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Historic 1942 WW II machine shop. I happen upon this beautifully decaying structure when taking a long drive around the Bay. The building is completely surrounded by fencing and barbed wire. There was also active security. The front gate was open, so I walked in and asked permission to take pictures. I was given a guided tour and a brief history of the building by Richard the guard who knew quite a bit about the history of the building. The Machine Shop produced several Liberty Class Cargo ships which aided our battleships during WW II.
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Cool site.
In that configuration it seems incapable of producing prefab sections for a ship.
Small doors with little overhead clearance and 3 tons is not a heavy lift crane.
Sun had at least 20 ton overheads in their shop if not 35 ton capacity or more.
As people die, history often dies with them.
Old pics are sometimes the only way to find out what was done at a site.
This may have produced fittings or other "smaller" mechanical assemblies for the ships.
https://en.m.wikip.../wiki/Liberty_ship
Is this yard mentioned or near one yards in the above article?
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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Posted by blackhawk
Cool site.
In that configuration it seems incapable of producing prefab sections for a ship.
Small doors with little overhead clearance and 3 tons is not a heavy lift crane.
Sun had at least 20 ton overheads in their shop if not 35 ton capacity or more.
As people die, history often dies with them.
Old pics are sometimes the only way to find out what was done at a site.
This may have produced fittings or other "smaller" mechanical assemblies for the ships.
https://en.m.wikip.../wiki/Liberty_ship
Is this yard mentioned or near one yards in the above article?
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Great observation.
I left details out but here is excerpt from an article about the Machine Shop.
Tail shafts, bearings, stern tubes and liners, bolts, stern frames and rudders were among the items manufactured in the shop. All had to be machine-finished precisely, varying no more than one one-thousandth of an inch,<br>
<br>
The machine shop building was converted to a geotechnical testing laboratory in 1950 and analytical laboratory capability was added in the early 1990s. The laboratory closed in 1997 and the building has sat idle since, its windows broken and paint.
Probably what was left was from the geotechnical resting facility. Currently
the property is owned by the VA. Will be repurposed.
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Great shots man, always love these WW2 era abandonments, especially these warehouses. Keep it up!
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Posted by Blackmoth
Great observation.
I left details out but here is excerpt from an article about the Machine Shop.
Tail shafts, bearings, stern tubes and liners, bolts, stern frames and rudders were among the items manufactured in the shop. All had to be machine-finished precisely, varying no more than one one-thousandth of an inch,<br>
<br>
The machine shop building was converted to a geotechnical testing laboratory in 1950 and analytical laboratory capability was added in the early 1990s. The laboratory closed in 1997 and the building has sat idle since, its windows broken and paint.
Probably what was left was from the geotechnical resting facility. Currently
the property is owned by the VA. Will be repurposed.
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That makes more sense. Still a great find
Larger overhead cranes may have been removed as doors altered; hard to tell just by images.
I wonder if the humidity controlled room was for welding rods?
Not sure if low hydrogen rods were in use back then.
Hydrogen brittleness was an issue with some of those ships...
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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I like threads such as this that have zero graffiti and a historical backstory.
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Posted by RescueMe1060
I like threads such as this that have zero graffiti and a historical backstory.
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Then you’re really going to like this next thread I’ll be posting soon
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The hillside and trees in back of photo 1 made me believe that I knew where this bldg was, but still haven't found it yet after searching google maps street view. A lot of the places I did explore are now in heavy construction zones, much has changed in the past decade.
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Empty but untouched with some nice little details, simply satisfying
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Wow... Awesome shots!! I can only imagine having to rely on that hoist for actual work back in the day, smh...
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Posted by RescueMe1060
The hillside and trees in back of photo 1 made me believe that I knew where this bldg was, but still haven't found it yet after searching google maps street view.
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Would you trust a newbie like me if I gave you an assist?
I just want to explore places my own family and friends wouldn't. |
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Great explore, and an example of how sometimes, if you're honest & ask for permission, it will be granted!
However, due to the obvious structural decay of the building, there'd be a lot of liability if you'd been injured inside -- I think the guy who gave you permission didn't actually have the authority to do-so, and could have some ramifications if the property owners saw this thread/found-out (even though that's unlikely). I encourage you to delete his name & ensure that the posted photos are sanitized of the EXIF data.
I have 3 Bay Area location guesses which I won't make here because it's irrelevant, however your mention of the class of ship the site was involved with would seem to give the location away...
/-/oolie
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. |
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You might want to reword the excerpt from the article you pulled from. A word-for-word Google search led to the spot in one minute...
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Found it. And it looks beautiful in its Google street view form.
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Absolutely gorgeous shots
Dont eat the car Darby! You'll Kill your self! |
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Wow that's pretty neat that the guard let you take pics and gave you a tour, I can only hope to be so lucky one day
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I know that building. Is the submarine sail used in training still down by the drydocks?
Just celebrated the birth of my third girl, an exploration all in its self. |
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