#bay area history

[atlasandacamera]

Christie Road near Oakland, CA

[theinternetarchive]

anton dunnigan (reggie) of the cockettes and adrian brooke of the angels of light, backstage at the angels of light's mindkamp kabaret in august 1976. along with the sisters of perpetual indulgence, the cockettes and the angels of light, defined the meaning of "genderfuck"

photograph by daniel nicoletta. from "gay by the bay: a history of queer culture in the san francisco bay area,' by susan stryker.

[mareislandfoundation]

Industrial Powerhouse

In the decade prior to 1940, America's shipyards launched only 23 ships. In the five years after 1940, American shipyards launched 4,600 ships. San Francisco Bay Area shipbuilders produced 20 percent of warship tonnage and almost 45 percent of all the cargo shipping tonnage built in the entire nation during World War II. The war lasted 1,365 days. In that span of time Bay Area shipyards built 1,400 vessels--a ship a day, on average. In addition, ships arrived constantly for maintenance and repair, sometimes scheduled, but often battle damaged and in urgent need of repair. This incredible industrial effort depended on a combination of shipyards and workers that had not existed prior to the outbreak of war.

One astounding example was due to the U.S. Maritime Commission’s dire need for cargo ships, San Francisco’s Bechtel Company was approached on March 2, 1942, and asked to propose a new shipyard location that could be operational within a year. Bechtel proposed building a shipyard with 6 building ways in Sausalito and the site was approved on March 12, 10 days later. Six days after that dirt was being blasted and moved to construct what became Marinship. Construction of Liberty ships on the building ways began in parallel with construction of the ways. Keel blocks were added as every foot of the ways was built extending inland from Richardson Bay. Similar feats took place around the San Francisco Bay Area as shipyards sprung up in Alameda, Richmond, Napa, South San Francisco, Oakland, and Antioch, while at the same time Mare Island and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard facilities doubled and tripled in size.

Tens of thousands of workers of every type were required to support the construction and repair activities resulting in a huge influx of workers from around the country. That workforce overwhelmed the existing housing stock in the Bay Area. In 1942 Mare Island officials decried the fact that workers were quitting as fast as new ones could be hired to due to the lack of housing. Federal agencies and local governments mobilized and together found innovative ways to rapidly create the housing needed for the burgeoning workforce. Those agencies accomplished so much so fast because of unprecedented cooperation amongst them, readily available funds and the dearth of regulation.

San Francisco grew from a city of 634,000 residents in 1940 to 774,821 by 1950. In Contra Costa County, the little towns of Walnut Creek, Orinda and Concord saw their populations double, then double again. In Vallejo housing units were constructed by the Public Buildings Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and the newly formed Vallejo Housing Authority. Incredibly, during a time of war and scarce personnel and construction resources, housing developments in Vallejo were generally completed within 6 months of contract award and would eventually provide housing for over 27,000 people. But even that was not enough, Mare Island Naval Shipyard's workforce had swollen to over 40,000 workers that simply could not all be housed within Vallejo. That problem was solved with an around-the-clock bus Service that brought 14,000 workers to and from Mare Island from as much as 75 miles away 7 days a week. Those buses would travel the equivalent distance of the circumference of the earth every day.

The enabler for this incredible productivity was the existence of total war involving the entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities of our country. That threat to our freedom created a unity our nation had never experienced before or since. The San Francisco Bay Area with its over 30 shipyards, large and small, and scores of machine shops, and metal and wood fabricators joined together to create the world's largest combined shipbuilding complex. In all, 244,000 people worked in Bay Area shipyards and prefabricated components were shipped by rail to Mare Island Naval Shipyard from construction shops across the nation. The output from San Francisco Bay Area joined the stream of material pouring out of shipyards and factories throughout the country providing the force behind Franklin Roosevelt’s use of the slogan “America as the Great Arsenal of Democracy.” This was all accomplished with no satellites, no internet, no computers, and no cell phones.

Dennis Kelly

[californiastatelibrary]

Did you know San Francisco had a large saltwater public bathhouse, called the Sutro Baths? During high tides, saltwater would run into the baths to recycle the water, and during low tides, there was a pump system which could be activated to cycle the water. The bathhouse was built in 1894 and closed in 1964, when it was sold to a developer after attempts to keep it profitable failed (including converting part of the baths to an ice rink). In 1966, the building burned down while it was in the process of being demolished, and the ruins of the baths are included in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is protected and operated by the National Park Service.

"View of swimming pools, swimmers, and interior of Sutro Baths. Ping pong tables are seen in the right foreground." c. 1900s, from our online catalog.

[icantalk710]

So, mentioned in my turning 34 post but I am thinking of maybe possibly trying to visit Boston next week for a few days as part of my bday week+ off, since I thought to last year and opted for a staycation instead, and also one of my resolutions along with more concerts was to get out of NYC a few times this year

Suggestions on where to stay, things to do, and moots in the area to possibly say hi to and meet even?? welcome 🙏🏽

[meifyoucare]

Fillmore

San Francisco, CA 2023

[longtallglasses]

Artist Jackie Kirk with the subjects of her one-woman show, The Face of AIDS, that showed at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco in 1991.

Virtually unknown at the time, she was among the first to artistically address the AIDS crisis, specifically in the Bay Area.

“What made the series unique is that Kirk painted a self-portrait after each time she painted a dying AIDS victim. They hung side by side in the gallery to reflect what she felt while staring into the eyes of a dying man.” 

“Perhaps some people may approach this show with fear,” she wrote in her artist’s statement for the historic show. “They may think it is about death. It is not. I am painting courage and strength. It is, above all, about life.” 

Jackie painted and created prolifically throughout her life; she passed away on June 25, 2021. (credit) (credit)

[lessnearthesun]

This is legitimately the dumbest thing in the world to bitch about, but my really random nitpick about TSH is how little Donna Tartt knows about California geography 😭 like Richard is from Plano (called Sandborn now) which is in SoCal, and Miss Donna writes that he’s apparently just driving up to San Francisco (a cool ~5 hours away in Central California) for a day trip and has a friend that goes up there EVERY WEEKEND because it’s the “closest city”?? Donna I love you madly, but no queen <3 If Richard was going to go to a city for a casual day trip, it would be LA or San Diego, 2 and 3 hours away respectively. I know no one cares about this but me, but I’m a Californian and this has always bothered me

[googiearchitecture]

Mel's Bowl (Redwood City, California)

[terraoliveira]

My poem, "Mount Diablo", an editor's pick in Puerto del Sol (New Mexico State University).

The three featured poems and the interview with me can be found here.

[atlasandacamera]

Christie Road near Oakland, CA

[bfpierce]

this is so silly but i love to imagine bj commuting to work.

[rabbitcruiser]

Golden Gate Bridge groundbreaking ceremony held at Crissy Field on February 26, 1933.

[wilde-son]

Buttons, collection of Rebecca Silverstein

[graywisps]

the first presbyterian church of oakland, founded in 1853. it was the first christian congregation in oakland, initially beginning with a tent on the waterfront. its copper-clad spire and grand stained glass windows left me breathless.

[the-cricket-chirps]

Richard Diebenkorn, Cityscape #1, 1963

Richard Diebenkorn, Cityscape #3, 1963