A look at Point Molate’s rare and fascinating past

“Richmond has always been a town of big dreams, dreams that always seemed to be just out of reach. Blessed with a long waterfront, it hoped to rival the ports of San Francisco and Oakland. This never seemed to quite happen. The water front remains, and it is to that waterfront that the city has returned its gaze, partly for reasons of good business, but also because it is a beautiful shoreline and increasingly valuable for the enjoyment of its citizens and visitors .In Richmond’s beginning, it seems, are the seeds of its future.”

--Donald Bastin, Richmond historian, from "Images of America: Richmond"

A Brief History of Richmond
Under Spanish and Mexican governance, the current location of Richmond was part of an extensive land grant know as the Rancho San Pablo. The agrarian life of the area continued up to the end of the 19th century, with Mexican ranchers gradually supplanted by subsequent waves of white settlers.

Development of the City began at the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of two key industries. Richmond was seen as an ideal terminus for the Santa Fe Railroad, as freight could be shipped from the deep water port at Point Richmond across the Bay to San Francisco. Attracted by newly available access to rail and water transportation, Standard Oil (now Chevron) also located in Richmond at the beginning of the 1900s. During this period of development the navigable channel that separated Potrero Island (where Point Molate is located) from the mainland was filled, creating much of the area now occupied by the railyards and Chevron.

These industries supported slow but steady growth of the City up until the time of World War II. Prior to the war, Richmond had a large Italian population. Italian families owned many of the small businesses of the City, as well as a major canning factory.

World War II brought tens of thousands of workers, mostly from the South, into the City of Richmond to build more than 1,300 ships. Richmond’s shipyards played a key role in America’s victory, and the town’s population more than quadrupled in a two-year period. For the first time, women, blacks, and other minorities were allowed onto factory floors as vitally necessary workers. More than 24,000 temporary houses were built to accommodate workers. After the war, industrial jobs began a precipitous 60-year decline, abandoning WWII workers and their descendants to steadily shrinking opportunities. Temporary housing was bulldozed. Richmond bore the brunt of rapid expansion, followed by equally rapid disinvestment. Many of today’s social and economic conditions can be traced to this history.

One of Richmond’s WWII Liberty ships                                                                             Richmond WWII shipyard workers

Current Conditions
The City of Richmond, particularly those neighborhoods sandwiched between Chevron and the railyards, has one of the highest crime rates in Northern California. In the 1940s and 1950s, Richmond's handsome downtown bustled with nightlife and jazz clubs. Today, large sections are boarded up—its buildings abandoned and collapsing.

Significant economic disparities divide the newer or gentrified neighborhoods along the shore and in the hills from the neighborhoods of the central city. Community leaders worry about the safety of their children and the lack of opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.

At the same time, the City has made significant efforts to reinvest in its future. City Hall, a historical downtown anchor, is undergoing major renovation. The former shipyards are being restored and turned to new uses for businesses and recreation.

The Rosie the Riveter National Monument celebrates the untold story of Richmond’s contribution to the war effort. Green industry is increasingly seen as part of the region’s and the community’s future. The redevelopment of Point Molate is a critical element of the City’s economic development strategy.

History of Point Molate
The Point Molate property sits in the middle of the metropolitan San Francisco Bay Area, and as part of the Point San Pablo Peninsula, is the westernmost point in Contra Costa County.
Until landfilling connected the now Point San Pablo Peninsula to the East Bay shoreline, the Site was part of the Potrero San Pablo Island. As an island in the Bay adjacent to the deep-water Sacramento River channel, the property was used by numerous Native American tribes from around the Bay for fishing, trading, and cultural exchange.

Point Molate is at the center of north San Francisco Bay


Portrero Island was a part of the Bay's vital ecological and commercial network starting with Native American use in the pre-historical period


Filling of the marshlands that separated the island from the shoreline began at the turn of the century to make way for the peninsula’s industrial future as a railroad, ferry, and oil refining hub.

The Standard Oil refinery accelerated the area’s industrial and commercial use

Filling to accommodate the ATSF Railroad and Standard Oil refinery connected then Portrero Island to the mainland

On site, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire that destroyed the then-burgeoning wine industry in San Francisco, led to the establishment of the nation’s largest winery at Winehaven. Vestiges of the winery and hotel operations that brought tourists to the Site in the early 20th century are visible today, and are part of the Winehaven Historical District (the District). The District’s buildings are currently fenced off from the public due to disrepair and neglect. Although isolated from its neighbors, Point Molate has been a center of commerce, with the establishment of the Chinese shrimp camp in the late 19th century, Winehaven at the turn of the century, and beginning in the early 1940s, use by the Navy as a critical fuel depot for the Pacific Fleet.

Navy Use and Base Closure
The Site was maintained as a secure military installation until its closure in 1995. Congressional legislation authored by then Armed Services Chairman Ron Dellums (D, Oakland) called for transfer of the property to the City of Richmond for economic development. The Navy’s Record of Decision (ROD) under the Base Realignment and Closure process ruled out transfer to Richmond for use as a public park, as this use would not meet the test of economic sustainability.

Shortly thereafter, the City of Richmond (the City) commissioned a 45-person citizen’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee to develop the Base Reuse Plan. The Navy then completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the eventual transfer of the property. The City’s Base Reuse Plan called for development of commercial and residential uses within the approximately 85-acre footprint of already developed property, balanced with protection of the shoreline and existing open space, and rehabilitation of the Winehaven Historical District. The Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee also identified lofty economic development goals for the Site:

• Generate employment and job training for Richmond residents
• Generate revenues for use in other parts of the City
• Serve as a regional destination to bring in tourism-generated dollars to accomplish these goals

In 2003, the City issued a nationwide Request for Qualifications to development companies who had the capabilities to refine, finance and implement the goals of the Base Reuse Plan. After an open solicitation and selection process, Upstream Point Molate LLC was selected as the City’s partner. During the 10-month design and negotiation process that followed Upstream’s selection, Upstream presented the idea of a partnership with a federally recognized landless Native American tribe, the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians as a possible strategy to accelerate and attain the diverse and financially challenging goals set by the City.

At the end of a 10-month negotiation process, Upstream, Guidiville, and the City agreed on a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA), and Municipal Services Agreement (MSA) under which the City would sell the property to Upstream/Guidiville for $50 million, and upon opening of the project, receive upwards of $20 million per year annually for 20 years. The agreements also call for 40 percent local hiring of Richmond residents under first source and living wage agreements.

The Point Molate site is an asset that can revitalize all of Richmond