Posts Tagged ‘piper loop’
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
Just discovered the Great Military Observation Tower of the Presidio is no more. It jutted above the eucaluptus so high, they painted it #17875 White and #12197 Aviation Orange, just like Sutro Tower. But now the sweet tower is gone.
You could see the whole bay area up there – probably with a similar view that you’d get atop the PG&E Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. And it was accessible – you could just hop the fence while minding the concertina wire and then use the internal staircase to get to the platform up top. It was sweet:
Click to expand
But then then took out the first flight of stairs so you couldn’t just walk up the thing and then they put up a cell tower right next door and then, not too long ago, they just took the observation tower down.
So here’s the situation today. Cell tower on the right, and the site of the observation tower (the now-empty square) on the right:
I think the above shot from Google Maps is from 9-11-2010. (Google has no hassles photographing the Presidio from above, of course.)
Anyway, here’s how it looks from Ashbury Heights – the cell tower is there, but the observation tower, Mount Sutro’s Little Buddy, is all gone:
Oh well.
Tags: 2010, army, bay area, california, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, u. s., United States, white
Posted in bay area, military, parks | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Now back in the day, you could shimmy over a nine-foot cyclone fence and then just walk up the staircase to the top of this observation tower the U.S. Army used to operate in the Presidio. It was the coolest vantage point in town.
But now the barbed concertina wire is thicker than ever and the wobbly stairs up to the first landing have been removed. And perhaps there are new systems in place that would assist the park police as they catch any monkey trying to shimmy up to the top. (Perhaps means definitely, BTW.)
Oh well. It’s painted Sutro Tower white and red because it’s a hazard to aerial navigation peeking just above the Eucalyptus the way it do. Last time I was there, you could tell that people would go up to drink beer and have sex and whatnot.
You’d think the phone companies would have used this old tower for cell antennas but perhaps this old thing is too old. There’s a new tower right next door but there’s not enough room to party up there even if you could try. The old tower has a roomy platform on top, made for a bunch of generals and majors to reconnoiter and whatnot.
Click to expand
Oh well, it’s the end of an era….
Tags: army, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, U.S., United States, white
Posted in parks | No Comments »
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Not even sure what to call this ex-military observation tower as I am unaware of its name. But I’ll tell you, the views from up there are terrific and with none of those pesky trees in the way. It’s painted FAA red and white like Sutro Tower for a reason – it’s a hazard to navigation it’s so high.
Now, you can’t go there legally I don’t think, judging by the signs that I’m sure are posted on the fence you’d need to climb over to begin your climb. Speaking of which, this thing is all wobbly by design. And that’s fine, but you don’t know how it’s been maintained over the decades. Think about that if you try to climb up.
What’s it still doing standing above the eucalyptus if it no longer has a purpose?
Click to expand
Last time I was up, there were empty beer cans strewn about, so that’s proof that somebody goes up there sometimes. Oh well.
You’ll just have to bide your time and wait for the Golden Gate Bridge to open up to climbers, whenever that happens…
Tags: army, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, U.S., United States, white
Posted in architecture, bay area | No Comments »
