Bay Area foghorns (San Francisco, San Mateo: neighborhood, theater, restaurant)

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

I remember hearing those from Berkeley. They were a very low muffled sound from there but were very distinctive, nothing else sounds like those.

I know which coast guard tones they're talking about too. The Berkeley Marina has what sounds like a very loud bell, like the first note of a traditional doorbell. It's loud and annoying and you can hear it all the way in the hills.

I wonder if the fog horns they plan on putting in are like those on the east coast, which I've heard in SD once or twice?

Yeah, the Berkeley Marina one was a real annoying beep sound!
I do wish we had the old school style foghorns....sigh...oh well.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by bellalunatic

Yeah, the Berkeley Marina one was a real annoying beep sound!
I do wish we had the old school style foghorns....sigh...oh well.

I was an avid fisherman (and birder) when I lived there and was the Berkeley Marina 2 to 4 times a week. That thing would drive me completely batty!

[rah]

I think i know what you guys are talking about in regards to the Berkeley Marina foghorn. I was working in the Berkeley hills a couple years ago, and i would hear this weird beep/bell sounding noise every now and then, echoing up from the west somewhere. I guess i now know what it was.

[sabbytabby]

I do miss the foghorns up there. Not sure about the older ones your talking about, but they seemed low and bassy enough. They were soothing and haunting at the same time.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by rah

I think i know what you guys are talking about in regards to the Berkeley Marina foghorn. I was working in the Berkeley hills a couple years ago, and i would hear this weird beep/bell sounding noise every now and then, echoing up from the west somewhere. I guess i now know what it was.

Yeah, it's located on the breakwater that separates the harbor from the open bay. The carrying power of that sound is unreal.

[OldGrowthAl]

If enough foghorn fans teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce, I bet we could get the old-style foghorns back. Even if they aren't being sold anymore, a machinist could make them for very little. All it would take is a little political will.

The most unfortunate thing is that almost nobody seems to know what I'm talking about, and it's been less than 20 years. Will it be the same when the redwoods and polar bears are gone too (to climate change)? Probably so. Nobody will know what we've lost.

[bellalunatic]

Why would the Chamber of Commerce be useful in this situation? They are just a Republican lobby group.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by OldGrowthAl

If enough foghorn fans teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce, I bet we could get the old-style foghorns back. Even if they aren't being sold anymore, a machinist could make them for very little. All it would take is a little political will.

The most unfortunate thing is that almost nobody seems to know what I'm talking about, and it's been less than 20 years. Will it be the same when the redwoods and polar bears are gone too (to climate change)? Probably so. Nobody will know what we've lost.

Very good points and IMO you're right on every one!

[marci ronka]

Be romantic about these fog horns between 8AM and midnight, but please let everyone who cares about a good night sleep get one.

[cowhollow kid]

I was raised in the marina and I loved hearing the fog horns at night when I fell asleep. They actually help you fall asleep.
There were 2 distinct sounds, one a higher pitch and the other, the one most people equate with fog horns, had a lower pitch. They difference in the pitch indicated their location for the ships so they kept between them to avoid land.
We had French Doors on my bedroom and smaller side window, about 12", I would open it slightly just to hear them.