Strawbery Banke Presents
HISTORIC PORTSMOUTH #161

Originally 240 feet long by 131 feet wide by 72 feet high, the Franklin Shiphouse was later enlarged even further. Built in 1838, this massive structure at the Navy Yard allowed year-round ship construction. In 1915, two years after this photograph was taken, work began here on the L-8, the first submarine ever built at a government shipyard.