Islais Creek

Islais Creek is a concrete-lined channel that cuts through the industrial landscape of the Bayview district. Before the nineteen hundreds, it was the largest freshwater creek in San Francisco, feeding a vast tidal marsh where hunters tracked game. As the city expanded, planners buried the stream in culverts and filled the wetlands to create land for slaughterhouses and shipyards. Today, the water still flows through deep tunnels beneath the pavement, occasionally surfacing as it makes its way toward the bay.