At the corner of Park and Race Street in the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood is our very own relic of WWII and the cold war - a vintage 1940's Air Raid Siren. Our neighborhood had moved up from St Leo's church bells to a full blown civil defense siren to be used to alert citizens about impending doom. This Air Raid Siren belonged to District 7 with the boundaries of Park Avenue, Auzerais Street, The Alameda and Spencer Street with the St Leo's School as HQ.
I found a sister siren still standing over at Frank M. Santana Park. It would be interesting to learn more about how these sirens were set off and what ties they had to the 1950's Almaden Air Radar Station that you can see standing at the top of Mount Umunhum.
I found a sister siren still standing over at Frank M. Santana Park. It would be interesting to learn more about how these sirens were set off and what ties they had to the 1950's Almaden Air Radar Station that you can see standing at the top of Mount Umunhum.
Unfortunately it looks like all power and phone lines have been cut from this pole so I doubt the omni directional electro mechanical siren is tested anymore, but it would be great to hear from the residents in the 1970s as to what our Race Park siren sounded like as they practiced their duck & cover drills. You can watch the recreation of the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942 to get a feel for the anxiety folks felt. Believe it or not, San Francisco's 109 air raid sirens are still tested every Tuesday at Noon for 15 seconds!
Turns out the neighborhood school kids still practice duck and cover drills, but this time it is for earthquakes!
If you look closely at the utility boxes that have sprung up around the air raid siren you'll notice another nod to the Shasta Hanchett Park neighborhood. A painted recreation of the historical gateway pillars to the neighborhood by artist Suhita Shirodkar.
I hope that this siren can be preserved and this dead end street turned into a neighborhood “Peacenik Park” for residents to enjoy for years to come.
Turns out the neighborhood school kids still practice duck and cover drills, but this time it is for earthquakes!
If you look closely at the utility boxes that have sprung up around the air raid siren you'll notice another nod to the Shasta Hanchett Park neighborhood. A painted recreation of the historical gateway pillars to the neighborhood by artist Suhita Shirodkar.
I hope that this siren can be preserved and this dead end street turned into a neighborhood “Peacenik Park” for residents to enjoy for years to come.