While recovering from one of the most stressful income tax filing seasons, (I’m getting too old for this job, and don’t I know it) I headed over to the Embarcadero last weekend to take in some of the scenery (!) They were staging another ‘Naked Bike Ride’ that started from Rincon Park, south of the Ferry Building. The last time I saw one of these was, I think, 2012, and I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one who’s gotten more out of shape since then. Rincon Park stretches from Howard Street to Folsom where the old Piers 16, 18 and 20 used to be. Like the rest of the Embarcadero, this area used to be bustling with waterfront activity long past. (Thumbnail images)
I entered Rincon Park just south of Howard Street, and approached the middle of the park where the goings on, (bad choice of phrases) were beginning. The vintage picture from opensfhistory.org is the near area circa 1940.
About the middle of Rincon Park here is where they starting taking off from. (Another poor choice of words) Right about here was where Pier 18 was. The vintage picture was taken in September of 1937, during a labor dispute by teamsters that didn’t get as out of hand as the 1934 issue, but other photos from the opensfhistory.org website show that it was getting pretty scary.
The riders circled Rincon Park and headed north on the Embarcadero. My picture was taken at the tail end of the ride. I’m getting very awkward with my sentences! The top picture is a close comparison from a 1972 episode of the television show ‘The Streets of San Francisco’. The YMCA Building is in the background of both photos; to the left of the Winnebago is the old Seaboard Hotel, scene of the attempted assassination in near the beginning of the 1968 film classic ‘Bullitt’.
The Winnebago in the previous TV image turns into Pier 18, already a crumbling ruin by then.
Here’s another great picture, looking north from the spot where the riders were heading, taken in July of 1938. (opensfhistory.org)
I’ll close with another exposure (I give up) looking north along the Embarcadero. The vintage photo was taken during the violent waterfront strike of 1934. The trucks are filled with soldiers ready to confront the teamsters. (opensfhistory.org)