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.
Excellent work Tom, I particularly like the image with the old pilings.
Love buildings like this. Well captured. Beautiful work.
Stunning work, Tom. I know this area well – I used to have my old studio not too far up the street. Makes me miss my old hometown!
Very Cool Tom!
Overall view of Building #6 my favorite!
Tom,
Beautiful images. I too liked the pilons in the water but all were great.
Dan
Excellent as usual.. What more can I say…
Great shots as usual Tom!!
Nice work Tommy! Glad to see people still shooting with film too….
Beautiful!
What an interesting place to capture some great images!
I followed your link to the Pier 70 website, which has yet more links to slideshows on some of the buildings, including some historical images and interiors on a few.
I’d like to see what you could do in Building 113-114 with your 4×5…
Just ethereal!! WOW!!!
Tom,
Congratulations again, you found the beauty of building No. 6 from this aging deteriorated structure lit by only by one street light. Fantastic.
John Chan
These are all great shots Tom. Reminds me of the night we spent at pier 26 when you shot the cover of your book.
Next time you’re night shooting abandoned stuff in SF, gimme a call!
Tom,
The first shot is quite nice and the fourth image with the pilings would make a nice pano without the bottom half. Glad you found some new stuff to shoot.
Tom – Nice writeup and a great set of photos. It was fascinating talking with you and watching you work. (I hardly call it work!).
Hare are some photos I took while we were there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agrinberg/6152725495
A Grinberg at Pier 70
Excellent work, as always. I love your colors…
Great work Tom! Thanks for sharing it with us. Lovely images. Love the sky and water in that first one, contrasting with the building. The graffiti on the bottom edge of the building is equally enchanting.
Do you know if these building surrounding pier 70 are permitted to enter openly? Id like to shoot a model in building 6 but dont know if its locked or opened only for booking..aka permit holders