The implementation of the Foghorn was a big improvement, as the sound could be heard up to 20 miles away in poor visibility.Ī new spiral staircase has been installed to replace the original ladder, allowing easier access for visitors to climb the tower and enjoy the view, as well as get close to the Foghorn itself and appreciate the size of it and the noise it would have made. Prior to the Foghorn tower being built, a bell was used to warn mariners of potential danger. A motor controls the flow of air to the siren, which gives the Sumburgh Foghorn its character, which is a seven second blast every 90 seconds. To sound the Foghorn, a valve is opened and air whooshes along the pipe to the Foghorn where it passes over a siren. It takes around 25psi to power the foghorn compressed air is stored in the receiver tanks, which are connected to the Foghorn via an underground pipe. The Sumburgh Foghorn is powered by low-pressure compressed air, generated in the engines and compressors in the Engine Room. During the refurbishment of Sumburgh Head the Foghorn was restored to working order and will now sound again on special occasions. Recently restored and re-painted, the bright red trumpet points out to sea as it has since it was built in 1905 and put into operation in 1906. The Foghorn would have been heard for miles around (image by Frank Bradford) The Sumburgh Head Foghorn is a striking landmark. It's maintaining the history and the heritage of San Francisco.*Open as usual during roof repairs* (May/June 2023) "In other cities, nobody would even notice the passing of this. "Only in San Francisco could you have a battle like this," said Pat Flanagan, chairman of the city's Maritime Historic Park. The familiar single-tone diaphragm foghorn was introduced in the 1930s. ![]() Later, a giant bell, an air siren and the early two-tone diaphone did duty on the bay. The system worked fine until the fog lasted three consecutive days and the fellow assigned to fire the cannon quit in exhaustion. The first fog signal was set up in 1857, a cannon fired every half hour on foggy days outside the entrance to the bay. Radar, sonar, depth finders and various other gadgets have become more affordable and precise methods of keeping mariners from dashing their vessels onto the rocks. On cold, foggy nights, the mournful lowing of the horns evoked images of detective Sam Spade walking the streets, of ships steaming into port from far-off lands, of a simpler time when San Francisco was a major maritime city.īut in recent years, the foghorns have become little more than noisy reminders of the past. Each had its own tone, and together they produced a cacophony along the waterfront. Once, more than 50 of the old-style diaphragm foghorns were situated around the bay. "We want to keep San Francisco sounding like it should," said Wheeler, who spent 23 years in the Coast Guard and does expert foghorn imitations. Lighthouse Society, to operate two or three of the old-time foghorns as long as the group pays the cost.ĭetails are being negotiated, but Wayne Wheeler, president of the San Francisco-based society, said he hopes to install at least two horns on Alcatraz in the middle of the bay, where their sound would carry far and wide. "The city really loses something when we don't fight to keep those things that are truly San Francisco."Īfter three weeks and countless phone calls, Coast Guard officials agreed on a compromise that would allow a nonprofit group, the U.S. "As a native San Franciscan, I was dismayed by the decision to remove the old foghorns," Mayor Frank Jordan said. And radio station KFOG, which uses the bellow of a foghorn to identify itself, pledged to help raise money. The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution. Civic leaders pledged to win back the horns. Longtime residents who found the old sound comforting came unglued. In its place, they installed a signal with a high-pitched electronic beep about as soothing as a car alarm. Audible in many neighborhoods, they were long a part of the city's identity, the "essence of San Francisco," as one politician said.īut in the name of progress earlier this month, Coast Guard technicians sailed to Alcatraz island and unplugged the last of their aging, romanticized foghorns. These were the mellifluous, deep-toned signals that once resonated across San Francisco Bay whenever fog rolled through the Golden Gate. So it was with great relief this week that San Francisco averted a civic tragedy even more serious than losing the baseball Giants to Florida. ![]() ![]() 27 - This is a city that takes nostalgia seriously, where Victorian houses are given meticulous care and freeways are knocked down to restore waterfront views.
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