Bay Area foghorns

[sanzfrancisco]

Mmmm, I was born here, and I'm in my sixties. I have heard the foghorns all my life. The new ones do not sound terribly different than the old ones. The only sound I didn't like was no horns.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

There are some low pitched loud ones around the GG Bridge. Or at least there were circa mid 90s when I lived in the Sunset.

Where I'm at now (San Mateo County) when the air stratification is right and there is fog at sea level in the mid Bay, I can hear some higher pitched ones near the San Mateo Bridge (from a few miles away!).

[Isebiel]

The low-pitched fog horns are going now, and have been for a few hours.

[capsherm]

At one time, (40's and 50's), you were not a real San Franciscan if you didn't know the fog horn codes. Each location had a distictive signal so you would know if you were near the Farallon Islands, or the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and so on. If you were a fisherman, crabber, or yachtsman, these signals were critical. Radio direction finders were not common, radar not normally on small boats, no GPS or other navigation aids other than the fog horns and whistles and bells on the bouys. It was necessary to proceed slowly through the fog, guided by the various horns and hope that a big ship or other vessel did not loom up in front of you.

As a kid, I found the deep base notes very soothing, even if in bed ashore. Certainly a lot less disturbing than cell phones ringing in a restaurant or theater. They were an important sound that was San Francisco, just like the clang of the cable cars.

[dalparadise]

I am a very recent transplant (less than a year here), so by no means a "real San Franciscan," but I can tell you that the fog horns are among my favorite features of The City. From my place on the western slope of Russian Hill, I can hear two distinct horns. One is from the Golden Gate and bellows low almost nightly and often during the day. The other is higher pitched and may be coming from Alcatraz or the Hyde St. Pier area. I only hear this one on the foggiest days or nights. Both are welcome and quiet enough just to add texture to the cityscape, even with my windows open.

I have noticed that the cable cars on Hyde don't ring their bells much in my little part of the neighborhood. I assume residents complained. I think this is too bad. I love the sounds of this city - ships' whistles, seagulls, wind, fog horns, bells, etc. I agree we will have lost something unimaginable when these sounds are engineered, regulated, destroyed or otherwise eliminated from this city.