History.  From the Mare Island Naval Shipyard Archives: Historical American Buildings Survey(HABS) No CA-1543-M.  1995. "Bldgs 153, 155, and 163 were constructed in 1903.  These nine buildings made up the complex that was known as the "Coal Sheds".  The Coal Sheds provided shelter for the coal supplies that were delivered to Mare Island by clipper ships from places as far as England and Australia.  Coal had been delivered to Mare Island since 1854 and it all was handled by hand. The construction of the Coal Sheds and the use of gantry cranes with clamshell buckets gave Mare Island the ability to move tons of coal quickly.  In the 1910s, the Navy transferred all of the coaling facilities to the Naval Coaling Depot at Tiburon, California.  Afterwards, the Coal Sheds were used for miscellaneous purposes, mostly office spaces and storage.  Afterwards(circa 1950s) the Coal Sheds were used for a variety of purposes.  In the past forty years the Coal Sheds have housed the field offices, work shops, and storage areas of the shipyard work force that worked to finish the submarines after they completed their dry-dock period."
 

the British Collier, the Clan Galbreath. 1903
From "Side Wheelers to Nuclear Power" by Sue Lemmon & Ernest Michaels.  Available at the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum:  734 Marin St, Vallejo, CA 94590.  www.vallejomuseum.org