Marinship

The site was chosen because the shoreline in the vicinity of the proposed shipyard was relatively uncluttered, unlike much of the rest of San Francisco Bay or other major Pacific ports.

[3] Six ship launching ways were planned, but the old repair yard, purchased from Southern Pacific Railroad, and located at the base of Spring Street, was found to have inadequate space to accommodate this need.

Using this as their legal reason, the new company took government war powers condemnation actions against local property owners, in order to add the additional land they needed to expand the shipyard.

The resulting fill was spread using heavy equipment across the shoreline and tidal mudflats to create new land on which the various buildings of the shipyard were rapidly constructed.

In a related effort, the creation of Marin City, adjacent to the north end of the shipyard and just across Highway 1, was brought about by the need for the rapid construction of guest worker housing.

Workers eager to take advantage of the well-paying wartime jobs, flocked to the West Coast from all over the United States to work at the various shipyards, including Marinship.

[5] In 1944 in the case of James v. Marinship the California Supreme Court held that African Americans could not be excluded from jobs based on their race, even if the employer took no discriminatory actions.

Future US Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the case, winning a ruling that the union be required to offer equal membership to African Americans.

Due to unemployment, racial animosity, redlining, and covenants on title, many African Americans were barred from housing in adjacent white communities and settled in Marin City.