Voices of the Crane

This soundscape, composed by Evelyn Ficarra for CRANE: Illumination 2026, brings forward the voices of the African American community of Bayview-Hunters Point.  These voices are rooted in lived experience, memory, and generational connection to Hunters Point Shipyard.

The audio draws from oral history interviews conducted by Stacey Carter with seniors from Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood as part of William Rhodes’ Shipyard History Quilt class at the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center in 2025. These interviews emerged from a series of Shipyard History Workshops where historic photographs and archival materials were shared alongside personal stories from participants—many of whom are descendants of African American shipyard workers who migrated to San Francisco during World War II.

The exchange between documented history and lived experience created a powerful space of recognition and discovery. Participants identified family members in historic photographs, uncovered newspaper images from the Drydocker, and shared memories of growing up in wartime housing surrounding the shipyard. These moments, at times emotional and unexpected, expanded the understanding of the shipyard’s history beyond what had been previously recorded.

The resulting interviews capture voices with direct and deeply personal connections to the site. Woven into the soundscape, they trace a history shaped by labor, migration, community, and memory, bringing the crane to life through the people whose lives define this place.