Pier 70 is located on the eastern shoreline of San Francisco at Potrero Point and is roughly bound by 22nd Street to the south, Illinois Street to the west, and San Francisco Bay to the north and east. The Pier 70 site encompasses approximately 64 acres and is largely underlain by fill material placed seaward of the San Francisco historic shoreline between the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Building 113 is within the Pier 70 area and is located southeast of the intersection of 20th Street and Illinois Street. Specifically, Building It is bound by 20th Street to the north, an asphalt driveway to the east, Buildings 14, 114, and a loading dock to the south, and Michigan Street to the west. Building 113 is constructed out of masonry with a brick exterior along 20th Street. A single gable cover the entire building which comprises 81,964 square feet of space. The building is supported on spread footings.

Building 113 changed functions and floor plans several times between its construction in mid-1880s and WWII. The western portion originally housed the Machine Shop, while the eastern portion contained the Blacksmith and Boiler Shops. By 1945, the entire Building served as a Machine Shop.

In 2010 the Port of San Francisco engaged OPAC to perform remedial design on the existing brick and masonry building to reduce the potential for life safety hazards and preserve the structure until it can be renovated. The remedial design included a secondary vertical support for the roof trusses that bear on deteriorated perimeter masonry walls and a containment system for the brick on the north wall.