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Hunter’s Point & The San Francisco Shipyard

Onsite and Online Historical Tour of Hunter's Point/Shipyard Area

Introduction & Acknowledgements

The San Francisco Shipyard, located in the heart of the city, is a masterplan community that incorporates historic preservation with new urban housing, parks, playgrounds, and art walk areas to enjoy the outdoors. Located at Hunter’s Point, the land was originally settled by the Ohlone people over 10,000 years ago. The stories of what is now Hunter’s Point illuminate major historical movements in both San Francisco and California including Spanish colonization, Chinese fishing industries, military activities, and Civil Rights.

This webpage is a cooperative venture between San Francisco Heritage and Lennar Corporation to create a gateway for education and to promote further discussion of the history of the site. Each of the historical points below coordinate to a information sign on the property. Full-size, readable PDFs of each sign are available using the Sign Index menu or click on the sign icons above the rows of images.

Research and text by Sheila McElroy. Hosted by San Francisco Heritage and Lennar.

SHIPYARD TIMELINE

Punta de Concha was the Spanish name given to the prominent peninsula known today as Hunters Point. The name first appears on the chart “Plano del Puerto de San Francisco,” drafted in 1776 by Jose de Canizares, first pilot of the Spanish vessel San Carlos. The San Carlos was under the command of Captain Juan Manuel de Ayala, whose duty it was to explore and survey San Francisco Bay for Spain. For 166 years, Hunters Point remained relatively undisturbed except for the establishment of a small merchant shipyard.

Then, in just two years after America’s entry into World War II, this unique peninsula was transformed into a vast complex designed to repair and maintain the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, from the smallest vessel to the largest warship afloat.

As we move forward in building the next phase of the Shipyard’s history, we recognize those who honorably preceded us and the built environment which followed.

  • Indigenous History. The Shipyard was a favorite fishing ground for Native peoples. The territory of the Ohlone peoples stretches from the San Francisco Bay Area to Big Sur.
  • 1867. The first permanent dry dock on the Pacific Coast was constructed at the Shipyard in 1867. The Colorado was the first ship to come to the Shipyard for repair.
  • 1910. Chinese shrimp camps were well established around the bay by the late 1800s, and some of the most productive grounds were along the west side of the bay at Hunters Point.
  • 1940. The United States Navy acquired the Hunters Point dry docks in 1940. The takeover yielded a massive influx of blue-collar workers and transformed Bayview-Hunters Point into a bustling district known as the Third Street corridor.
  • 1974. With the end of the war, the U.S. Navy closed the Shipyard for Naval operations and began to rent land to private tenants.
  • 1980. More than 300 working artists opened studios and workspaces in the former Navy facilities. They organized to form The Point, the largest artist colony in the U.S.
  • 1995. The City of San Francisco and local citizen groups made a plan to redevelop the Shipyard into a whole new community.
  • Going Forward. The Hunters Point Shipyard is one of the most transformative urban renovations in the city. It’s a bold new vision inspired by all the creativity and abundant spirit that makes San Francisco unique.

HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: Indigenous History.
The Ohlone people are Native American people who lived on the aboriginal lands between San Francisco and Monterey Bay for over 10,000 years. Lithograph by Louis Choris, Coiffures de danse des habitants de California, from Voyage Pittoresque autour du Monde, 1822. Autry Museum, Los Angeles; 92.6.2
Their traditional way of life was relatively stable until the arrival of the Spanish missionaries in 1769. A few Ohlone people survived colonization. Today, they are represented by several tribes that are actively involved in restoration and preservation of their lands, culture, language. Ohlone Indian tule huts (or housing) by Ann Thiermann.com
Mission San Francisco de Asis (also known as Mission Dolores) was founded in 1776 and constructed by Native American labor. Severe living and working conditions and European diseases reduced the Native population at the mission by over 75% by the early 1800s. Danse des habitantes de Californie a la mission de San Francisco [ca. 1815], by Louis Andrevitch Choris, courtesy of The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
OHLONE CANOES: Native Americans in the Area.
Tule (pronounced “too-lee”) canoes are made from tule reeds (Schoenoplectus acutus). They are a bulrush, which flourishes in California wetlands. Gathering the reeds and weaving the tule into canoes is a skilled tradition that goes back many centuries. Painting by Louis Andrevitch Choris, 1822, courtesy of The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley.
The Bayview-Hunters Point area was a favored fishing ground for the Ramaytush Ohlone of the San Francisco Peninsula. Ohlone Ceremonial Dance by Georg von Langsdorff, 1806. Courtesy of Pentacle Press.
Tule canoes were used by the Ohlone people to traverse marshes, inlets, lakes and bays, and used for fishing, and gathering of mollusks and shellfish. Artist Jessica Bodner, a Bayview resident, built the traditional Ohlone canoes displayed in Hilltop Park as a memorial tribute to celebrate and honor the Ohlone culture.
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: The Shipyard is Established
Chinese Fisherman in San Francisco Bay, circa 1875, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research Center, SAFR 13841.
1910: Chinese Fishermen established a lucrative fishery. A community of Chinese fishermen who called Hunters Point home since the late 1800s joined together to form a large-scale shrimp fishery—a testament to the Chinese contribution to San Francisco’s productive waterfront industries. Photo courtesy of a Private Collector / OpenSFHistory, wnp4.1290.
In 1866, about 30 acres (including submerged land) were granted for the construction of a modern dry dock. The area’s impermeable serpentine bedrock was an ideal location for a “graving” or stationary dry dock for the booming ship repair industry. The California Dry Dock Company opened Hunters Point Dry Docks in 1867. Artist’s Conception of Proposed Improvements for Hunters Point when acquired by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. LTD. circa 1910, National Archives at San Francisco, ARC# 296813.
1916: A third dry dock is built at the Shipyard, capable of holding the world’s largest warships and passenger steamers. Construction progress photograph, Hunters Point Dry Dock, San Francisco, CA, circa 1868, National Archives at San Francisco, ARC# 296809.
The Hunters Point Commercial Dry Dock Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-D4-20934.
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: The Navy Takes Over.
1938: The Shipyard area houses its first artist. Painter and sculptor Adrien Voisin purchased the old Albion Brewing Company castle and converted it into a private residence and studio. The building, now a private residence, still stands at 881 Innes Street. Courtesy of Vintage Roadside.
As World War II escalated, the Navy took ownership of the Union Iron Works from Bethlehem Steel in 1939, naming it the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Shortly thereafter, San Francisco’s Department of Health burned down the six remaining Chinese shrimping camps, citing unsanitary conditions, and the War Powers Act of 1941 authorized the acquisition of land for military or naval purposes. Within weeks, the Navy condemned and purchased over 535 acres. Photo courtesy of National Archives, photo no. 22-FA-145.
Initially, 86 homes and 23 businesses were displaced by the Navy’s actions, and many more were displaced before the end of the war. By 1945, the Shipyard had grown to 979 acres of filled and unfilled tidal lands, six dry docks ranging from 420’ to 1,092’ in length, two hundred buildings, five miles of berthing space, and 17 miles of railroad tracks. The acquisition of Hunters Point by the U.S. Navy was the most significant event in the history of the district. Photo USS President Hayes (APA-20), circa 1945. Courtesy of National Archives (19-N-81339).
USS Converse (DD-509) circa 1944, NH 95051 courtesy of the Naval History & Heritage Command.
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: War Efforts at the Shipyard
Just 11 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Hunters Point established itself as a leader in ship repair and maintenance during the war effort. Photo by Paul Dorsey, courtesy of National Archives, photo no. 80-G-377613.
The Navy’s development of Hunters Point, and growth of related private industries, yielded a massive influx of blue-collar workers from around the country. This population explosion, which is tied to the second Great Migration of African Americans from the South, transformed Bayview-Hunters Point almost overnight. Photo by Emmanuel Joseph, courtesy of Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University, People’s World Photograph Collection.
It is estimated that by August 1945, Black people comprised over one-third of the total 18,235 workforce at the Shipyard, many of whom settled in the Bayview neighborhood. To meet housing demands, the National Housing Authority, in cooperation with the Navy and the San Francisco Housing Authority, built more than 12,000 new homes in and around the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HAER CAL, 38-SANFRA,195A—6.
GANTRY CRANE: Shipyard Icon.
The Gantry Crane was built in 1947 by US Steel’s American Bridge Company. The crane is the tallest structure at the Shipyard – extending 160' above the water and 405' wide. Photo courtesy Naval History & Heritage Command.
The crane was used to lift massive gun-turrets on warships, each weighing up to 1 million pounds! This crane helped repair the warships quickly, and send them back to battle.
This “GIGANTRY” play structure (2015) was modeled after the Shipyard’s iconic Gantry Crane. Artist Matthew Passmore is principal and co-founder of Rebar, a San Francisco based art and design studio.
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: Post-War Cultural Revolution
In 1966, after being largely neglected for almost two decades, the residents of Bayview-Hunters Point took to the streets in what became known as the “Hunters Point Uprising.” Photo by Jean-Antony du Lac, courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
The 128-hour demonstration involved a standoff between residents and the California National Guard, and is considered the most significant event in San Francisco’s civil rights struggle. The civic uprising helped facilitate a $150 million grant for Bayview-Hunters Point community to use at its discretion. Photo by Jean-Antony du Lac, courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
The residents elected to build 3,000 new homes and transform the former Butchertown area into the India Basin Industrial Park. The rejuvenation created more than 4,000 jobs, many of which are filled by residents of the Bayview-Hunters Point. Leading the community’s growth and rejuvenation were “The Big Five”: Elouise Westbrook, Julia Commer, Rosalie Williams, Bertha Freeman and Osceola Washington. Photo from the Shaping San Francisco collection, as seen on Foundsf.org
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: Private Tenants Move Into the Shipyard
The U.S. Navy closed operations at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in 1974, with over 5,000 workers laid off or reassigned. For 35 years, this single economic industry both built and devastated the Hunters Point neighborhood. The Shipyard opened the facilities to lease by private tenants, including food business training and a commercial ship repair company. Though still referred to as Hunters Point Shipyard, the area began to cultivate a new identity as a crucible for artistic production. Photo by Lt. A. Legare, courtesy of National Archives, photo no. 6393070.
1976: After the Navy opens up the Shipyard to private ventures, sculptor Jacques Terzian subleted a warehouse and transformed it into an artist’s studio. He invited friends and colleagues to open their own studios nearby. Photo of Jacques Terzian by Judy Reed.
1983: The artists organized to form The Point, which grew to become the largest artist colony in the United States. Today, The Point Community includes over 300 artists.
1984: Scott Madison, a local restaurateur, opened Eclectic Cookery in the shipyard’s former Marine Corps barracks. The Cookery provided time-shared kitchen facilities to new food businesses. Over the next three decades, the space served as a launch pad for hundreds of San Francisco’s beloved food establishments. Photo of Commercial Kitchen 2022.
HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD: The Beginning of a New Era
The Navy decommissioned the base and shipyard facilities in 1991, as part of a post-Cold War realignment and disposal program. This is the advent of a new and transformative age for the district. In 1995 the City of San Francisco ratified the Bayview-Hunters Point Area Plan. This is a landmark example of community ownership of urban development and revitalization, based on the Citizen Advisory Committee’s guidelines and the years of citizen input that influenced them.
The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency published the Hunters Point Shipyard Redevelopment Plan, guided by the Bayview-Hunters Point Project Area Committee, in 1997. The City of San Francisco adopted the Bayview-Hunters Point Redevelopment Plan in early 2000.
The City committed to invest in local education, transportation, public open spaces, hiking and biking trails, community facilities, and energy efficiency. By 2004, the Navy transferred the first parcel of land on the former shipyard site to the City of San Francisco, a major milestone for the Bayview-Hunters Point community. In the summer of 2013 groundbreaking began to construct the first homes at the Shipyard.

Sign Index
Link to full-size readable PDF

Shipyard Timeline
Indigenous History
Ohlone Canoes
Shipyard Established
The Navy Takes Over
War Efforts at the Shipyard
Gantry Crane
Post-War Cultural Revolution
Private Tenants Move In
New Era 

Lennar is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this site or related signage. For additional information, contact San Francisco Heritage.

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