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M. A. Tanenbaum

Writer. Game developer. Word-fancier. Recovering tech worker.

Drawbridge, CA: A Ghost In Our Midst

M A Tanenbaum

I first published this photo essay featuring the town of Drawbridge on Medium in 2015. I’ve not visited since, so I’m not sure what it’s like today.

Two rundown shacks in a field near Drawbridge, CA on an overcast day. On one of them, graffiti reads "stay frosty".

Who doesn’t love a ghost town? There’s a special wonder, a sense of history and expectation and loss that weaves its way between the derelict buildings that once supported a community and a purpose, now abandoned to nature and the slow, inevitable creep of time. And while one expects to find these treasures tucked away in deserts and mountains, forests and swamps, it is somehow staggering to find a prime example practically on one’s urban doorstep.

Alviso, CA is a town right on the southern edge of San Francisco Bay. Once a key port, home to the third largest canning facility in the world, it is now essentially a tiny village tucked between San Jose and Milpitas. And while Alviso is cuter than we supposed and worth investigation in its own right, the target of our day’s quest was the abandoned town of Drawbridge.

People walking alongside a train track towards Drawbridge, CA.

An extraordinary curiosity, Drawbridge sits on land just a few miles from strip malls, office parks, and a Dell computer facility. While I’ve lived in the Bay Area most of my life — and even worked within a couple miles of Alviso — I’d never known there was a ghost town sitting right there…close enough for a lunchtime excursion.

Founded in 1876, Drawbridge was a railroad station and hunting village during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. At its height, it had 90 buildings and two neighborhoods (a Roman Catholic north and Protestant south). There were no roads, but as many as ten passenger trains stopped every day, bringing thousands of tourists.

The collapse of an old shack in Drawbridge, CA.

Changes in the economy, a move of the California capital, and redirection of principal train routes eventually doomed Drawbridge. The last resident left in 1979.

An old shack, mostly intact, sits in the middle of an empty field.
Hills rise behind a shack and the remains of a water tower.

In recent years, the area around the town has been turned into a National Wildlife Refuge. Waterfowl are everywhere…

An egret flies over wetlands.

…and sadly, so is a lot of trash.

Litter strewn on the ground.

The relics still remain, but the bay is slowing claiming the small town.

Water floods numerous broken down shacks in Drawbridge, CA.
The tide appears to be a factor in what you can see and do in Drawbridge. The water level was quite high for us, so we never really got very close to these buildings.
Water floods the floor of a broken down shack.

And much of the town is covered in graffiti. Curiously, though, the artistic statements of the vandals seem to enhance, rather than mar, the crumbling beauty.

Graffiti inside a broken-down shack shows a cartoon mummy.
Graffiti inside a broken-down shack shows a cartoon of the Frankenstein monster.
Wreckage of a shack. Graffiti on the shack reads "We were dreaming, then we woke up."

The train still passes through quite frequently; this is an important point if you’re thinking about checking Drawbridge out for yourself. The only way in and out is over the train track. Make sure you look and listen!

A couple observe a freight train passing Drawbridge, CA as it passes a set of shacks.
A freight train passes a set of shacks.
A passing freight train.
The locomotive of a freight train.
Two women cover their ears at the sound of a passing freight train.
We took shelter from this freight train as it roared on through.

And of course, what’s a visit to a town called Drawbridge without a look at some of the many bridges?

A twisted and broken wooden bridge.
People crossing a broken wooden bridge.
Drawbridge is not a place you can assume to be safe. We took chances that we deemed to be reasonable…the sorts of chances that get you written up in the paper for being an idiot. Be it on your own head if you choose to follow our example.
A broken wooden bridge covered in planks.

The hike to Drawbridge is a 7-mile round trip from the parking lot at the Alviso Marina Country Park. At the time of writing, there were indications that we were walking paths not entirely recommended.

A bent-over warning sign reading, "Area beyond this sign closed"

Furthermore as I’ve already mentioned, there are tidal concerns, patently unsafe conditions, and a functioning, in-use train track to contend with. But if you’re interested in seeing a bit of California history, beautiful wetlands with up-close wildlife, and a real-live frickin’ ghost town right on your doorstep, this site is well worth the walk.

People walking along train tracks.

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