October 24, 2024. There are two brand new parks along the eastern side of San Francisco, Bayfront Park and India /Basin Waterfront Park (for those curious how I find this stuff out, the info came from Johnny Funcheap). I took my Uptown Breezer bike over on BART and started at the northern park, which is behind the Chase Center.
The Breezer was formerly a cute little cruiser but it’s been upgraded with a pedal assist kit for power. Unlike my ebike, this one uses a wheel hub motor, pedal sensor and a slim brick battery that mounts to the handlebars, which adds just a few pounds to the bike’s weight. It’s still super fun and easy to ride, with an assist when I want it. Kudos to Tim Bo for helping me doing most of the work to install it!
I decided to go north a bit first to get the full waterfront visit so I went up to China Basin Park. ALL of this area has changed so much since the massive Mission Bay project has filled in (and continues to). I had a community garden spot along Channel Street in the 80’s (which is still there!) when it was an industrial area. But even things I recognize look different because the surroundings have changed so drastically.
This park has a little beach area with real sand! The trail curves around to the south where I found a boardwalk wending through tall grasses. I really love boardwalks for some reason. I had to stop and photograph the Bay View Boat Club. Back then I knew someone who knew a member so I visited regularly to enjoy 25 cent bottles of Anchor Steam. From their website, it looks like they’re still a quirky SF institution. Yay!
I found Bayfront Park to be pleasingly angular with many features made from reused pieces of the old Bay Bridge. Similar to Alameda Waterfront Park, it’s built on several levels in anticipation of sea level rise. One area has colored sections and markings as if it’s for some complicated game, but I don’t know what! And, more boardwalk!
At the Chase Center, I visited the Seeing Spheres by Oliafur Eliason (whose work I really like), which seem even more tailor-made for selfies than the Chicago Bean. Down the road, The Ramp was another blast from the past. It looks a bit spiffed up. I drank sooo many beers there…
Alongside The Ramp, on the way to Crane Cove Park was what looked like a sculpture of repurposed metal, but turns out to be an enormous WWII steel forge. At Crane Cove there’s an interesting mix of the old and new. To the east of the landscaped park are some of the disused buildings that used to dominate the area.
My next stop was tiny Warm Water Cove which looks as neglected as it ever did. I wonder if it’s on the list for revamping. I once attended a Cacophony Society event here that involved shopping carts, shabby overcoats and fires in big metal barrels. Good times.
I crossed Islais Creek Channel on Illinois Street. You can see Muni trains in the background crossing on the Third Street Bridge. I headed down Cargo Way and found these bins of oyster shells. If you’re in the neighborhood, you’re welcome to donate your used shells! I stopped in at the New Farm to visit the chickens and take a pic of the pedal powered, 2 person ferris wheel I rode a few weeks ago (Kevin owes me pix of me riding it!).
I rode to the very end of Heron’s Head Park, a place I was introduced to by Ellen Campbell. It’s fun to walk or ride on this long spit of land with water on either side. Across a bridge is a rather stark park that curves around a fenced off, empty piece of land where a PGE power plant used to be. It was closed in 2006 after years of activist protest, citing it as one of the “oldest and dirtiest oil-fired power plants in the state” (Wikipedia) and a cause of serious community health problems. Unlike the other parks, this one has vast open areas punctuated by angular metal. I liked it though.
On to India Basin! The trail from Hunter’s Point leads to this new park. It too has multiple levels rising to street level. There are large seating areas, an Interesting open front bathroom and a food court above (it wasn’t open; maybe on weekends?). The park is supposed to have extensive trails that I didn’t see so I don’t think it’s finished yet.
The Shipwright’s Cottage was built in 1875 and housed shipbuilders, unsurprisingly. It’s now an interpretive center. I like this cutaway section of the wall showing old newspapers used as insulation, and the old bottles discarded by workers from the distant past.
My mission complete, I headed back to BART. As I rode, I thought it would be a lovely ending to the day to get some coffee and a cookie but all I saw on my route was a Starbucks that I deemed not expedition-worthy. I kept my eyes peeled and spotted a sign for the Hungry Cafe. Yes!
It’s housed in still another new structure, the Southeast Community Center, which I think is just a few years old. There’s a park in front with similar aesthetic values to the other parks I saw, with winding paths, native plants, wood and rock, but a bit less angular. This is probably the most elegant slide I’ve ever seen, with logs to climb on one side and rocks on the other.
The cafe serves Egyptian cuisine. There’s a yummy sounding sumac chicken sandwich on the menu. I had a cappuccino and a very delicious Dubai chocolate cookie filled with pistachio cream. This creation is based on the virally popular Dubai chocolate bar. The filling contains flakes of phyllo dough for crunchiness. Highly recommended!
Another cool adventure. Loved the little movie, too!