The S.S. Golden Gate was a mail and passenger steamer that operated between San Francisco and Panama City from 1851 to 1862.

On its last voyage from San Francisco it caught fire and was destroyed with the loss of 204 lives off Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

The Golden Gate was built by William H. Webb of New York for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.

The keel was laid down on 1 July 1850 at the Webb & Allen shipyard in Manhattan, now located between Fifth and Seventh Streets on the East River.

[3] The ship had three masts that could carry sails, but her main propulsion was from side paddle wheels 33 feet 6 inches (10.21 m) in diameter.

Passengers would cross the isthmus, a three day journey by canoe and mule, then take the waiting steamer to their destination.

[5] The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had half a dozen boats on the West Coast that served the San Francisco–Panama route.

[4] The Golden Gate left New York in August or September 1851 and sailed via Rio de Janeiro and Valparaíso to Panama.

As the fire intensified the steerage passengers were trapped, and the wind and motion pushed the flames to the rear.

[1] It was said that some of the passengers wore belts holding gold and silver coins, but had to discard them in the water so they would not be pulled down by the weight.

[6] The survivors dug graves for the corpses that washed ashore, with wooden crosses to identify the victims.

The New York and foreign underwriters had been to the wreck endeavoring to obtain the treasure, but had abandoned the enterprise before the Potter reached the ground.

[6] On 8 February 1863 the Daily Alta reported that the steamship Constitution had taken on board fifteen boxes holding $820,000 that had been recovered by William Irelan during a spell of calm weather.

He built a pier to provide a platform for dredging equipment to avoid the problems of difficult currents, surf and winds.

It is said by the local people that a man called Veralman found gold in the 1960s and built the Posada Hotel with the money.

[8] The safe in the purser's office was finally located in 2003 under 9 feet (2.7 m) of sand by CEDAM, Conservation, Ecology, Diving, Archaeology and Museums.