As I walked through Manhattan on a cold November evening, I was feeling negative about the place. The temperatures were frigid, the cold wind was burning my skin and the crowds were large in the stores. New York City was feeling like a hard place to be. But then I looked up and saw the Empire State Building, one of the icons of the city and I felt better about being there.
New York City place in the popular imagination is cemented with its iconic structures and the Brooklyn Bridge is one that evokes the late 19th century, before the age of sky scrapers. This image was created on a cold November morning. The walkway was mostly empty as most of the tourists were waiting for later in the day when it would be less frigid.
For running what would be the 8th largest economy in the word if California was its own county, the state capitol building is a remarkably low-key affair. There are not throngs of tourists and getting through security was quick and painless on a Sunday morning. Inside, one can really notice the difference between the newer sections of the building and the stately feel of the original structure. Unlike the capitol building in DC, this one feels like its part of the city rather than an island. One can easily walk across the street and get a cup of coffee.
Growing up in Silicon Valley, I never gave much thought to the region’s past beyond that it was agricultural area prior to becoming the center of the tech sector. The Joshua Hendy Iron Works is a window the industrial portion of the region’s history. The Iron Works built heavy mining equipment and steam engines for ships in addition to almost anything that could be crafted out of iron. It was originally located in San Francisco but was heavy damaged by the fire following the 1906 earthquake. The City of Sunnyvale offered free land and the Iron Works relocated to Sunnyvale.
I got interested in the Iron Works because of another image I wanted to create and still haven’t gotten right yet. That image is of a large exhaust fan at the top of a warehouse. The warehouse is visible from South Sunnyvale Avenue which I drive on fairly frequently. On one afternoon, I tried to get a picture through the fence which resulted in a security guard racing over a golf cart and yelling at me. Since I was standing on a public sidewalk, I knew I was in the clear legally. Unfortunately, that vantage point didn’t work for the image I wanted to create. The whole experience made me wonder why there’s such high security for an old warehouse.
Today, Northrop Grumman Marine Systems owns the site and uses it make turbine generator sets and propulsion units for nuclear attack submarines. Work on nuclear submarines no doubt includes classified information which explains the overzealous security.
For modern Silicon Valley, even the current Northrop Grumman facility feels like a throw back. The property is 32 acres of prime real estate that would be worth a fortune as town houses. Even more than the property value, building large industrial items out of metal feels at odds with the miniaturized computer and networking hardware and the etherial software Silicon Valley produces today. The building pictured above feels historic and is part of the original IronWorks. The rest of the facility was built post-WWII and feels industrial. The historic building is now a museum that’s hardly ever open. Visiting the museum is on my to-do list as I want to get a better feel for the Iron Works back in its heyday when Sunnyvale was mostly agricultural.
A couple of resources to learn more about Iron Works.
Built as a hospital in 1931, this majestic building in San Francisco’s Presidio is now luxury apartments with eye-popping prices. Rents for a 1BR start at $3600. The renovation is looks really spectacular, at least from the outside. Before the redevelopment, the building was flanked by ugly hospital wings built in the 1950s.
I drove up to the top of this parking garage in Mountain View because I thought the view from the top might make an interesting photograph. I should have know better as while people like to look at the view from high places, high places rarely work well for photographs. Fortunately, the garage itself made for a good subject.
I drive past this Bank of the West branch everyday on my way to and from work. It’s mid-century design frequently catches my eye as I drive past. According to this San Jose Mercury article on the 50th anniversary of the building, the postcard introducing this branch of First National Bank of San Jose in 1963 said “A space-age bank for a space-age community”. Funny how a design intended to be futuristic in 1963 is nostalgic in 2014.
A bit more history on the building at recentpast.org.
Between Hearst Castle and Citizen Kane, William Randolph Hearst has loomed large for me as a historical figure. I’ve visited Hearst Castle several times and always marveled both at its sheer opulence and outright garishness. Hearst Castle is famous for its splendid pools but those were more famous architect Julia Morgan’s creation rather than that of Hearst. For all his money, he didn’t have good taste. His yellow journalism was both distasteful and a had a major impact on country.
I wondered, where does a man like this end up buried? Hearst is buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in the city of Colma. Colma, just south of San Francisco, is a city with many more dead people than living ones. The Hearst Family Crypt is an impressive structure but doesn’t live up to the grandeur of Hearst’s Castle though it’s certainly more tasteful. For a man who was larger than life, his final resting place is only just typical for a wealthy family’s crypt.
It’s always surprising to discover something really remarkable in an area that one knows really well. Stanford Masolueum is a recent discovery for me and very close to locations I’ve frequented for decades. It’s on the Stanford Campus and only a short walk from Stanford Shopping center.
