The fairly empty hills of the Marin are here as is the artist himself, observing friend and fellow artist Otis Oldfield, sketching for his work to the right. The view also includes Alcatraz, then just having been converted into the infamous federal prison, and in the foreground, industrial activity including the exterior of a malting plant for beer brewing. Today the same view from Telegraph Hill would evidence the development that accompanied the area's population boom after WWII; the malting plant is now condominiums.