Apollo, Archaeological site and historic storeship in Financial District, San Francisco, US.
Apollo is an archaeological site located beneath the former Federal Reserve Bank building where Sacramento and Battery Streets meet in the Financial District. The sunken ship remains contain portions of the original vessel and artifacts from the Gold Rush period.
The vessel was actively used as a trading post and commercial hub during the Gold Rush era before burning down to the waterline in 1851. Sand and urban development gradually buried its remains, preserving them beneath the city for over a century.
During the Gold Rush era, the vessel served the local community as shops, offices, and a gathering place where miners and merchants conducted business daily. These functions made it a center of commercial and social life for people arriving in the city.
The site is located beneath a modern building and cannot be directly accessed, but visitors can walk the street corner and explore the surrounding neighborhood where the remains lie. The best approach is to combine a visit with exploration of the adjacent historic district to understand the site's importance to early San Francisco.
Excavations in the 1920s uncovered surprising treasures including coins spanning multiple decades and a gold nugget among the wreckage. These discoveries reveal that the vessel attracted wealthy travelers and merchants who left behind valuable objects during its years of operation.
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