower and heavier than their steel counterparts, but they were also more resistant to rust and fire. They primarily served as cargo ships, ferries, and even some barges and floating dry docks.

The structure you're observing is a section of the hull of a concrete ship, likely one of the many that were built or launched from the Kaiser Shipyards in Oakland and Richmond, across the bay. After the war, many of these concrete ships were deemed surplus. Some were sunk to create breakwaters, while others were simply abandoned or repurposed. This particular piece, with the number 66, is believed to be from the USS San Pascual, a concrete oil tanker originally launched in 1919 and later converted into a barracks hulk. It ended up being moored in Alameda along with several other concrete ships, eventually becoming part of the shoreline itself, serving as a kind of unique historical marker for the area's wartime shipbuilding legacy.