While it’s not unusual to see a homeless person sleeping at a train station, somebody took it to the next level, quite literally, setting up a cleverly hidden encampment at an Amtrak station in Antioch, California.
On first sight, the small train station in the San Francisco suburb doesn’t lend itself to a secret shelter. It was by a happenstance, too, that it was discovered.
Amtrak station in Antioch, California. (Google Street View)“A concerned citizen reported a transient subject lowering a bike off the top of the Amtrak Station,” Antioch Police Department reported on Facebook. “Officer [Thomas] Lenderman determined someone had set up an unsafe camp on the roof.”
Public Works offered to lift Lenderman to the roof in a boom truck.
An officer on the roof of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California. (Antioch Police Department)As he was elevated above the station, Lenderman saw the top of the circular concrete structure was spacious enough to comfortably fit a tent, while the parapet was tall enough to conceal the shelter.
A hidden homeless camp on the roof of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California. (Antioch Police Department)Police posted several pictures of the encampment, showing it to provide a pleasant view of the San Joaquin River and the nearby Kimball Island.
A hidden homeless camp on the roof of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California,with a view of the San Joaquin River and the Kimball Island. (Antioch Police Department)
“Due to safety concerns, the camp had to be immediately abated,” police said.
The police noted being homeless is not a crime and that they try to connect homeless people with services “so they can have a stable environment.”
The Facebook post on the Antioch Police page has been shared hundreds of times.
“Affordable penthouse. Very creative,” Jan Ratterree commented.
“[M]illion dollar view,” said Kristy Keusch.
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