By Jessica Saia
For the Treasure Island Music Festival, happening this weekend, 16,000 people will make the tiny half-bridge journey to the mythical-sounding, man-made pit stop between SF and the East Bay. For most of those people, it will be the one time they go all year — if ever. I recently realized how strange it is that there’s this cheap, empty, beautiful space just barely off the coast of the most expensive, space-hungry place in the country. Curious about what it’s like to live on Treasure Island, I talked to half a dozen people who either live there now or have lived there in the past.
Here are 14 things I’ve learned about everyday life on Treasure Island:
1. The first grocery store opened a year ago.
Island Cove Market is the only grocery store on the island. Before it opened, the only options were one or two gas-station-type convenience stores. People I talked to who moved off the island years ago were blown away when they found out that it finally has an actual market (“Oh man, the saddest days were the ones when you ran out of coffee…”). Even with the new market, most Treasure Islanders still do a big shopping trip on the mainland once or twice a month.
2. There are no stores that sell alcohol.
I couldn’t verify if this was because it’s federal property or what, but regardless, there are no liquor stores (or any kind of stores) that sell alcohol on Treasure Island. You can pick up some wine at the wineries if they’re open, or go to the one (very large, often empty) bar on the island if you want to sit and drink something, but there’s no place to just run to and grab a six-pack.
3. There are no restaurants.
However, there are two places that serve food — a pizza place and a café. Otherwise, certain places on the mainland will deliver to Treasure Island, as long as it’s not rush hour.
4. The earthquakes feel way stronger.
All of Treasure Island is built on landfill, making any quake, big or small, feel a lot more intense than it does on natural land over solid bedrock — extra freaky when you think about the fact that few (if any) of the buildings on TI were built in compliance with current codes, let alone to withstand a major earthquake.
5. No one pays for utilities.
Since the homes on the island were built for Navy families, there are no utility meters. Thus, more than one person I talked to had installed a hot tub to go along with their backyard’s fantastic view.
6. There are massive power outages all the time.
The power grid for the island, originally installed by the Navy, is old and deteriorating. The salty air and seagulls make it really hard to maintain, and thus residents have massive power outages constantly. Apparently, it’s gotten a little better, but on any given day the power could go out for hours. Thus, people keep a stockpile of candles on hand.
7. It was almost San Francisco’s airport.
Treasure Island was built for the 1939 World’s Fair. After that, it was set to be used as an airport before the Navy offered to trade Mills Field for the island. The city accepted the swap, and SFO was built on the peninsula instead, and the naval station was built on the island.
8. The water and soil quality is…a bit sketchy.
One woman I talked to laughed about the first time she saw a skull and crossbones over a waterspout. (So apt given the island’s name!) Lingering contamination from the Navy’s testing combined with super-old pipes leaves the water usually safe to drink, but it’s not recommended. The people I talked to have water coolers delivered for drinking, and they typically plant gardens in pots instead of in the ground.
9. It can sometimes feel like a post-apocalyptic movie set.
Space is at such a crazy premium in SF; it seems strange that sandwiched between SF and Oakland is this almost desolate little island. A few wineries and stores have started catching on in the last couple of years that there’s a bunch of cheap, empty space super-close to everything else, but many parts of the island are abandoned or closed off due to the risk of radiation. People I talked to mentioned an air of lawlessness on the island; an eerie but sometimes fun feeling of the Wild Wild West.
10. No one will visit you, but it’s actually not that far.
Even though you can get to a lot of neighborhoods on the mainland more quickly from the island than you can from some SF neighborhoods, there is a hard mental divide for people when it comes to venturing out to Treasure Island. A couple people thought this was an advantage, though: to be able to get your fill of city life during the day, and then it’s just a quick 15-minute drive to your huge backyard and quiet hot-tub paradise.
11. Residents get half off on Treasure Island Music Festival tickets.
Pretty sweet, and some of the people I talked to who have since moved off the island are still able to get the deal with their old address.
12. They may soon demolish everything and start from scratch.
There was a plan approved to demolish everything on the island and build high-density housing, hotels, parks, etc. It was supposed to start in 2012 and take two to three decades to complete, but the plan collapsed when the Chinese investor pulled out from the project. Since then, it’s been difficult to find someone willing to spend $1.5 billion on a man-made, earthquake-prone, radiation-soaked piece of land. Still, given the way SF is headed, I’m surprised no one has snatched up the opportunity.
13. It’s cheap and quiet, and it has amazing views.
Despite all it seems to lack, everyone I talked to either loves living on the island or looks back on it very fondly. It’s cheap but close, and it has tons of parking, big houses, yards, and amazing views. You can kayak and windsurf. And the idea of sitting in a hot tub looking out at the city over the bay sounds incredible.
Cheers to you, Treasure Island!
Photo by Pistols Drawn
