Romance of Travel, Sacramento Waterfront, 1869

For many years, the paddlewheel served as the main link between San Francisco and Sacramento, carrying both passengers and goods. However, with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, trains depots were established across the west.

For a short time, locomotives and boats vigorously competed for business, but it was a losing battle for the paddlewheel.

This painting understates the dramatic beginning-of-the end for the paddlewheel; well-dressed travelers disembark the stately Chrysopolis at the Sacramento waterfront and prepare to board a Pacific Railroad car. Workers at the Pacific Railway Depot are busy loading and unloading large numbers of packages and boxes.