In early June, I got access to an area near Pier 70 at the Port of San Francisco that has been closed since the 1989 earthquake.  They call this Building #6, which is over 500 feet long, built in 1941 and was used for ship building during WWII.  This area has been constantly broken into by “graffiti artists” over the years who have by now tagged over each others work, especially on the inside of this huge empty structure.  For more info and a map of this area, click here.

While the others shot inside, I was attracted to the adjacent environment of the bay.  again, I shot these in 4×5 with negative film.  It is surprising that the Port has not done anything with this structure and the surrounding area.

Here is a shot of the bay-side of the building in the foggy twilight.  I had to climb on broken sections of roadbed to get to this location and the tripod is on a piece of concrete that is at nearly a 40 degree angle–making it challenging to stand on, too!  The cranes in the background are at SF Drydock, and this building was part of that facility until it was deemed seismically unsound in 1989.  That doesn’t seem to worry the graffiti artists!

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Turning my camera eastward, this massive crane illuminated by a large and bright single lamp on the end of the drydock caught my eye.  In the background are the lights of the Port of Oakland across the bay.  Again, the overcast twilight gives a moody texture to the sky.

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Turning westward (there is still twilight in the western sky when it gets too dark looking eastward), I wanted to show this old abandoned building with the light coming through the myriad of broken windows.  Within minutes, the street and security lamps came on, changing the look considerably.

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It is now nighttime.  The dense overcast makes for a soft light on these rocks, old pilings and an abandoned structure out on a pier.  The pier itself has collapsed in places and you cannot get out there except by boat (even the existing piers look so unstable as you would not want to walk on them).  To get an idea of how dark it was, this is a 15 minute exposure.  The lights of Oakland across the bay are in the background.

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Here is an overall view of Building #6, lit by this lonely street light and spill light from the various industrial areas surrounding this area.  In my younger years, I would have climbed that vertical ladder to the perch on the near edge of the building, but not anymore.  The light on the left is from glow of downtown San Francisco, about 1.5 miles away.

These images were shot within a two hour time frame, and all shot within 100 feet of each other.  There is so much more to do in this area.  It is a pleasure to have access (and not having to sneak in), with the keys and permission to get beyond the locked gates and fences.  Many thanks to Dave and Gerry for access and the fun of shooting with Alan, too.