Where The Other Land Ends

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Where The Other Land Ends

San Francisco has many unique features. One of them is being surrounded by water. Last week I wrote about the part of the Pacific Ocean on the Northern Shore called Land’s End. From the early days Ocean Beach always attracted locals, who came here primarily on the weekends to enjoy the view and to have a good time.

The southern part of the city, which also faces the water, provides a different experience. It was an area where local Ohlone people lived on the tidal wetlands for ten thousand years prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the 1700s.

Today the area is known as Bayview – Hunters point. During a photo-exploration visit to the area many years ago, I discovered Heron’s Head Park. After returning here on numerous occasions, introducing family and friends to this distinctive area, I also learned (from Wikipedia) about its rich history. In 1839 Mexico gave a land grant to Jose Carnelio Bernal. Ten years later he sold the land for real estate development. Not much was built there, but his agents, three brothers – John, Philip and Robert Hunter, built their homes and dairy farm on the land and it became known as Hunter’s Point.

After a San Francisco ordinance in 1868 banned the slaughter and processing of animals within the city proper, a group of butchers established it as “butcher reservation”. Ten years later there were 18 slaughterhouses. This was the start of the process of contamination of Bayview. At about the same time, in 1867, shipbuilding became an integral part of the area. During World War II the shipbuilding industry saw a large influx of African-American workers. The migration into Bayview increased substantially after World War II, and due to racial segregation many African-Americans were evicted from homes elsewhere in the city. By 1950, the population of Bayview reached 51,000 residents. Until 1969, the Hunters Point shipyard was the site of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. The Bay was further contaminated from 1929 until 2006, as the district was home for coal and oil-fired power plants, which provided electricity to San Francisco.

After the closure of the naval shipyard and de-industrialization of the district in the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increase in unemployment and the local poverty level. In 1966 racial tension sparked a racial riot in Hunters Point, and the area is still known for its crimes and is avoided by the majority of San Franciscans.

But things have started to change. In 2008, PG & E demolished the Hunters Point Power Plant and began a remediation project to restore the land for residential development. The neighborhood became the focus of several redevelopment projects. The former shipyard’s dilapidated buildings became one of the largest communities of artists in the United States, with over 300 artists’ studios which are a must visit during the open studio events in April and in October.

The construction company Lennar Inc. is in the process of developing the Bay View area and is promising to build 12,500 new homes, 4 million-plus square feet of offices, commercial and retail space, and 300 acres of open parks, trails and fields.

The new developments led to the increase of the housing prices, which in turn led to the exodus of those who created the historic African-American district. Perhaps this area with its incredible views of the water, located on the other end of the land, is the place you will enjoy visiting in the near future.

P.S. While the neighborhood which is called Southern San Francisco is undergoing change, visit Heron’s Head Park. Online you will find a lot of information about our cities’ ecological treasures. My four images only show small part of the experience.

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Cheers,

Manny<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Signature