By 6:30 a.m. Saturday, about 100 people gathered at California and Gough Streets in San Francisco, completely blocking traffic.
“Is this it? Is it happening?” one woman whispered excitedly to a friend as the sun began to peek over the top of California Street.
The crowd, a mix of people with just phones, with multiple cameras and tripods, and even one with a drone, had flocked to the area to capture the moment the sunrise lines up with California Street, shining between San Francisco’s buildings and over the Bay Bridge, a biannual phenomenon known as California Henge.
As people jockeyed for the best angle — most were aiming for the middle of the street — traffic laws were forgotten, forcing cars, faced with a wall of people, to turn around. Drivers and passersby, seemingly unaware of the rare photography opportunity, took their own photos of the people gathered before moving along. Neighbors leaned out of windows and over balconies, some looking toward the crowd, others toward the sunrise.
Dozens gather to watch and photograph the biannual phenomenon when the sunrise aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
“I can’t believe we blocked the street. That’s nuts,” one photographer said to a friend. “And they let us!”
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The sun rises in the biannual phenomenon where the sunrise aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco.
Moments before the biannual phenomenon where the sunrise aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco.
While many people chatted, exchanged photography tips and sipped on coffee, when the sun came into view between 6:45 and 6:50 a.m., the chatter subsided, replaced by the sound of cameras clicking.
While the clouds didn’t totally block the view of the sun, as many who came for the event worried might happen, it didn’t quite go as hoped either. Rather than being perfectly in line over the Bay Bridge, the sun was just to its right, making for a nice, but imperfect photo.
“The sun didn’t line up, and the clouds obstructed it a bit,” said Annette Bugno, who had come with a group of friends who all had professional cameras. “A lot of people are going to try again tomorrow.”
The sun aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco in the twice-year phenomenon known as California Henge.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
While Bugno lives in San Francisco and said she might come back Sunday, some of her friends had traveled from the East Bay and South Bay, waking up well before 5 a.m. to get to the city for a good spot.
“My advice would be to get here at 6 or earlier,” Bugno advised anyone hoping for another chance at the rare image Sunday.
A man uses an iPad to photograph the Bay Bridge over California Street.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Dozens gather to watch and photograph the biannual phenomenon when the sunrise aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Others were happy to see it at all. Friends Annette Angeles-Hagarty of Half Moon Bay and Maureen Sachs of Napa came to the city Friday for the Giants’ home opener. After hearing about California Henge on social media, they decided to check it out because they were staying in the city overnight.
“We really came for Giants opening day,” Sachs said. “But we heard about this. We thought we’d come see it.”
They were surprised at how many people were doing the same. When they arrived at 6:40 a.m., Angeles-Hagarty said, they didn’t expect to see the intersection filled with people.
Dozens gather to watch and photograph the biannual phenomenon when the sunrise aligns with the Bay Bridge over California Street in San Francisco.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
“It was like, oh, this is really a thing!” she said.
While they weren’t thrilled with the quality of their photos — each came with only her phone to catch the moment — they said the early wake-up call was worth it.
“It’s pretty cool to be here,” said Angeles-Hagarty, who teaches transitional kindergarten. “I’m going to show this to my students.”
Reach Danielle Echeverria: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @DanielleEchev
