SAN FRANCISCO — A new free museum inside Pier 70’s historic Building 12 is opening this weekend, and its name can be misleading in the best possible way: the Pier 70 Time Machine is not a sci-fi ride. It is a community museum and archive built around the history of Dogpatch, Potrero Hill, Pier 70 and San Francisco’s industrial waterfront.
The permanent museum information is clear about what the Time Machine is and where to find it. The grand-opening details are more scattered, which is why this page separates the museum’s official information from the weekend schedule published in the event announcement.
What is the Pier 70 Time Machine?
Pier 70’s official directory describes the Time Machine as a community-focused museum and archive with hands-on exhibits, historic artifacts and workshops. The museum is a joint project involving the Potrero Hill Archives Project and the Bethlehem Shipyard Museum.
Its own site says visitors can explore local history for free, with material on Dogpatch and Potrero Hill, Pier 70’s shipbuilding past, World War II-era industry and the machinery that once defined this part of the waterfront.
When is the Pier 70 Time Machine grand opening?
According to the organizers’ grand-opening announcement reproduced by Funcheap, the opening weekend schedule is:
- Friday, Sept. 11: 4–9 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 12: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 13: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Time Machine’s own events page does not currently present that weekend schedule as clearly, so SF News Today is attributing those hours to the event announcement rather than implying they appear on a polished official event page.
Where is it inside Pier 70?
The museum is in Building 12, Suite 2.35, 1070 Maryland Street. Building 12 is one of the large rehabilitated industrial buildings in the redeveloped Pier 70 complex.
Once you reach Pier 70, look for Building 12 rather than searching the wider waterfront for a stand-alone museum building.
Is admission free?
Yes. The Pier 70 Time Machine’s own site describes the museum as free to explore, and the grand-opening announcement lists the Sept. 11–13 weekend as free.
What can visitors see?
The museum says its permanent material includes neighborhood history, maritime and industrial artifacts, World War II history, ships, locomotives and mining equipment. The idea is to connect the surrounding district to the heavy industry that shaped it rather than display artifacts without local context.
The grand-opening announcement says the weekend presentation includes hundreds of artifacts, a 24-foot history wall, a display on the Ramaytush Ohlone, material on Irish Hill and the Union Iron Works/Bethlehem Steel era, and a photographic retrospective.
Because those opening-weekend specifics come from the event announcement rather than the museum’s permanent exhibit page, they may change more readily than the basic museum description.
What is Building 12?
Building 12 is part of the former industrial Pier 70 shipyard complex. Its reuse is central to the modern Pier 70 redevelopment: the structure retains the scale and character of the old industrial waterfront while housing new public-facing businesses and spaces.
That setting is part of the appeal of the Time Machine. The museum is explaining the history of the waterfront from inside one of the surviving industrial buildings tied to that history.
How do you get to Pier 70?
SFMTA lists the T Third, 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express and 55 Dogpatch among transit options serving the 1070 Maryland Street/Pier 70 area.
If you are coming from elsewhere in San Francisco, check current Muni conditions before leaving because weekend events and construction can affect the easiest last-mile route.
What else is open in Building 12?
Pier 70’s directory lists a mix of food, retail, fitness and other tenants around the complex. That makes the grand opening workable as part of a longer Dogpatch or waterfront visit rather than a single stop.
For the museum itself, the most useful thing to remember is the suite number: Building 12, Suite 2.35.
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