Port to honor Bob Larson, who championed Richland’s USS Triton Sail Park
The Port of Benton will honor the memory of the late Robert “Bob” Larson at the site that best reflects the longtime commissioner’s dedication to Richland: USS Triton Sail Park.
The port and supporters will dedicate a plaque honoring Larson at 10 a.m., June 4, at USS Triton Sail Park, 3300 Port of Benton Blvd., in north Richland.
Larson died Dec. 22, 2025, in Richland. He was 92.
Larson served as a port commissioner for decades and led a variety of initiatives to boost the region’s economy, including the transfer of the Hanford 3000 and 1100 areas into port ownership.
Few captured his spirit more than his work to bring the sail section of the USS Triton to Richland after the Navy decommissioned the nuclear-powered submarine.
Triton’s reactor components are buried at Hanford and the submarine itself was dismantled at the Bremerton shipyards.
Thanks to Larson, its sail and conning tower were preserved. The section was shipped in pieces to Richland, where it was reassembled and set in concrete.
Today, its sits in a picturesque park near the Richland waterfront. It hosts history events, visitors, and even anchored a reunion for the sailors who once served aboard.
The Triton was commissioned in 1959 and is best known for tracing the historic route of Ferdinand Magellan, but underwater, one year later.
Larson worked as director of procurement for the Department of Energy and served 27 years on the port’s board of commissioners.
He was elected in 1994 and retired in 2021, midway through his final term.