Construction of the Salesforce Tower as seen from my window. On September 30th, construction on the Salesforce Tower surpassed the height of the Transamerica Pyramid, thereby making it now the tallest building in San Francisco. Here's the full story on SF.Curbed.com

http://sf.curbed.com/2016/9/30/13126600/salesfroce-tower-transamerica-pyramid-tallest

 

An ode to the Transamerica Pyramid as a new tallest tower rises

By John King in the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/An-ode-to-the-Transamerica-Pyramid-as-a-new-9887132.php#photo-11342454

The bunker on Devil's Peak was originally built during World War II as a triangulation and observing station and was once simply a piece of a much bigger set of buildings and facilities.

When in service, a watcher equipped with a set of binoculars would keep watch out at sea and if they spotted any enemy ships they simply radioed a massive six-inch gun not far away which would sink them before they got close. Unfortunately, with the advent of more modern missile defenses the station became obsolete and the entire site was abandoned in 1949, leaving an empty bunker atop Devil's Slide.

Text from: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/devil-s-slide-bunker

 

 

 

A view of the distant bunker from the Devil's Slide Trail.

 

 

The bunker is located near the south end of the Devil's Slide Tunnel.

A public parking lot for the Devil's Slide Trail is located at the south side of Devil's Slide Tunnel on Highway One.

The old military bunker, once buried in a nest of rock, now rests atop a coastal bluff like a partially excavated fossil.

With its metal-and-concrete shell exposed to the ocean air and covered by graffiti, the World War II observation post off Highway 1 is San Mateo County’s most evocative reminder of a largely forgotten era — a time more than 70 years ago when the U.S. military and Bay Area civilians prepared feverishly for an enemy assault that never came.

The bunker, the centerpiece of Little Devils Slide Military Reservation, was one of five “fire control stations” built by the Army at Devils Slide between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Men in these stations kept a lookout for attacking Japanese ships. Their job was to telephone the enemy’s coordinates to massive gun batteries in the Marin Headlands and at Fort Funston.

Just a few miles down the coast, the Army also built an outpost with a radar tower and anti-aircraft machine guns along Pillar Point Bluff (now the Pillar Point Air Force Station) and a mile-long airstrip (now Half Moon Bay Airport).

These measures were part of a sprawling defensive system the Army began constructing in the 1930s around the mouth of the Golden Gate. The work took on new urgency in 1941 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

By Aaron Kinney from:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/23/devils-slide-military-bunker-a-ghostly-reminder-of-world-war-ii/

A view of the beach at the base of the coastal cliff that the bunker sits atop.

A view of Highway One and the Devil's Slide Tunnel as seen from the bunker

Devil's Slide is a name given to a steep, rocky coastal promontory located about midway between Montara and the Linda Mar District of Pacifica. The terrain is characterized by steep, eroded slopes with natural gradients ranging between 30 and 70%. There are small coastal valleys throughout along the major drainages within the Montara Mountain watershed. The soils in these valleys are deep and moderately well drained and have developed along the low terraces and alluvial fans of the stream channels.

https://roadtrippers.com/us/pacifica-ca/nature/devils-slide-bunker?lat=40.80972&lng=-96.67528&z=5

 

Devil's Slide was the location of a military triangulation station and observation site used during World War II as part of the harbor defense of San Francisco. Prior to the advent of radar, military personnel would use binoculars and compasses to search for ships at sea and relay their coordinates to a central post. By combining information from multiple observation posts, a ship's precise location could be determined by triangulation. There were six military structures at the Devil's Slide: three concrete and steel observation pill-boxes, two concrete and earth bunkers, and a reinforced steel observation tower. The pill-boxes were used as hardened observation posts, and one of the bunkers was used as a communications and command post. The site was sold to a private owner in 1983, but some of the structures remain.

https://roadtrippers.com/us/pacifica-ca/nature/devils-slide-bunker?lat=40.80972&lng=-96.67528&z=5

 

 

A view of Highway One and the Devil's Slide Tunnel as seen from the ruins of the World War 2 bunker.

 

 

 

 

 

The view looking south along the coast, as seen from the bunker

 

 

The Little Devils Slide bunker acquired its peculiar appearance after a Montara man bought the land from the military and dug away much of the bluff, only to abandon his plan to develop the property. Few people know the odd-looking building is an important part of the region’s military history.

By Aaron Kinney from: http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/23/devils-slide-military-bunker-a-ghostly-reminder-of-world-war-ii/

 

 

Grafitti inside the bunker

 

Sunset on the Pacific as seen from the bunker

 

A view of the Devil's Slide Tunnel as seen after sundown

Sunrise the next day after our visit to the Devil's Slide Tunnel