RON HENGGELER

The view of the Golden Gate Bridge at the Legion of Honor

Holocast Memorial at the Legion of Honor

El Cid at the Legion of Honor

at the Legion of Honor

at the Legion of Honor

at the Legion of Honor

The Golden Gate Bridge seen from Merchant Road in the Presidio

The Transamerica Pyramid seen through the 'eye' of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge

The view is from the Conzelman Road in the Marin Headlands

Battery 129 on Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands

Hawk Hill, or Battery Construction 129, has been a silent witness to the ecological and cultural changes in and around the San Francisco Bay for eons. It is the story of soldiers waiting for an enemy that never came. Although most of the World War II fortifications built in the park were intended to keep the newest battleships from reaching striking range, the war was fought and ultimately won from the air. Built into the highest point at the Golden Gate, Battery Construction 129 had two large guns mounted under thick concrete shields covered with native vegetation for camouflage and virtually invisible from above.

It features tunnels that connect the two gunpits, magazines, and storage rooms. After Pearl Harbor, the entire Western Defense Command was placed on high alert. Anti-aircraft guns were installed, and radar stations were developed. Even before the war ended, defending the San Francisco Bay against ships became superfluous, and heavy artillery soldiers were transferred to anti-aircraft duties.

A view of the distant Bird Rock along the coastal cliffs of the Marin Headlands, as seen from inside the ruins of a World War 2 bunker on the ridgetop above Point Bonita.

Sunset with the Farallon Islands on the horizon

The Farallon Islands, or Farallones (from the Spanish farallón meaning "pillar" or "sea cliff"), are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. They lie 30 miles outside the Golden Gate and 20 miles south of Point Reyes, and are visible from the mainland on clear days. The islands are officially part of the City and County of San Francisco. The only inhabited portion of the islands is on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI), where researchers from Point Blue Conservation Science and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stay. The islands are closed to the public.