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DD 305

Here is a sight in the South San Francisco Bay that can only be seen up close by boat. It is about three miles north of the Dumbarton Bridge on the east side of the Bay. It is almost directly east of the entrance to the Port of Redwood City. These photos are 35 to 40 years old so maybe not as much can be seen today:

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GAMBELLA Arrives From the South

A Shot Across the Bow

What is seen is what remains of the USS Thompson (DD 305). She has been at this location since 1944, and is the last of the “Four Pipers.” She was commissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard in August 1920, a little late for an active part in WWI. She was one of 273 flush-deck destroyers commissioned between 1917 and 1922. By WWII they were approaching obsolescence but still managed to play a role in that conflict. The Thompson  was sold in June of 1931 and at one point served as a bar in South San Francisco, but during WWII she was scuttled at her present location and used as a target for pilots training at nearby Moffett Field Naval Air Station.

Broadside

Here is a depiction of what she would have looked like in action:

Drawbridge

In the previous post I mentioned points of interest that can be seen by sailing south from Palo Alto, but there is one more in that direction that should be noted that is of historical significance. It is called Drawbridge and is located about as far as one can go by boat at the south end of San Francisco Bay. Today it is a ghost town but in the 1920s it was a thriving little village. The chart below shows it’s location (9):

(click on image for larger view)

Points of Interest:

(4) Guadalupe Slough

(6) Alviso Slough

(8) Abandoned Duck Club up Mowry Slough

(9) Drawbridge

The history of Drawbridge starts with the building of a railroad line across Station Island in about 1876. Station Island is formed by Warm Springs Slough (now called Mud Slough) on the north side and Coyote Slough (0r Creek) on the south side. Both of these waterways were navigable and thus required by federal law to remain open. Consequently, the railroad had to provide a drawbridge at each slough and hire someone to operate them. This was done, and somewhere in the mid 1870s a shack was built to house the drawbridge operator. Word spread that the area was excellent for duck hunting and fishing. Soon, other shacks were built along the railroad tracks and a whole village sprang into existence. During prohibition the “town” was very popular because the only way to get to it was by boat or railroad, a fact which insulated it from local law enforcement. To this day access is still quite limited. You can hike out along the railroad tracks north from Alviso for about two miles or arrive by boat. Below is a photo of the GAMBELLA moored Mediterranean style to the railroad trestle in about 1980: