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UER Forum > Archived US: Pacific Southwest > our visit to Mare Island (Viewed 5855 times)
Alice 


Location: Nor Cal
Gender: Female


"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

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our visit to Mare Island
< on 4/14/2011 12:05 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I understand that this is highly treadded ground but madcap and i wanted to share our visit(s) to Mare Island. We have been a couple times and will continue to do so as there is still a lot of ground to cover. We have found many archived threads about MI, but none are active so we thought we'd post a new one.

A spoon-full of history for those with a taste for it:
Mare Island is the oldest naval base on the west coast and had four main functions: shipyard, ammunition depot, hospital (building later converted for training facilities) and Marine barracks. It was founded in 1853 and by it's closure in 1996, it had built 512 ships, 17 submarines, 4 subtenders, and hundreds of other vessels.
In 1993, the Department of Defense (DoD) Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended the closure of Mare Island in the "third round" (BRAC 3) of military closures. As part of this process, the Reemployment Center was developed to provide a comprehensive range of support services to more than 3,000 civilian federal workers requiring transition after being laid off from the base closure. It was a multi-agency model "one stop shop" for a wide array of services.

Our visit to the Reemployment building was on a very stormy day in March. The sounds of the rain and the wind ripping through the broken windows and blinds was surreal. madcap and I were quiet and listening to the sounds of the storm most of the day. I was convinced someone was scrapping for the first 10 minutes or so, until we turned a corner and saw the blinds banging around violently in the wind.

We also visited the nearby warehouse. This building was very strange to me as there were segregated piles of junk throughout. It seems as though an OCD transient had spent a lot of time here. In one pile there was only vacuums, in another child car seats and toys, in another dog food.

Here are some of my photos (madcap will post some too) and also a place to put more when we visit more of the island.

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The rest of our photos:
http://www.flickr....72157626282062425/
and
http://www.flickr....72157626282854301/

Where i stole my data from:
http://www.globals...ty/mare_island.htm
and the resume of the senior project manager for the MI Reemployment Center:
http://www.yatedo....5b3c7f8ead2efeafc7

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
decrepitude 


Location: Norcal
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 1 on 4/14/2011 12:57 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
You guys really get around! Nice pics. I actually haven't been to this site as I was under the impression there wasn't much left. Is that true? if not I might have to check it out. Thanks for the post.

madcap 


Gender: Male


not that kind of doctor

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 2 on 4/14/2011 8:18 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
mare island...what can i say i kinda hope its always grey there..the older buildings look very natural under a solemn sky. these were a couple of great trips & as we were leaving, one day, we watched no less than 3 other dark dressed, camera toting explorers enter the reemployment building! this island seems to hold many more secrets, we have seen more than a handful of buildings we haven't entered, most of which display the familiar telltale signs that we all look for...graffiti, plywood & dust...oh my!

1.



2. alice spoke of wind..



3.



4.



5. the theater


6. ...i'm stepping through the door & I'm floating in a most peculiar way..


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15. tough & roofless



16. our owl overseer


...can't wait to go explore some more!


-madcap


i am the other yourself.

"Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors. The voice might be one and the same. I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be." http://www.flickr....orers/collections/
consecrated 


Location: Connecticut
Gender: Male


Æthereal

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 3 on 4/14/2011 11:43 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Nice owl.

Cool set(s)!

Robot 


Location: Atascadero, Ca / Colorado Springs, Co
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 4 on 4/14/2011 3:31 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I love all the graffiti.

"Major Tom this is ground control, over..."

Alice 


Location: Nor Cal
Gender: Female


"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 5 on 4/14/2011 4:14 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Thanks guys! This was a fun playground.

decrepitude, there is still plenty there. We would be happy to go with you!

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
decrepitude 


Location: Norcal
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 6 on 4/14/2011 4:36 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Alice
Thanks guys! This was a fun playground.

decrepitude, there is still plenty there. We would be happy to go with you!


Wonderful second round of pictures Madcap, #4, #13 and #16 really do it for me. I am totally down to go, whats security like here? I've heard it can be a bit dodgy at times.



bonnie&clyde 


Location: 510 & 415


Cleverly disguised as responsible adults

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 7 on 4/14/2011 7:13 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by decrepitude


whats security like here? I've heard it can be a bit dodgy at times.




Just makes things fun

The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?

decrepitude 


Location: Norcal
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 8 on 4/14/2011 7:41 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by bonnie&clyde


Just makes things fun


I cannot disagree with you on this. Do you still have the sweet ADT sticker on the truck?




edsel 


Location: Under your skin




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 9 on 4/14/2011 7:57 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Mare Island is a good place to explore. You find the theater in the employment center?

www.flickr.com/edsel12
Alice 


Location: Nor Cal
Gender: Female


"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 10 on 4/14/2011 8:01 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by edsel
Mare Island is a good place to explore. You find the theater in the employment center?


We did find the theater as well as the cat living under the stage. But the photos weren't very post-worthy. You got any good ones?

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
madcap 


Gender: Male


not that kind of doctor

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 11 on 4/14/2011 11:15 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Alice & I are definitely interested in more exploring on this island, we would love to hear about anyone's adventures here especially to some of the other places on the island.

decrepitude: thank you! we can go almost anytime considering how bad the weather was that day. as for security i believe we saw some security but none took notice of us that I recall, I believe I almost ran us into a convoy of about 6 armed forces standard hummers there & I don't think we noticed a heavy police presence or anything. most of mare is set towards redevelopment now & most of the north end now seems mostly industrial/commercial so long parked empty cars aren't as much of a problem as actually approaching the building, which is very close to a highway on/off ramps.

edsel: yay empty theaters! number 5 is from that room if you look real hard you can make out the tops of the seating.


-madcap

i am the other yourself.

"Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors. The voice might be one and the same. I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be." http://www.flickr....orers/collections/
NickDromez 


Location: berkeley, ca
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 12 on 4/15/2011 6:16 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I'm hella gonna go there this weekend. sweet post guys.

swag
edsel 


Location: Under your skin




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 13 on 4/15/2011 10:16 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Alice


We did find the theater as well as the cat living under the stage. But the photos weren't very post-worthy. You got any good ones?


My buddy went down and lit the place with his stinger while I worked the cameras. I also put stuff under the door so the light from outside wouldn't come in.















www.flickr.com/edsel12
Abe Froman 


Location: Oakland Ca
Gender: Male




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 14 on 4/15/2011 10:26 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Beautiful shots! I gotta make it out there.

Alice 


Location: Nor Cal
Gender: Female


"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

Send Private Message | Send Email | underlandexplorers on flickr
Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 15 on 4/15/2011 10:27 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Wow edsel! Looks completely different in all that light! thanks for sharing!

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
edsel 


Location: Under your skin




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 16 on 4/16/2011 5:59 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Alice
Wow edsel! Looks completely different in all that light! thanks for sharing!


Not a problem at all

www.flickr.com/edsel12
basegrinder 






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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 17 on 8/19/2011 2:51 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I lit the whole theater with one sb800

Has anyone seen J.B.'s nudes from the 3rd floor? not of HIM of a model...

darkstuff 


Location: NorCal




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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 18 on 8/19/2011 2:33 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Mobile
 
Re: security, there are security guards in white pickups but they patrol the historic part of the base where all the businesses are located (near Touro University) and mostly steer clear of the abandoned parts. They also don't like to get out of their trucks. If you tell them you're just taking pictures, and not going in buildings, you should be OK. If they don't believe you they may call Vallejo PD, but that's about it.

There is also some new security near the ships being scrapped, but stay away from their property and you'll be fine.

Finally, the extreme southern end of the base is officially closed, but a nonprofit opens it up for tours pretty regularly.

boosted302 


Location: San Jose CA
Gender: Male


www.divinedespai r.dot com

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Re: our visit to Mare Island
<Reply # 19 on 8/21/2011 7:01 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Was just there last week. The whole first floor is boarded up although, a POE is still available, you just need to do some looking. The place smelled like fire and we found someone tried to torch the first floor near the theatre but, it's still standing.

UER Forum > Archived US: Pacific Southwest > our visit to Mare Island (Viewed 5855 times)
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