Industrial Archaeology in California

Updates

• January 8, 2006: Added Santa Cruz ghost towns page.
• October 26, 2005: Added directions to the Creepy fremont house
• May 29, 2005: Added Surfridge, CA (Los Angeles) webpage
• Updated February 28, 2005: General cleanup and added Dominator webpage

My interest in Industrial Archaeology is exploring abandoned sites. It's also nice to know some of the history that goes along with a place, but for me actually being there and walking through the ruins is the primary motivation.

Richmond, etc.

• America's Last Whaling Dock , A burnt out pier near Pt. San Pablo. Richmond, CA. "Where is Pt. San Pablo, its not on my map?" Take the last exit off of 580, just inches before you encounter the toll boths heading west over the bridge. This is Western Dr. Drive to the end of that. Near the end of that, there is a poor road (dirt I think) that heads up the hill and then back down again on the otherside. Eventually you will get to Pt. San Pablo, a totally isolated community of boat house people. Please respect their privacy. There is a small cafe where you can get a hamburger and read old issues of National Geographic. Follow the train tracks until you get to the whaling pier, if there is anything left of it (I seem to remember a story that it was finally torn down). If it isn't there, it is still worth the trip to Pt. San Pablo and the walk along the old tracks.
• Pt. Pinole. This park used to be the site of the Giant explosives factory . The road to Pt. Pinole is still named after the factory. There are still ruins visible around the park, including earth berms that presumably were built to contain explosions. There were several explosions at the factory.
• Hercules Powder Works site in Hercules. Not much is left at the former dynamite and nitroglycerin plant. The plant had an explosive past; blasts periodically rocked Hercules and Pinole. During the plant's first 38 years, 59 people were killed. The worst accident was in 1908, when 24 men were killed in one explosion. In 1953 the last major explosion killed 12 workers. During World War II, the plan was the largest producer of dynamite in the world. It was built in 1879 by California Powder Works of Santa Cruz. In 1976, the plant was sold.
• The Navy's Mothball fleet in Suisun Bay, near Benicia. With a boat, you can legally get close enough to take pictures of the boats. If you want to board the boards, you'll need to figure out that on your own -- they are closed to the public. These ships are from all over-- some are merchant ships, some are military. Some of the ships were made in the Richmond shipyards during the World War II boom.

Berkeley, etc.

• Lawson Adit ,A mining tunnel on the campus of UC Berkeley.
• Nike Missile Site in Tilden Park , Berkeley CA. From Inspiration point, take the Nimitz Way bike path to the very end. A top a little hill, you will see pads of concrete connected by some roads. This used to be a Nike Radar tracking site in the 1960's. The site was demolished in the 1970's because the missiles were obsolete. The missile launch pad was somewhere else, down in the valley somewhere I think. If you poke around, you can see that there is a lot of concrete, rebar and wire buried underneath the dirt. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the construction debris was actually buried on the hill, rather than trucked off to some other landfill. For more Nike info, try the web site .
• Point Albany . This is a landfill site near Golden Gate Fields (take the exit north of Gilman and park near the water). There is a lot of rebar and concrete here to explore, some of it has been turned into industrial art by an anonymous artist. Watch out for the homeless camps.
• Point Isabel. Along the southern shore (just next to the CostCo parking lot) is the site of TEPCO's trash pile . If you walk along the water, you will find billions of pieces of smashed pottery , so of it still bearing the "TEPCO" insignia. I don't know the history of TEPCO, except that they produced plates and cups for restaurants probably more than 50 years ago.
• Key Route System. Berkeley used to have an intricate system of electric trains, but the automotive industry bought them up and destroyed the whole system. This is the same story of the Los Angeles train system. There isn't much evidence left, except for the tunnel on Henry St. under the fountain, which used to be for the train only. Also, Key Route through Albany was the route of the train, now used by BART. Apparently the tracks still lie under asphalt on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. A good website is here.
• (this was reported by someone else) On 7th st. between ashby and dwight is the old colgate palmolive factory. It is in 2 parts and the big section is halfway demolished. All doors and stairs are bolted shut so i didn't go above the first floor. There's some very cool old signs listing bizarre chemicals and ominous sounding hazardous waste warnings . The second part is where the train used to come in to get the soap or whatever. It is halfway knocked down too but is much cooler to explore- it was made of wood (the other is concrete), and it has 2 floors and ladders and tools lying around as well as some cool signs and industrial equipment. There are no squatters or anyone becuase it's supposed to be locked every day and has barbed wire fencing. I got in during the day at about 1pm-there is a bldg. down at the end of the street that seems to exist only to store construction equipment and have guys moving it in and out. When their gate is open, it is free access to all the colgate property. I rode in on my bike and rode right past 2 guys and just looked at them like i was confused-they didn't care either way. I highly recomend a mountain bike as it is perfect territory, (piles of rubble from demolished bldg.s) and enables you to get out fast-if you have to you could climb the back fence and get away to the train tracks and drop down into aquatic park. The one scary thing is that the lawrence berkeley national lab has their central receiving complex right in front of all this (facing onto 7th st). they have their gate open in back during the day and that opens on the colgate property. and since they deal with classified weapons [not really - Mark] and things they are very big into security so they will come and chase you off if they see you. But I managed to avoid them for at least 40 min., (they came after me and i got away on my bike)-they saw that all i was doing was taking photos so they weren't too concerned. (they walked toward me really slow like they were bored). Anyway it's a cool spot-have fun.

Oakland, etc.

• USS Hornet . This air craft carrier is now a museum in Alameda. It served the United States from an outstanding record against the Japanese in World War II, through the Vietnam war, and to the rescue of the Apollo 11 capsule, the first manned mission to the moon. $14 admission. You get to wander the first level, including crew briefing rooms, mess hall, officers quarters. The main hanger deck is large and newly painted and not terribly exciting. Here you will find a flight simulator ($3) which simulates a Desert Storm attack from a carrier. The main deck is pretty rusty, but should be treated with respect. While the ship was never hit by enemy fire, many brave men died while attempting extremely dangerous landings on her deck. Today, it is hard to get a sense of the blood and sweat that was shed on the boat in her past - try to imagine what it must have been like during war time conditions. The island (the control tower) is interesting: it is stationed with volunteers who give mini tours of the navigation, admiral's and captain's rooms. Most of the ship is still pretty dingy, making it more interesting I think. The ship was sold for scrap a few years ago, but rescued by enthusiasts before the dismantler could get the permits. To get there, take the Webster tunnel from Oakland, and then follow the signs to the USS Hornet, situated in the now barren Alameda military base. The engine room, foc'sle, and Marine Detachment are now open so there's lots more to see. They are closed on Tuesdays.
• On board the USS Hornet are two F-8 fighter planes . One is intact, while the other one looks like it had a pretty interesting history after it crashed. It is missing the wings. The interior was filled with what looks like beach sand. The nose was apparently filled with concrete, which someone has begun chipping away, revealing the original controls and wires. It is now being restored by a group of Marine Reserves and is looking better.
• The old Oakland Amtrak station. If you drive on the new section of 880 In Oakland that passes through west oakland, and look out to the east, you will see the train station. Apparently, the train tracks (now gone) were elevated, since the platforms are on the upper floor of the train station. An interesting place to explore, but the neighbor is probably not the safest place to be. The station was still in use in the 1990's, but it looks like it was abandoned 50 years ago!

Marin County

• Tiburon Naval Net Depot. During World War II, it was feared Japanese submarines and/or torpedos would enter San Francisco bay, so an underwater steel net was constructed to catch anything below the water level. At the Net Depot, on the back side of Tiburon, the net was built and stored. Also on this site, the parts for the Golden Gate Bridge were stored when it was being constructed in the 1930's. I haven't explored it yet. To get there, you might have to trespass. Not sure. More information here
• The lifeboat ramp at the end of the Marin Headlands..
• The Nike site in the Marin Headlands -- well worth going to on a sunday to see them raise and lower the missles!

San Francisco

• The Sutro Bath ruins -- open for exploring. Park near the Cliff House or Ocean beach
• The Fleishacker bath ruins -- in the parking lot for the SF Zoo (opposite the entrance, currently boarded up). Not much to see, but interesting fact: this was one of the biggest salt water swimming pools in the world. Now it is the parking lot (actually, it was much bigger than the parking lot!).
• Fort Point, under the Golden Gate bridge.
• The gun batteries near the presidio
• More gun batteries at Fort Funston. More of the WWII gun implacements, then the Korean/Vietnam era Nike Missle Site. The parking lot is the actual missile site! The bunkers are still underground! Visit the Nike Missile park in Marin to see what it looks like underground...

San Jose and south SF bay

• (Added Jan 2006) The Ghost Towns of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
• The Ghost town of Drawbridge, CA, in San Francisco Bay. Drawbridge was a resort town around the beginning of the 20th century. Here are some photos I took a few years ago, and an aerial view and finally a picture I took around 1993. If you want to find it, you can use yahoo mapsto locate the town of Drawbridge (its still on the maps!) You'll notice that there are no roads to the town. You can either come from the Fremont end, by parking at the end of "Cushing Parkway" and walk along the various dirt roads until you get to the train tracks, then head south on the train tracks until you cross the first bridge. Or you can park in the Alviso Marina (take any Alviso exit from 257 and head north till you get to the end) and head north on the train tracks. Watch for trains on the bridge, there is no room for pedestrians! There used to be tours of Drawbridge, but I've heard they have been cancelled. It is technically illegal to be there, but while I was there (in 1993) we met up with one of the official tour groups and they only told us to be careful. There is not much left, do not except to feel like you are in a town. Most of the shacks have fallen down, and the remaining ones are almost underwater. More history and pictures are available here, courtesy of SJ Underbelly.
• The town of Alviso. Alviso used to be a big deal. It was the ferry port for trips between San Francisco and San Jose. This was before the existance of good roads or a train! The ferry ride was a few hours; the stagecoach ride took all day! Unfortunately, for Alviso, once the train line was built (now the Caltrain line), the town fell. It is not a ghosttown like Drawbridge, but there are a few old buildings and some weird things to see. Hilights: The abandoned marina : built in the 60's I think, it was abandoned only a few years later, and now the entire marina is silted over and covered with reeds. It is eerie to see the boat docks between the reeds! There are some good hiking/biking trails that criss cross the salt flats, starting from the Marina parking lot. To get to Alviso, take the Alviso 1st street exit from Highway 237. Another interesting museum piece is Val's Restaurant . While I can't recommend the place for food or value, the interior looks like your worst dream of visiting your grandmother. Nothing has changed since it opened in the 1941. There is even a waitress who is in her 90's! The food selection is old-school french/american (steaks, frogs legs, meatloaf) and is not cheap(>$20 for most dishes). Your best bet is just getting a martini in the hideous lounge, decorated with stuff that was probably hip in 1941 but is now the stuff of garage sales. Here is an excellent web site by Eric Calson of the SJ underbelly all about Alviso with lots of pictures.
• The Town of New Almaden and the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines. The town of "New" Almaden is actually one of the oldest towns in California. During the California Gold Rush, one of the most important items need to process gold was mercury or "Quicksilver". Mercury was one of the founding resources of San Jose -- Ever wonder why the daily newspaper is called the "San Jose Mercury"? Over her long history, the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine pulled out more metal of value than any other mine in California, although it was mercury not gold. The town is a virtual museum, with nearly every house having some history. There is a museum in town called Casa Grande . At the end of the town is a parking lot where you can begin your explorations of the mine area. I had a lot of fun, actually finding a few spots where some real archaeology could be done.

  Here are some pictures of my trip to New Almaden mine a few years ago

• The Ghost towns of Alma and Lexington, now underwater. Here are some pictures from December 2004. and another guy's website with some pictures
• Creepy House in Fremont. Park somewhere on Ford Ln (off Mowry), then walk to the end of Ford Ln until you get to the train tracks. Then go west (left turn) along the train tracks until you see the old house (a few hundred yards). It's essentially at the end of Redwood Terrace (a new housing development), but you can't get to the house from there.
• The Pulgas Water Temple is not really a ruin, but looks old. It is less than 100 years old. This is only open during normal business hours since it is owned by the water department! Seriously, it is not open on the weekends! To get to the Pulgas Water Temple, From Interstate 280 in San Mateo County, exit Edgewood Road. Drive west to the junction with Cañada Road, and turn right (north). Drive about 1.5 miles, and turn left into the parking lot.
• The old sister of the Pulgas Water temple is the Sunol Water Temple, built in 1910 and recently restored. Too bad. Supposedly it was a great modern ruin 10 years ago. Take Hwy 680 to Sunol, and just before you get to town, you will see the gateway to the temple area. It closes early, like around 3pm, and it is only open Monday through Friday. There was more to this complex than just the temple. You can see some evidence of other ruins in the area, including the abandoned picnic area and restrooms. While you are there, check out the Niles Railroad in Sunol, which actually runs on the weekends.
• Ruined factory near Niles. Along the railroad from Niles to Sunol in Niles Canyon, there are the ruins of a factory of some sort. You can see the tall smoke stacks. I have not investigated this.
• Places you never heard of and don't exist, but show up on YAHOO MAPS! Check this out:
  • Neal, California. Actually, I finally figured out where this "town" came from. It was a rail road stop. There used to be a commuter train that ran along the site of the Foothill Expressway. But it was torn out and replaced with pavement. Yeah, there used to be BETTER commuter train options in the past, even better than CALTRAIN. There are some pieces of this left in Saratoga, which makes for an interesting bike ride... which leads to ...
  • Champagne Fountain. Actually, I know what happened here. There used to be a champagne vineyard here owned by Paul Mason. The train stop was renamed Champagne Fountain. It used to be called Congress Springs Junction..

    A '60s joint that didn't fare so well was the Paul Masson champagne factory, once located at Saratoga and Santa Clara streets. A mod new structure that was surely one of the inspirations for "The Jetsons" cartoon space stations, the Paul Masson building made such an impression that the Pacific Railway changed the station name there from "Congress Springs Junction" to "Champagne Fountain"--a switch one local found so irritating that he replaced the new sign with one that read "Hiccup Gulch." Alas, the architectural pariah was later torn down to make room for Interstate 85.

• Frontier Village. Well, there isn't anything left of this amusement park from the 1960s in San Jose, but the grounds are still there, now a park.
• Santa's Village. Used to be up there off of Highway 17. Looks like it is pretty much totally gone. I was going to explore it, but a cop drove by, so I decided to postpone it.

Theatres in the Bay Area

• The most glamorous theatre west of the Mississippi, the Paramount Theatre is in downtown Oakland. They occasionally have $5 movie nights on Fridays. Very old-timey and cheesy, it is still fun to be in the theatre, like you are in the Emerald City of the Wizard of Oz.
• The newly restored California Theatre in downtown San Jose. If you like architecture, you owe yourself a movie showing at the California Theatre. It's not a ruin, but a really nice theatre, totally restored and beautiful.
• Also check out the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, and while we are at it ...
• The Castro Theatre in the Castro district of San Francisco is another wonderful old theatre.

Southern California

Los Angeles

• Surfridge Neighborhood, Playa Del Rey, CA This neighborhood existed from the 1940s to the 1960s, when the entire neighborhood was condemned and destroyed. The streets still exist.

Palos Verdes/San Jose, Southern California

• Check out all the pictures and news clippings of the Dominator shipwreck in Palos Verdes Estates, CA.
• Check out the separate webpage on Whites Point .
• Ft. McArthur military museum in San Pedro, Southern CA. Contains a lot of cool stuff, including a dusty, cobweb filled tunnel that connects the gun turret with the control rooms. Battery Osgood and Battery Farley are here. There are very similar to the Batteries in the Presidio.

Other parts of California

• Bodie ghost town. Arguably the best preserved wild west town. Closed in the Winter, because of massive amounts of snow, unless you are willing to x-country ski anywhere between 6 and 20 miles from the main highway. You can probably find some cool links by searching yahoo.com.

Cool Industrial Shit from East Germany

Links to other Industrial Archaeology Resources

• Steve Reiss's Website on New Idria, a ghosttown in central california
• Jef Poskanzer's very nice picture archive of industrial archaeology
• More links
• Email me if you like to discuss this kind of stuff! (mark@lakata.org)