Hunter's Point

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The crane at the former Hunter's Point Navy Shipyard is something of a landmark in the Bay Area. This view of it was shot from the stern of the flight deck of the U.S.S. Hornet, docked at Pier 3 of another former Navy base, in Alameda.

The Navy shipyard at Hunter's Point built the U.S.S. Horne. Hunter's Point was a vital shipyard for the Navy in World War II.

San Francisco Naval Shipyard–Located at Hunters Point was located on 638 acres of waterfront. As of the mid-1950s it employed 8,500 civilians. The Navy’s Pacific Reserve Fleet units were also located there. Established as commercial shipyard in 1870, it was acquired by the Navy 11 days before Pearl Harbor. Subsequently known as Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, after ceasing active operations in 1974, the Navy leased most of the shipyard to a commercial ship repair company that operated until 1986.

Naval operations at Hunter's Point began in 1941 near the start of WWII. The Navy increased ship building operations to quicken production of liberty ships during WWII. From 1941 to 1974, the principal facility activities were ship building; naval ships and submarines were also modified, maintained, and repaired. In addition to repair activities, the facility was used for base housing, and naval ordnance training exercises. Operational base closure was 1 April 1994.

The former Navy base is now being redeveloped, but there is a considerable amount of toxic waste cleanup that must be done. The amount of toxic waste has caused quite a lot of controversy in the Bay Area, giving the usual grievance mongers ammunition. The redevelopment plans call for the iconic crane to remain.