City Museum in the 1927 Vallejo City Hall, Focused on Mare Island Naval Shipyard
734 Marin St, Vallejo, CA 94590
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Standard museum admission.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Two-story 1927 city-hall building.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · 1927 Vallejo City Hall building · Interpretive home for Mare Island Naval Shipyard history · Mare Island: first U.S. Navy base on the West Coast (1854)
The Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum is housed in the 1927 former Vallejo City Hall building. Its five galleries cover the local history of the city of Vallejo and the operations of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, located across the Mare Island Strait. According to the U.S. Navy's history command and the National Park Service, Mare Island was established on September 18, 1854 to support the naval defense of the new Pacific Coast territories acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War and was the first U.S. Navy base on the West Coast.
During World War II, Mare Island was one of the busiest naval shipyards in the world, and in its final twenty-five years of operation it was the leading West Coast submarine port. The shipyard built more than five hundred naval vessels and overhauled thousands more before closing in 1996. The museum's collections include archival photographs, ship models, uniforms, and a working submarine periscope. The historic mansions of Officer's Row, St. Peter's Chapel (the Navy's oldest Pacific chapel), and the separate Mare Island Museum are open to visitors on the island itself.
Sources
The Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum is not marketed as a paranormal site by its operators. Visitor reports collected by regional ghost-story aggregators include the sound of footsteps in the upstairs gallery of the historic city-hall building after hours and occasional reports of cold spots near the museum's military-era exhibits. Reports of more pronounced phenomena, including apparitions in period uniform, are concentrated on the larger Mare Island Naval Shipyard across the strait rather than at the museum building itself.
The Vallejo museum incorporates the long Mare Island history into its public programming, including occasional special events around regional history and folklore. Visitors interested in the maritime side of the story can pair the museum visit with a trip to the Mare Island Museum and a self-guided walk of Officer's Row.
Tour five galleries covering Vallejo's history and the U.S. Navy's 1854-1996 operation of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the first naval base on the West Coast. Includes a working periscope from a Mare Island submarine.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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