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Remembering the steamboat Jenny Lind disaster

Claire Britton-Warren, among those dressed in mid-19th-century garb, speaks during the Steamboat Jenny Lind Disaster Monument ceremony at Alviso Marina County Park. Her great-great-great-grandfather died in the 1853 accident.

Claire Britton-Warren, among those dressed in mid-19th-century garb, speaks during the Steamboat Jenny Lind Disaster Monument ceremony at Alviso Marina County Park. Her great-great-great-grandfather died in the 1853 accident.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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More than 300 people gathered at a San Jose park for the unveiling of a monument that commemorates those who died in an 1853 steamboat explosion in a once bustling seaport.
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Maria Eivers-Medley of Sausalito

Maria Eivers-Medley stands among others honoring the victims of the steamboat Jenny Lind disaster during a monument ceremony in San Jose.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Greeting

Claire Britton-Warren greets a friend after the steamboat Jenny Lind disaster monument ceremony at Alviso Marina County Park in San Jose. An ancestor of Britton-Warren’s was a victim of the disaster.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Vice commodore

Russell Breed, vice commodore of the Treasure Island Yacht Club, rings a ship’s bell eight times, signifying “all’s well,” during the Jenny Lind monument ceremony in San Jose.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Once a bustling seaport

Once a bustling seaport, Alviso is now a managed wetland near the Steamboat Jenny Lind Disaster Monument at Alviso Marina County Park.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

"Amazing Grace"

Bagpiper Richard Charette plays “Amazing Grace” during the Steamboat Jenny Lind Disaster Monument ceremony at Alviso Marina County Park in San Jose.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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