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My second ever recording of Urbex that I completed was done over in the East bay. It was an area I drove by at least once a quarter, and I always wondered what it was. After a bit of poking around, I managed to actually gain access legitimately to the point a guard unlocked buildings for me.
That was a new experience.
Anyways, this location is on the national historic register and is still under remediation. While I work with radiation on a daily basis, this skewed things a bit and the largest concern here was petroleum pollution and contamination, so I wore my mask in quite a few locations.
A lot of these images are HDR shots due to the horrible lighting inside the buildings, and the fact I don't carry much more than a high power flashlight with me.
1. Looking outside of the main building. This was the world's largest winery from 1907-1919, but later became a Naval Fuel depot. It's amusing to consider giant fuel tanks where vats of wine once stood. It's also amusing to think of a US Naval Facility with artistic crenelations around the main storage building.
2. The main Administration building had beautiful ivy covering it.
3. The inside of the administration building looked like it was right out of the 70's. In addition, I felt like I was playing the 70's levels of portal II. Weird sense of deja vu. That cabinet to the right and the doorway beyond were both locked and contained reams of blueprints for what looked like vessels and facilities.
4. This is outside of the prior image. That admin building was built INSIDE of one of the warehouses, on the top floor. The whole building was built on a slope, with the rear (facing the bay) access for trucks and the front for everyone else.
5. The ceilings were in bad shape.
6. Collapsing ceilings were a recurring theme.
7. One of the many inoperable elevators.
8. This was neat. In the back of the admin building there was a huge round hatch in the floor that was used to move casks, and later barrels of oil around from the lower delivery area to the upper storage area.
9. A delivery ramp.
10. This was REALLY neat. In the basement they had an old civil defense shelter from the 50's that was supposed to be an attack/fallout shelter. They have kept it preserved to the point that the old canvas "room" separators are still there, along with metal cans of water. to the right of the entrance was a small ramp that was used to roll barrels down into the basement. This was almost pitch black and the exposure time was 1 or 2 seconds (I can't see the exif right now). It came out really neat, I think.
11. The highest point in the winehaven complex. There used to be brewing tanks here apparently, and then there were fuel storage tanks.
12. An old fuel tank along the shoreline. You can see this from google earth.
13. One of the remaining sets of fuel tanks that are out on the bay side of the hill.
14. This was the pump "maze" out near the fueling pier. A lot of the pipes were air gapped so there was no way they could be used, but I think this was one of the major places they routed fuel around. If I remember correctly, purple was generally used for jet fuel. Not sure about yellow.
15. A shot of the pier from near the "marina" office as they called it.
16. This is the housing across the street that was built for the sailors that manned the place. They were pretty nice houses, but all of them had a horrible amount of asbestos.
17. What remains of one of two playgrounds in that area.
18. A random tire swing near the houses.
19. Inside one of the (two) main pump houses. I nearly fell through a rotting board here, which might have been bad. Looking down the stairs, I thought this was full of clear blue water, but it was just a plastic covering of a skylight that colored the light. It was pretty surreal. Apparently this flooded a lot, as the pipes were covered in mud.
20. Another angle inside the pump house.
21. Looking from right next to the CO's house up on a hill. He had an amazing view of the bay.
I have more images I will put later in the thread, as I pull them off the storage drive. I hope you enjoy this; it's a historic place that had a lot to do with the War and the battle for the pacific. Not to mention, it's a piece of land that somehow managed to avoid the frenzied development of the east bay until it was finally placed on the historic register. The Navy and EPA are still cleaning it up due to the amount of petrol products in the soil. Recently, there has been a lot of earth work behind the building that removed the old retention ponds and flattened the ground.
[last edit 5/2/2016 6:59 PM by Agent Case - edited 1 times]
I like Urbex. | |
I plan to go to this place in the near future. Just how well preserved the place is makes it seem super atmospheric and immersive and it would be an amazing experience. Thankfully gaining access shouldn't be too difficult.
Before jumping to conclusions, I'm not a Nazi. | |
It shouldn't be, but try and go on a weekend. There is a lot of construction going on now, and while that won't affect the housing side, the two main buildings might be difficult to get at. Be careful near the pier, also, as there is a big open area with nowhere to hide if the guard does a round at that point.
The area near the quonset hut close to the park is often open these days, it seems. I believe you could also possibly walk in through the park area. It's a good parking spot anyways, but a bit of a hike from the main complex.
If you do get in, try and check out the hilltop that overlooks the area. When I did my research, I was told there was some stuff there but I forgot to go check it out due to time. Also, the opposite side of the road has a bunch of old tanks in the ground that are just sitting empty.
I like Urbex. | |
Ah, I miss this place.
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[last edit 5/2/2016 7:27 PM by siper - edited 2 times]
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Neat history with this one, for sure!
"When it rains, just find bigger drains." | |
Posted by Agent Case
It shouldn't be, but try and go on a weekend. There is a lot of construction going on now, and while that won't affect the housing side, the two main buildings might be difficult to get at. Be careful near the pier, also, as there is a big open area with nowhere to hide if the guard does a round at that point.
The area near the quonset hut close to the park is often open these days, it seems. I believe you could also possibly walk in through the park area. It's a good parking spot anyways, but a bit of a hike from the main complex.
If you do get in, try and check out the hilltop that overlooks the area. When I did my research, I was told there was some stuff there but I forgot to go check it out due to time. Also, the opposite side of the road has a bunch of old tanks in the ground that are just sitting empty.
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I have a contact that will make an exploration of this place legal and easy.
Before jumping to conclusions, I'm not a Nazi. | |
Yeah, that's the best way.
I like Urbex. | |
What a great set. seems like a great spot for image making.
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[last edit 5/2/2016 11:55 PM by OnlyFootprints - edited 1 times]
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Posted by Landser
I have a contact that will make an exploration of this place legal and easy.
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Do you have an interest in visiting sometime? Or perhaps sharing your contact so I could take a trip myself? I'd love to check it out.
Thanks!
http://photos.btraut.com | |
Posted by btraut
Do you have an interest in visiting sometime? Or perhaps sharing your contact so I could take a trip myself? I'd love to check it out.
Thanks!
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Contact the city government this location is in.
Before jumping to conclusions, I'm not a Nazi. | |
They are very good with this. In addition, if you are interested in the history of the place, they have a retired city council member, one of the guys that fought for historic status of the place, that will talk your ear off for at least an hour. Literally. Trust me.
PS: I would definitely go back again.
[last edit 5/10/2016 4:02 PM by Agent Case - edited 1 times]
I like Urbex. | |
Posted by siper
Ah, I miss this place.
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I absolutely love the lighting on these photos! Great composition and sharpness. Mind if I ask what your camera setup is?
http://photos.btraut.com | |
Posted by btraut
I absolutely love the lighting on these photos! Great composition and sharpness. Mind if I ask what your camera setup is?
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Not at all. These were shot with a Canon 6D using a 17-40L & 24-105L lens. Light painting and an intervalometer helped me avoid using HDR for almost all of these.
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Not sure exactly where this is - but next time anyone goes, please let me know! I'm in Hayward, and itching to do some exploring. Great shots!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicxblue | |
Be very careful on any wooden floors in this place, like the building with the loading docks next to the brick building. Had a buddy who fell most of the way through the floor there and it would have been a long way down.
Lots of interesting things inside if you take the time to look around.
1. Hard to tell but this is a map of the bay with markers for various (mostly gone) military facilities.
2. Kind of a shock to run into this after turning the corner.
3. Yup, that's a squash court, built inside a pallet fortress.
4. More police training stuff.
5. Always good to have something to read in the bomb shelter.
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Wow, this is some great stuff! You guys have definitely piqued my interest. I'm in the bay area every year in November... I'll have to look into this for my next trip out west! Great history and photos, thank you for sharing them. 
I wandered till the stars went dim. | |
This place looks awesome, and nice photos!
Will have to ask for permission to enter, if possible or go with someone who has permission.
https://www.flickr...9618494@N05/albums | |
Visited this spot just a few weeks ago, but was pretty intimidated by the "No Trespassing US Property" signs that were strewn countless times across the fence. Noticed a few guards prowling around the area as with just a little bit of looking around you can find a few juicy explores. Don't mind the legal way though, asking to go inside and getting a good response is the best type of explore. Not a worry in the world about getting in trouble.
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Saw this on the way to a nearby spot but didnt think about checking it out, interesting stuff
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