Treasure Island, San Francisco

Treasure Island

Company type	Neighborhood
Industry	Real estate, redevelopment
Founded	1936
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	San Francisco Bay Area
Products	Residential housing, commercial real estate, parks, marina
Parent	City and County of San Francisco

Treasure Island is an artificial island situated in San Francisco Bay and forms a neighborhood within the City and County of San Francisco. Created between 1936 and 1937 specifically for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, the island's name was chosen by Clyde Milner Vandeburg, a member of the exposition's public relations team. Its site for the World's Fair holds the designation of a California Historical Landmark. Several structures on the island are included in the National Register of Historic Places, while the former Naval Station Treasure Island—once an auxiliary airfield for airships and aircraft—is documented in the Geographic Names Information System. Access to Treasure Island is provided via a causeway linking it to Yerba Buena Island, a naturally occurring island, which connects to Interstate 80.

Geography

The census tract covering Treasure Island encompasses portions of San Francisco Bay as well as a small, uninhabited segment at the western end of Alameda Island. Combined, Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island occupy , with a population recorded at 2,500 during the 2010 census. Treasure Island itself measures 393 acres and is joined to Yerba Buena Island by a causeway, which facilitates connection to Interstate 80 via the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.

Amenities on the island include a marina and a bikeway that links to the new Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. Elevated walkways encircle almost the entire island following five main roads: Avenue of the Palms, Perimeter Road, Avenue N, Pan American World Airways Esplanade, and Clipper Cove Way (previously known as 1st Street).

History

Prior to its development by the United States government, "Yerba Buena Shoals" presented a navigational challenge due to having less than clearance. The island was constructed by installing of quarried rock to form perimeter walls, followed by filling the interior with dredged bay sand. This was then covered with of topsoil to cultivate landscaping featuring 4,000 trees, 70,000 shrubs, and 700,000 flowering plants. Construction of facilities commenced by March 1937, including hangars under construction.

On February 18, 1939, the so-called 'Magic City' debuted as the venue for the Golden Gate International Exposition. The fairgrounds were organized into several courts: Court of Honor, Court of the East, Port of Trade Winds on the southern side, and Court of Pacifica on the northern side. The exposition featured a parking area for 12,000 vehicles; a National Building (a $1.5 million Federal Building); an $800,000 administration building; exhibit halls showcasing industries such as "Machinery," "Science," and "Vacationland"; along with two expansive hangars intended for use after the exposition by Pan Am Airways flying boats like the China Clipper. These flying boats operated from Port of Trade Winds Harbor (later renamed Clipper Cove) located between the islands. Surviving structures include Building 1, designed in Streamline Moderne style and originally planned as Pan Am’s terminal post-exposition. The expo’s Magic Carpet Great Lawn also remains intact.

During this era, Treasure Island gained recognition in popular culture; notably, it is mentioned in a lyric from "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" in the Marx Brothers' 1939 film At The Circus, where it is referenced alongside New York's Trylon as prominent symbols of international exhibitions vying for attention that year.

Additionally, Treasure Island and its exposition were featured in James A. Fitzpatrick’s Technicolor travel short "Night Descends on Treasure Island," released in 1940.

Military installation

Originally intended to serve as San Francisco's secondary airport, Treasure Island was instead converted by the Navy as global conflict loomed.

In 1941, under a wartime lease, the U.S. Navy established NAVSTA Treasure Island as a "reception center." On April 17, 1942, the Navy took control of the island, compensating the city with $10 million allocated for airport enhancements and securing postwar ownership of military assets. Despite popular misconception, the airport had been operational at its current location since 1927.

NAVSTA Treasure Island accommodated a variety of aircraft including helicopters, fixed-wing planes, seaplanes, blimps, and airships, and housed a Navy/Marine Corps electronics training school. Throughout World War II, it processed more than 12,000 service members daily for Pacific deployments and subsequent demobilization. The base also operated a psychiatric unit that conducted studies on sailors discharged due to homosexuality.

From the 1950s through the 1990s, the Naval Technical Training Center (NTTC) was stationed at NAVSTA, providing specialized instruction in Radiation Detection (RADIAC), Communications, Radar technology, and Nuclear Biological & Chemical (NBC) Warfare Decontamination procedures. In 1972, the Navy merged the Shipfitter and Damage Control Technician ratings into the Hull Maintenance Technician (HT) rating but reinstated Damage Controlman as a separate classification in 1988 to meet operational needs.

Rear Admiral Hugo Wilson Osterhaus Square commemorates significant leadership at NAVSTA Treasure Island. The John Basilone movie theater (Building 401) honors the WWII Medal of Honor recipient.

Following its designation for closure by the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, NAVSTA Treasure Island ceased operations in 1997. Remaining military buildings include Building 600—formerly the Naval Firefighting School and now serving as the San Francisco Fire Department’s Treasure Island Training Facility—Building 157, a WWII-era Navy firehouse, and Building 180, currently repurposed as a winery.

SAC radar installation

The Treasure Island Strategic Air Command (SAC) automatic tracking radar site, known as the San Francisco Bomb Plot, was created to assess simulated bombing runs over the San Francisco area to maintain bomber crew readiness during the Cold War. Around 1948, Detachment B was led by Major Posey until Captain Carlson took command in 1949, overseeing radar testing activities.

In 1950, the Stockton Bomb Plot nearby was moved to Charlotte. Subsequently in 1951, Treasure Island's unit was redesignated Detachment 13. That same year, three SAC detachments utilized nearby Camp Stoneman as a staging ground for Korean War deployments via San Francisco Bay. On October 16, 1951, Detachment 13 came under control of March Air Force Base’s 3933rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron before relocating by August 10, 1954, coinciding with activation of the 11th RBS Squadron.

Film production venues and locations

Beginning in the late 1980s, Hangars 2 and 3 on Treasure Island were transformed into sound stages used for numerous film and television projects such as The Matrix—celebrated for its innovative "bullet time" effect—Rent, and The Pursuit of Happyness. The island also appeared in movies including the 1939 Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989 Berlin airport scene), Copycat (1995), along with several late-1990s productions like Flubber, What Dreams May Come, Patch Adams, The Parent Trap, and Bicentennial Man. An establishing shot from the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny features Treasure Island’s main gate and Administration Building to represent a court martial setting.

Treasure Island hosted seasons three through five of the TV series Battlebots and served as a filming location for Nash Bridges (1996–2001). It also functioned as a base for prototyping teams on Discovery Channel’s 2008 show Prototype This!, while Buildings 180 and 111 were utilized in NBC’s drama series Trauma. In 2018, the Treasure Island Museum building was used as a mental hospital set for Netflix’s The OA. Additionally, MythBusters frequently chose the island for conducting experiments.

Environmental Cleanup and Redevelopment

After the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill near Treasure Island, extensive remediation efforts took place along the island’s shoreline. In 2009, the Navy agreed to transfer ownership of Treasure Island to the City of San Francisco for $105 million, initiating a significant redevelopment initiative. The federal government continues to maintain a presence on 40 acres, occupied by the Department of Labor’s Job Corps, which assumed control of facilities following the Navy’s exit. Notably, the Administration Building (Building 1) and Hall of Transportation (Building 2) were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

In June 2011, San Francisco approved development proposals from Wilson Meany Sullivan, Lennar Urban, and Kenwood Investments envisioning a new community designed to house approximately 19,000 residents over the next two to three decades. The $1.5 billion Treasure Island Development project (2012–2014) plans for up to 8,000 housing units, around 140,000 square feet dedicated to commercial and retail use, 100,000 square feet of office space, three hotels, a new fire station, and nearly 300 acres designated for parks. Due to seismic hazards such as soil liquefaction and susceptibility to tsunamis, all natural gas infrastructure was eliminated. Utility services are provided by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; however, power interruptions still occur multiple times annually. Construction of a ferry terminal commenced in 2019 to enhance transportation links.

By December 2010, Navy contractors had excavated roughly 16,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil—some containing radiation levels up to 400 times above EPA standards—from the site. This contaminated earth is being replaced with clean fill sourced from Caldecott Tunnel construction activities. In April 2013, cesium-137 contamination was detected at levels three times higher than previously measured; this radioactive material traces back to the island’s role as a nuclear training facility during Cold War preparations, including storage of radioactive substances at various locations and aboard a training vessel nicknamed USS Pandemonium.

Parks and Open Space

The comprehensive parks and open space strategy for Treasure Island and adjacent Yerba Buena Island aims to create nearly 290 acres dedicated to recreational and green areas.

Education

Treasure Island is served by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Elementary school zoning divides parts of the island between John Yehall Chin (North Beach) and Sherman (Marina) schools.

SFUSD formerly operated Treasure Island K-8 School. In spring 2004, the district closed the middle school segment but continued elementary operations. With enrollment dropping to just 95 students during its final term, the school was fully shuttered at the beginning of 2005. Attempts by the Treasure Island Homeless Development Initiative to preserve the school ultimately failed due to challenges with discipline and staffing. Journalist Heather Knight from the San Francisco Chronicle observed that even former advocates conceded that maintaining the school was no longer feasible.

Presently, Life Learning Academy—a charter institution—provides education tailored for at-risk youth residing on the island.

See also

• Naval Station Treasure Island
• Treasure Island Development

External links

• Treasure Island Music Festival