“Star Trek:Next Generation,” “Voyager” and “Star Trek” movie viewers all know that Starfleet HQ is in SF Bay area. While this is obvious from numerous script references,the general location is even more telling from numerous shots of Golden Gate Bridge. The only problem is, while the GG Bridge often appears nearby, it seems to be shot from different angles, making it hard to tell exactly where HQ is – on Marin or city side. Given the various HQ complex-to-bridge camera angles, some location candidates would seem to be Mount Tamalpais (the hills on the Marin side, to the northwest of bridge), Sausalito, Angel Island, or where the Presidio now is. Despite the camera angles, I would guess against Sausalito-- the land acquisition costs would be huge. Any ideas?
I’m not familiar with the SF area, but it does look like StarFleet HQ is on the north side of the bay.
Since the Federation society as a whole doesn’t have money anymore, I’m not sure how land would be acquired. Maybe it was abandoned after WWIII?
Without a monetary system, what’s the incentive to work? If I were offered a free apartment and a machine that could replicate any food I wanted, y’think I’d work!?
It is usually said that Starfleet is in San Francisco itself, but I don’t think you can see the bridge that way from inside the present city. Maybe, in the next 300 years, SF will sprawl and annex the entire area around the bay?
I kind of like the historical connection of having the HQ where the Presidio is today.
Replaying Star Trek episodes featuring San Francisco in my mind, I seem to remember that the bridge is usually seen from outside the bay looking into the bay, meaning Sausalito is out of the question.
It would make the most sense that Starfleet HQ be located where the Presidio is now, which is the northwest corner of the city. You can see the Golden Gate bridge from outside looking in from various locations in Presidio.
The Marin shore outside the bridge is currently completely undeveloped and protected parkland. It could be possible that they’d put HQ there, but I still think the Presidio is the best bet.
Are you all forgetting that much of Earth is due to be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust? It was mentioned more than once on TOS, and set the tone of the “First Contact” movie. San Francisco, being a major city, would be a prime target for some urban renewal, and the StarFleet HQ could well be placed on a recovered nuclear blast site.
Dunno how the Golden Gate Bridge would have escaped damage, but maybe it’s gonna be a replica.
Sheesh, I can’t believe I’m replying to this one …
As much as I hate these Star Trek threads, I feel compelled to point out that the coastline of future San Francisco is under no obligation to resemble the current coast.
Earthquakes, landfilling, WWIII are among the things which might change the city’s relationship to the bay.
I do remember references to WW III, but two script scenarios come to mind that make me think SF was not targeted.
In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (featuring original cast, but taking place long after WWIII is said to have happened), the crew, from around 2250, prepares to land in 1986 vintage SF and Sulu says:“San Francisco. I was born there,” to which McCoy says “it doesn’t look all that different.” Presumably, unless a destroyed city were rebuilt brick by brick, his trained surgeon’s eye would have noticed the difference – if not him, then another crew member. Then, in a Voyager episode from last season, Harry Kim wakes up in a fancy SF condo with his fiance. This is revealed to be an imagined existence, and yet, within all of Harry’s protestations that this isn’t real, he doesn’t seem to mention that the SF skyline looks any different from that which was shown in other year 2350 or so shots of city. You may recall that in the script, he was searching for reasons to make the point it was all made up. If he sensed any substantial changes to the city, or to the landscape (which he could see from his high-rise condo) he certainly would have cited them. For one, the Transamerica Tower and other landmarks recognizable from the present day still appear to be standing. To me, that debunks the theory that the city’s topography might have been so rearranged the GG Bridge wouldn’t have been where it was before.
Sort of. The nuclear holocaust was supposed to be WWIII. In Bread and Circuses (TOS), they mention only 37 million dead from WWIII. Out of 12 billion people (a projection of popunlation in Mid-21 C, when WWIII takes place) it is likely that the desrtruction is not earth destroying in magnitude.
In the Eugenics wars, however, entire populations were bombed out of existance. Incidentally, the Eugenics wars were supposed to end in 1996 with Khan’s escape in * botany bay*. It appears we’re behind schedule.
For the record, this info comes from the Star Trek Encyclopedia, Michael Okuda et al… I’m a geek, oh yes I am.
The Star Trek history is vague on World War III, but it’s defintely not an all out nuclear war. I think that it was a limited nuclear war, probably in Asia or the Middle East, that caused global economic and enviromental damage.
The Eugenics War has kind of been forgotten about, but many Trekkers feel that it was the same as WWW III, and that the original timeframe of the 1990s has just been recalibrated. Maybe they could have an episode or movie that explains how time line changes caused by all the time travel adventures messed up the timeline.
Starfleet Academy is at the present site of the Presido. I always assumed that Starfleet Headquarters was at the same location, but one of the mauals (can’t remember which) said it was actually in Alameda. No, you can’t see the Golden Gate Bridge from there, but there is that weird rule that the Golden Gate Bridge is visible from any point in the Bay Area as long as it’s on film.
Hey! That would solve a Star Trek continuity problem!
Star Trek IV… the crew of the Enterprise in San Francisco in 1986 with hilarious results.
As was previously stated, McCoy says Kook City ain’t all that different and other episodes support this.
However, Chekov and Uhura have no idea where Alameda is.
Now, one would THINK they would be able to find it considering they would have had to go through the academy (in the Presidio as was established) to be a Star Fleet officer. But… Not if Alameda was Starfleet HQ! Probably with all of the rebuilding, the old name would have been lost.
If only ol’ Pavel and Uhura knew the Nuclear Wessels were at Starfleet H.Q…
If this is true, than the logical place for Starfleet Command would either be in the Mount Tam/Marin Headlands, just to the left of the bridge going north, or in landfill directly to the south of the Headlands or immediately off Sausalito.
Mount Tam would only be questionable because as presently constituted, the landscape rises pretty starkly once you get north of the Bay – while footage of Starfleet HQ grounds shows a flat service. The topography of the immediate area doesn’t look flat now. To have Mount Tam location, this would mean that either the mountain would have to have been flattened in an earthquake, or flattened by construction crews. Given the sensitivity of Star Trek command to the environment, I doubt they flattened the Headlands/Tam area.
City of Sausalito would not have been economically viable, unless a disaster took out the commercial and residential districts and made the area economically developable for such a large expanse as HQ complex would occupy. So, the more I think about it, unless we are talking about the city side of the bay in Presidio, where land would be available, then a SF Bay landfill scenario might be the most likely location for SF HQ.
Very unlikely an earthquake would flatten Mt. Tam. I assume you’ve been up there, but that’s a hell of a lotta rock to suddenly shake flat. Also, despite the environmental stuff, why flatten Mt. Tam, when the presedio is already developed and pretty flat itself?
You are ALL wrong.Star trek is FICTION. FICTION, do you understand? It all came from Gene Roddenberrys MIND! I love Sci Fi and like Star Trek , but IT IS FU$%ING FICTION!
