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canyonwalkerSaturday we headed north toward San Francisco to visit some friends in Pacifica. Afterwards, instead of driving back home, we continued north through San Francisco on 19th Ave. across the Golden Gate Bridge. We'd planned to make a little weekend out of it, staying north of the bridge in Marin County for the night so we could hike a bunch of waterfalls in the area on Sunday. That plan left Saturday late afternoon open... and we filled it with a visit to Hawk Hill.
"Hawk Hill?" you might ask. "What's that?"
You may not know the name but I'm pretty sure you've seen it... or rather you've seen the view from atop it.
It's a classic vista of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. In the distance you can also see Alcatraz, Angel Island, Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge, and Oakland.
If you're wondering why the name Hawk Hill, it's because it's a great place for seeing migrating birds in Autumn. We've been there a bunch of times in the past for hawk-spotting. They even have ranger presentations about hawk on the weekend. Those "hawk talks" are always fun because a ranger shows a live bird they've temporarily captured for tagging.
Anyway, there were no birds on this slight brisk spring day, unless you count crows, but there were other things that Hawk Hill is known for.
Before it was called Hawk Hill it had some really stupid, dull government name like Hill 789. But it was an important hill because of its view out across the Golden Gate, and important navy port for Spain, then Mexico, then the United States. Starting with the Gold Rush after 1849 San Francisco also became a huge commercial port. In WWII it was the primary port on the West Coast for shipping men and materiel across the Pacific.
To defend the area against the naval attack the US government built a number of fortifications into Hawk Hill and other hills around the mouth of the Golden Gate. The picture above shows the remains of a large cannon battlement. The cannon was placed on a huge swivel in that round depression at the front of that concrete bunker. The concrete surrounds protected it from attack by aerial bombardment. Behind the gun area you can see a corridor going all the way through the top of the mountain. That aided soldiers moving between positions. Chambers to either side of the corridor, buried beneath meters of natural rock, stored ammunition.
The guns in these fortifications were never fired in battle. They were decommissioned some time after WWII.
Hawk Hill isn't just a hill but part of a mountain ridge. A road winds along the face of it with views at every turn. Lower down on the hill there's another area with WWII era fortifications. I didn't really take any pictures of the military remnants on this visit. They're in decrepit shape and covered with graffiti anyway. But here's another great vista of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco! And BTW there is a WWII battlement in the pic.... Notice that concrete platform at the lower left. I believe it's the base for a WWII anti-aircraft gun.
"Hawk Hill?" you might ask. "What's that?"
You may not know the name but I'm pretty sure you've seen it... or rather you've seen the view from atop it.
It's a classic vista of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. In the distance you can also see Alcatraz, Angel Island, Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge, and Oakland.
If you're wondering why the name Hawk Hill, it's because it's a great place for seeing migrating birds in Autumn. We've been there a bunch of times in the past for hawk-spotting. They even have ranger presentations about hawk on the weekend. Those "hawk talks" are always fun because a ranger shows a live bird they've temporarily captured for tagging.
Anyway, there were no birds on this slight brisk spring day, unless you count crows, but there were other things that Hawk Hill is known for.
Before it was called Hawk Hill it had some really stupid, dull government name like Hill 789. But it was an important hill because of its view out across the Golden Gate, and important navy port for Spain, then Mexico, then the United States. Starting with the Gold Rush after 1849 San Francisco also became a huge commercial port. In WWII it was the primary port on the West Coast for shipping men and materiel across the Pacific.
To defend the area against the naval attack the US government built a number of fortifications into Hawk Hill and other hills around the mouth of the Golden Gate. The picture above shows the remains of a large cannon battlement. The cannon was placed on a huge swivel in that round depression at the front of that concrete bunker. The concrete surrounds protected it from attack by aerial bombardment. Behind the gun area you can see a corridor going all the way through the top of the mountain. That aided soldiers moving between positions. Chambers to either side of the corridor, buried beneath meters of natural rock, stored ammunition.
The guns in these fortifications were never fired in battle. They were decommissioned some time after WWII.
Hawk Hill isn't just a hill but part of a mountain ridge. A road winds along the face of it with views at every turn. Lower down on the hill there's another area with WWII era fortifications. I didn't really take any pictures of the military remnants on this visit. They're in decrepit shape and covered with graffiti anyway. But here's another great vista of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco! And BTW there is a WWII battlement in the pic.... Notice that concrete platform at the lower left. I believe it's the base for a WWII anti-aircraft gun.
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Date: 2023-04-12 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 04:47 am (UTC)