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In the summer of 2023, I traveled alone to San Francisco to learn about the current state of Silicon Valley. I met several young people who were trying to create something new in Silicon Valley, and I spent many stimulating and educational days with them. One day, one of my friends said, “Yuto, I found an interesting place, come check it out.” I would like to share the charm of “Noisebridge” with you in this article.

Photographed by the author in the summer of 2023. As you can see in the photo, the exterior of the entrance has an American look with all kinds of graffiti.

What is Noisebridge?

To be clear, let me quote from the official description of Noisebridge

Noisebridge is a fun space for sharing, creation, collaboration, research, development, mentoring, and of course, learning.

[citation]

I had never seen or even heard of a space like Noisebridge that serves so many different functions all at once, and when I first visited, I was curious to see what all was going on.

The space is truly open to everyone free of charge, and is open almost every day from late evening to late night, when someone is there to work hard on their creative activities.

The building has two floors: the first floor is a garage-like space with a huge height and space for crafts, while the second floor is a bit smaller with more desks and chairs for reading books or working at a desk.

If you press the “DOOR BELL” button at the entrance, the members who are already inside will come down to invite you in and introduce you to the newcomers. Everyone is friendly. I later learned that this button makes no sound when you press it, but for some reason the sound you hear when entering Family Mart (Listen) is played as background music around the desk on the second floor to announce your visit. Such playfulness is one of the cool things about Noisebridge.

Summer 2023, photo by the author

People who gather at Noisebridge

Each of the people who come here to work on something have their own unique projects and are enthusiastic about their creative activities. Ask them about their projects and you will discover many new things.

An Ethiopian from Dubai, who is trying to start his own brand, was absorbed in making costumes and was excited to see the laser cutter automatically cut his favorite fabrics according to his CAD design.

The man from Chile came to San Francisco after completing his research in Chile in order to spread the word about the situation in his country to the world at large, and to make a documentary film about it for the world to see.

By attending Noisebridge and conversing with the people who are active there, you can learn about their home cultures and politics, gain insight into the fashion, technology, and filmmaking they are passionate about, and discover new areas of interest. Noisebridge is a valuable space where you can encounter such a diverse range of topics and experiences.

Peter Fitzgerald, OpenStreetMap [1], CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noisebridge is located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District. While San Francisco has recently experienced a decline in safety due to issues like drug abuse, it is a place worth visiting if you have the opportunity to travel to the city. Be sure to stop by Noisebridge.