Photos: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0 (1, 2) · Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 (3, 4, 5)
A ferry to an island in the bay, a walk across it, and a timber barracks whose walls carry carved verse in worn, partly legible Chinese.
Why it's unique
Chinese immigrants detained here between 1910 and 1940 cut poems into the wooden walls of the barracks. A ranger rediscovered them in 1970 with a flashlight, when the building was slated for demolition, and they are still there.
You read them in the rooms where they were written, which is what separates this from a museum about immigration. Worldwide uniqueness seems plausible but is unproven, so the claim is to the country.
Before you go
It is further than it looks: 1.2 miles from Ayala Cove. The 140-step shortcut is the fastest, the paved Perimeter Road adds 15 to 20 minutes, and the cafe sells shuttle tickets. The Tiburon ferry takes about ten minutes; the longer San Francisco boat gets you views of the bridge and Alcatraz.
Expect worn carving rather than clean lettering. The Immigration Station's online Poetry Finder documents 154 poems and labels walls by compass point and number, so you can do a self-guided hunt. Museums shut at 2:30pm on weekdays, so a late ferry can leave you too little time. Closed 25 and 26 November and 21 to 30 December 2026.
