The United Fruit Company terminal at Berth 147 consisted of a number of structures
that were designed to move bananas from ships harbored at the terminal to railcars
or trucks. The timber wharves located at the berth were built at the edge of the
channel with at-grade rails for the mobile gantry cranes which were used to unload
the hulls of the ships. Wooden sheds were located parallel to the wharves and
covered the start point of the conveyer belts. Four sets of conveyer belt "car
platforms" were angled at 60 degrees from the wharves and were shielded by wooden
sheds with butterfly style roofs. Two refrigerator rooms were located at the midway
point of the conveyors, and at-grade railroad tracks were situated parallel to
each side of the conveyor sheds. The United Fruit Company building, with a waiting
room and offices, was located between two of the conveyor sheds. Various support
structures, such as a scale house, two storage buildings, and a longshore toilet,
were located nearby.
Intersection of conveyor No. 3 and the
cross-wharf conveyor Click and drag to view a 360° panorama (238k)
The wharf and ramp extended from the shoreline. The wharf was a continuous
creosoted timber apron wharf. The sheds paralleling the wharf were located on
the ramps and protected the beginning points of the conveyor belts that led to
the car platforms. The four sets of conveyor belts and additional mechanical equipment
extended to the platforms that were covered by wood-frame canopies. A platform
supported the conveyor belt with room for a walkway on both sides. (For
an explanation of how laborers operated the banana facility, please go to the
people link.)
Bananas being loaded into railcars
An office/waiting room building was constructed in 1936 to provide office
space for the United Fruit Company and for baggage and passengers of the Great
White Fleet cruise service. The building was located in the wide open space between
conveyor sheds 2 and 3. This building was a one-story, plaster-over-wood-frame
structure in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with a low, false-hipped, red
tile roof. Passengers from the boat would disembark onto the wharf and then walk
up the ramp between the two sheds and down to the waiting room building at the
center of the complex. (View photos taken in 2000 of Berth 147.)
The entire banana terminal facility and its associated structures were demolished in 2000 to make room for port improvements.
