" Chapte 5 THE HISTORY OF BERKELEY BEACH Magaet Tanne Intoduction Most of the people who live in Bekeley today do not know that thee once existed a sandy beach stetching fom Univesity Avenue to Fleming's Point (the pesent site of Golden Gate Fields) called the Bekeley Beach (Figue 1). This beach no longe exists, having been slowly eaten away and polluted by people who wee moe inteested and involved in the physical and economic development of thei town than " in the pesevation of thei beach. Yet it would be unealistic to expect the ealy colonists of Bekeley not to exploit the available natual esouces fo thei own uses. This stoy of Bekeley Beach is being told not necessaily to find fault with the ealy settles' actions, but athe to enlighten people today about the ievesible damage that may be done to aeas of natual beauty when development is left unchecked. In the late 1800s thee was enough of the San Fancisco Bsy watefont left undistubed so that the disappeaance of one beach was not of geat significance. Cuently we ae not so fotunate to nave many of these natual aeas emaining along the Bay shoeline and, theefoe, we should be moe caeful to potect the few emaining watefonts fom any futhe detimental development. Past Studies Cut and Stephanie Manning have both done eseach on the Bekeley Beach, much of it in conjunction with the Bekeley Histoical Society. In addition. Cut Manning was head of The Bekeley Beach Committee fo seveal yeas, duing which time the Committee pinted two papes (Manning, 1979, 1981) egading the poposed econstuction of the beach. Newspape aticles have been witten about Bekeley Beach, and histoical books efe to it on occasion, but thee does not exist one compehensive account of the beach's use and misuse. In my own seach, I have found the Bekeley PUblic Libay to be a fine souce of easily-accessible infomation on the histoy of Bekeley and also a souce of numeous newspape clippings on the beach itself. The Ealy Histoy In 1853 Captain James Jacobs built a whaf, late known as Jacobs' Landing, at the mouth of Staw bey Ceek, nea the pesent Univesity Avenue. Ayea late, Captain William J. Bowen established an inn and a small gocey shop nea Jacobs' Landing, and in a few yeas Bowen's Inn became a stage stop. The town that developed aound this stop was Ocean View, and it coveed what is now west Bekeley i (Manning, 1983). - 93 -
- 94 - The Bekeley Beach seved as the westen bode of Ocean View, stetching fo nealy a mile and aveaging 75 feet wide at high tide. In the ealy 1870s, this dak sandy beach, epoted to be "one of the finest beaches on the F I e m i P o i n Bay," was used as a thooughfae fo hose-dawn vehicles, and at low tide, town esidents could walk out 250 feet and dig up Bekeley Main numeous clams in little time (Chase, 1937). The beach was ceated by waves, which came though the Golden Gate Bidge, caying sand onto the shoe, which oiginally was shaped like a bowl that extended fom 1899 shoe -1986 shoe Univesity Avenue to Fleming's Point. Tidal action and noth westely winds caused the sand to collect in this natual bowl, and the tidal action also cleaned the miles sand by caying away lighte mateial fom the beach's suface Figue 1. Oiginal East Bay Shoeline fom 1899 Compaed to Cuent (1986) Shoeline. Souce: Nichols and Wight, 1971. (Manning, 1981). Today, all that emains of the oiginal shoeline is Fleming's Point, the est having been alteed by landfill (Figue 1). In 1873 the Univesity of CAlifonia at Bekeley was established, causing an incease in both population and businesses, and in this same yea the Bekeley Land and Town Impovement Association was fomed to develop the watefont and build a commecial whaf and fey (Pettitt, 1973). Ocean View continued to gow, its favoable watefont sites attacting commecial and industial entepises which wee discouaged in San Fancisco by the lack of good wate, the wind-diven sand, and the high cost of land. In compaison. Ocean View had a good supply of feshwate fom its many ceeks, the shoeline was
- 95 - elatively calm, and the pice of land was elatively cheap. As a esult, Ocean View's shoeline develop ment soon consisted of the Standad Soap Company, the Pionee Stach and Gist Mill, the Jacobs and Heywood Lumbeyad, the Bekeley whaf, and the Bekeley-San Fancisco Fey (Pettitt, 1973; Mahaffey, 1981). In 1876 the Southen Pacific Raiload established a ail line nea what is now San Pablo Avenue, and in the same spiit, Santa Fe Raiload established a line, close to the shoe, which then connected with both oveland outes and deep wate tanspotation (Centennial Committee, 1978). These ail lines con nected to the tanscontinental ail line, which alone inceased Califonia's population by mno than 54 pecent in the 1870s, and theefoe also added to the aleady inceasing population of Ocean View (Pettitt, 1973). By 1876 the beach was an integal pat of Ocean View, popula with both town esidents and visitos. Resot hotels wee built at the foot of Univesity Avenue, within a block of the beach, and these offeed touists a splendid, scenic view of the Bay and of San Fancisco (Manning, 1981). Many San Fan ciscans, escaping thei cool, foggy summes, came by fey to picnic at the beach and stoll though neaby Willow Gove Pak on weekends (Doss, 1980; Manning, 1983). Until the late 1800s this beach was appeciated " as the best beach fo miles aound (Doss, 1980). Vaious town membes emembe using the beach: Paul Spenge emembeed hauling in good catches of fish fom the shoe; Getude Wilkes Budick emembeed taking walks on the beach; othes emembeed swimming offshoe fom the Bekeley Pie to Fleming's Point (Manning, 1983). H The Beach's Demise As just eceation. the town of Ocean View gew lage and lage, the beach became impotant fo uses othe than In 1875, Captain James Jacobs stated that thee was a geat quantity of sand at the Bekeley Beach and theefoe no dange of unning out of it (Manning, 1981). At that time, Samuel Heywood was selling the sand at 50 cents a load, egadless of whethe the load was a cupful, a wheelbaowful, o a wagonful (Manning, 1981). The sand was being used in making mota, which was then used fo house foundations, chimneys, steet wok, and geneal constuction. the City of Bekeley and efeed to as "West Bekeley." In 1878 Ocean View was incopoated into Ahouse-building boom began, causing lagescale use of the sand. Fom 1880 to 1890 the population of West Bekeley alone gew fom 668 to 1544, moe than doubling its size, and gowing at a ate faste than the whole city of Bekeley (Pettitt, 1973). In addition, the eathquake and fie that destoyed much of San Fancisco in 1906 esulted in many people moving to the East Bay aeas, and the City of Bekeley saw an incease in population again, fom 13,214 people in 1900 to 40,434 people in 1910 (Centennial Committee, 1978). Lage-scale filling of the East Bay tidelands between Oakland and Richmond began in 1903 and con tinued fo the next 30 yeas (Temko, 1985). At the time, people favoed the development of thei habo facilities and docks, and consequently, developes met with little o no opposition. A 1918 newspape aticle eflects the attitude of the times with the statements, "Hee in Bekeley we have a
- 96 - diffeent viewpoint. We eanestly and consistently favo any development which inceases any pat of ou splendid habo" (Watefont clippings file, 1985). As ealy as 1892, Santa Fe Raiload began lagescale acquisition of east shoe popeties (Watefont clippings file, 1985). West Bekeley was becoming moe and moe impotant as an industial cente, and things that wee at fist only aesthetically pleasing wee soon conveted into moneymaking entepises (Manning, 1983). As the city gew and industy flouished, the poblems of gabage and human waste disposal also developed. Aound 1907, afte the influx of people fom San Fancisco in 1906, the citizens of Bekeley decided to dump thei unteated waste diectly into the Bay, and this pactice continued until 1951, when the East Bay Municipal Utility Distict (EBMUD) stated opeating the fist sewage teatment plant (Fishe, 1980; Centennial Committee, 1978). Dischages, including those fom the oil efineies located aound the Bay's shoes, wee also piped diectly into the wate, killing off the vaious clams which peviously existed along the shoeline, and advesely affecting othe shellfish and fish in the Bay (Chase, 1937). Bekeley Beach was one of the many points along the shoeline that was affected by this pollution. Othe wastes wee channeled down the many ceeks in Bekeley, some of which emptied into the Bekeley Beach, and soon the beach was polluted, baen of shellfish, and geneally unpleasant to visit (Stan, 1983). In 1908 the City of Bekeley began dumping its gabage in West Bekeley. Then in 1913 a solid waste incineato was built at Fleming's Point, but this was abandoned in 1923 in favo of the land-fill, o "fill and cove," method of disposal. Afte voting in favo of land-fill dumping, the Bekeley City Council began filling on a 5-squae-block-aea of mashy tidelands located in west and nothwest Bekeley (Centennial Committee, 1978; Manning, 1981). Duing the 1930s, Bekeley's gowth was diectly influenced by the San Fancisco Bay aea's egional development, and many pojects which occued in the East Bsy equied lage amounts of fill. Consequent ly, sand fom the Bekeley Beach was hauled away fo use in vaious pojects, until eventually all the ji sand was eithe sold, dumped, o coveed by landfill. Stating in 1933, unde the Woks Pojects Administation (WPA), a dam was constucted acoss the Bekeley tidelands, sand fom the Bekeley Beach was used to build a oad unning noth-south along the shoe, and a lake was ceated on the inland side of the oad; Aquatic Pak was bon (Watefont clippings file, unknown yea). Duing the constuction of the Bay Bidge in the 1930s, sand fom the beach was used in ceating the Eastshoe Highway, the appoach to the Bay Bidge, and the suounding aea which is now Oakland Amy Base (Temko, 1985). In the 1940s, sand was used to build the foundation of Teasue Island, a naval base, and between 1953 and 1960 the emaining sand went into expanding the fou-lane Eastshoe Highway into a fully developed feeway, which is pesently Intestate 80 (Temko, 1985). In addition, the Depatment of Tanspotation paid $100,000 fo offshoe Bekeley sand to fill the tidelands whee mud had been emoved fo feeway constuction puposes (Manning, 1983). The late Paul Spenge once said, "Thee was so much sand we thought it would neve give out" (Doss, 1980).. Unfotunately, he, like many othes, was wong.
" - 97 - With the beginning of Wold Wa II in the 1940s came massive dumping of gabage, ubble, and occasional toxic wastes (Temko, 1985). It was also duing the 1940s that Santa Fe Raiload bought lage tacts of land, made out of landfill, at the Bekeley watefont. Continuing in the 1950s, gabage was dumped into the Bay on a egula basis, the fist dump being located at the Santa Fe meadow. This ceated the fist, and at the time, the lagest man-made maina in Ameica: the Bekeley maina (Watefont clippings file, unknown yea). In simila spiit, the tidal flats suounding Fleming's Point was filled, as small hills and ocky outcoppings wee fully o patially leveled. This newly flattened aea then became the site of a naval odnance station, and late, the Golden Gate Fields ace tack (Temko, 1985). Duing this ea of ampant landfilling, the shoeline was dastically changed by the ceation of the Bekeley maina, and this alteed the Bay cuents in such a way that sand, which peviously would have eached the Bekeley Beach, now was deposited offshoe (Watefont clippings file, "Gassoots," 1981). Fist the Beach was stipped of its oiginal sand, and then the waves wee changed so as to beak fathe fom the shoe, which meant no moe sand could eplenish the beach. Reconstuction Poposals fo the Beach It was not until 1955 that the City of Bekeley adopted a City Maste Plan, which attempted to limit the city's population though a planning guide, and not until 1959 that impovements of the watefont began (Centennial Committee, 1978). In 1961 the Save the San Fancisco Bay Association was founded, and in 1965 the Bay Consevation and Development Commission (BCDC) was established as a diect eaction to Santa Fe Raiload's 1963 poposal to build an offshoe "city" of man-made islands in the Bay (Temko, 1985). People's attitudes wee changing towads peseving the Bay instead of developing on it, and in egads to the Bekeley Beach, one peson in paticula, Cut Manning, took his concen a step fathe and wote a poposal fo the econstuction of the beach (Manning, 1981). In his poposal, M. Manning suggested ceating a beach in Bekeley, but not at the oiginal Bekeley Beach location, as the Bekeley maina pevents waves, which ae citical in beach fomation, fom each ing the shoe in this aea. Instead, he chose the mile-long stetch of shoeline located between Uni vesity Avenue and Ashby Avenue (Figue 2). Cuently, the beach that exists at this watefont stip is only about 65 feet long and 30 feet wide at low tide, but because the Bekeley maina blocks waves fom eaching this aea, it is clogged with debis and gabage (Manning, 1981). Emptying onto the beach at the Univesity Avenue end is Stawbey Ceek, and at the Ashby Avenue end, Potte Ceek. Each ceek bings with it a small supply of new sand to the beach. M. Manning pesents five main povisions that must be met to ceate an enjoyable beach hee. Fist, because thee is vey little oiginal sand, a one-time impotation of sand is needed to build the width of the beach. Whethe this sand is to be dedged fom the Ashby Shoal, o to be tucked in fom else whee, would be decided by the cost and by the chaacteistics of the shoal sand. Second, in ode to ancho this sand in place, an undewate wall of sand, o "goin," must be built at the Potte Ceek end
- 98 - Figue 2. Cut Manning's poposal fo a Bekeley Beach. Souce: Manning, 1981. of the beach. This goin would tap sand that nomally would be washed behind a sand ba, yet it would also allow lighte silt and floating debis to be washed away by the wind and waves. Afte tnis is done, it is hoped that the natual foces of the ceeks, wave action, and the shoeline itself would maintain the beach's width and cleanliness. The thid povision would be to change the shape of the jutting piece of landfill called the Bick yad so as to give the beach a smooth, bowl-like pofile, such as the oiginal Bekeley Beach had. Stawbey Ceek could then flow unobstucted onto the beach, binging with it eplenishing sand. To keep tne beach clean of litte and waste, M. Manning also suggested putting a sot of filte o otating sceen on the stom dains which contain the two ceeks fo the last seveal yads down to the beach. His fouth equiement was to constuct a masony wall between the beach and the feeway to keep out 1
- 99 - feeway noise and to pevent blowing sand. The wall should be low enough to allow feeway dives a clea view of the Bay, but high enough to potect beachgoes fom diect taffic noises. Lastly, to impove public access, M. Manning poposes a pedestian bidge that would connect Aquatic Pak to the beach. As he points out, the cuent pedestian walkway on the Univesity Avenue ovepass is pooly planned and hadly accessible, as one must coss at least one feeway entance o exit to each the watefont. I Unfotunately, constuction of a pedestian bidge by Caltans has been put on hold fo many yeas now, pending a poposed widening of the feeway. Existing Poblems Though M. Manning's study would seem to addess the physical and aesthetic poblems of ceating a beach, his solutions ae still conjectue, and have yet to be tested and confimed. In addition, thee still exist the poblems of acquiing the land and financing the poject. A majo stumbling block to his plan is that the land upon which the beach would be built is owned by Santa Fe, which wishes to develop thei land and would not easily give o sell the land to the City of Bekeley without an exchange involving developing some othe piece of land. Both paties have been in numeous cout disputes e gading watefont development pojects since the 1960s, and pesently thee is a dispute between Santa Fe and a goup of Bekeley citizens who wish to see a state pak on the Bekeley watefont. The othe majo poblem facing the beach poposal, assuming that the afoementioned poblem is solved, is funding. In his epot, M. Manning states that funding should est with the banch of govenment which is esponsible fo the poject, efeing to such agencies as the East Bay Regional Pak Distict, and Bekeley's Housing and Uban Development office. He also mentions a pivate, non pofit goup, Uban Cae of Bekeley, as anothe souce of funding (Manning, 1981). A facto yet to be decided is the actual cost of the econstuction effot. Cut Manning believes the cost to be aound S3 million, but the State Depatment of 8oats and Wateways gave an estimate of S10 million (Stan, 1983). M. Manning agues that pat of thei estimate includes the cost of building a 70-foot paking stip to accommodate 3,000 cas, which, in any case, he finds in opposition to his idea of a natual beach (Stan, 1983). In 1980, an East 8ay Shoeline Pak, which included a Bekeley Beach plan, was poposed, and in both 1980 and 1984, funding fo this pak was obtained though the passage of state pak bond acts (Save San Fancisco Bay Association, 1986). The Shoeline Pak eceived positive ecommendations fom the State Paks Commission staff, the Siea Club, BCDC, the Bekeley Bay Council, and seveal othe goups pesent at a heaing held in San Fancisco in Januay of 1981 (Digby, 1981). By 1983 the pojected Shoeline Pak was to eceive S4 million of funding, and beach advocates agued to the State Coastal Consevancy fo the beach plan to be included in it (Stan, 1983). At the time, the East Bay Regional Pak Distict was inteested in the Bekeley Beach idea, yet had sevee financial poblems that limited thei suppot L (Stan, 1983). i
- 100 - The Futue Outlook Most goups and people concened agee that the poposed plan fo a beach in Bekeley is a good one, and pehaps even a feasible one if eseached futhe, with the foemost baies being money and ac quiing the land ights. If a Bekeley Beach eve is to be ceated, it would be cetain that the City of Bekeley could only benefit fom it. Tom Wakeman, an oceanogaphe with the U.S. Amy Cops of En ginees, pedicted a beneficial envionmental impact fom the beach, with the stabilization of plant life and the pobable evival of clam beds (Fishe, 1980). The beach would become a touist attaction once again, esulting in inceased income fom the City of Bekeley, and people would be able to walk, jog, picnic, and swim at the new beach, especially if the ceeks wee teated as suggested. Wate spots in geneal would be expected to incease as the wate quality nea the shoe impoved, and moe bid life would be evident. If the entie East Bay Shoeline Pak wee completed, then Bekeley would also pofit fom the possible estoation of the salmon and steelhead industy by having a spot fishing industy develop again (Cuiel, 1980). Unfotunately, whethe the beach will soon, o eve, become a eality is still questionable. Fist, the battle ove the development of Bekeley's watefont must be settled, and then impovements can be made fom thee. As pat of that goal, this pape seves best by educating the public about what once was at ou watefont, and what could exist thee once again. Cut Manning puts it succinctly when he states, "As one becomes awae of this [beach's] histoy, the magnitude of the loss becomes appaent" (Manning, 1981). REFERENCES CITED Centennial Committee of Bekeley, 1978. Public Libay, 33pp. A Histoy of Bekeley; unpublished epot at the Bekeley Chase, J.F., May 6, 1937. The Bayfont; The Bekeley Gazette. Cuiel, Johathan, June 3, 1980. Beaches - in Bekeley?; San Fancisco Democat and Chonicle. Digby, Dew James, Januay 23, 1981. Plan in Woks to Restoe City Beach; The Daily Califonian. Doss, Magot Patteson, Febuay 24, 1980. Along the Bekeley Coast; San Fancisco Chonicle. Fishe, Dixie, Octobe 1, 1980. Ex-beach May Become Bekeley Pak; The Daily Califonian. Mahaffey, Ken, Novembe 15, 1981. Ou Changing Shoe; San Fancisco Chonicle. Manning, Cut, 1979. The REconstuction of Bekeley Beach; Oakland, Penthouse Pinting, 14pp., 1981. The Reconstuction of Bekeley Beach; unpublished epot by the Bekeley Beach Committee, Bekeley Histoical Society, 7pp., 1983. The Beach. Pp. 20-22 in Exactly Opposite the Golden Gate Bidge; Bekeley, Bekeley Histoical Society. Manning, Stephanie, 1980. Chonology of Majo Ocean View Events, chapte in Histoy of West Bekeley; Bekeley, Bekeley Histoical Society, 21pp. Manning, Cut and Stephanie, wites and histoians, Bekeley Histoical Society and Bekeley Beach Committee. Pesonal communication, Octobe 1985.
- 101 - Nichols, Donald R. and Nancy A. Wight, 1971. Peliminay Map of Histoic Magins of Mashlands, San Fancisco, Califonia; U.S. Geological Suvey, Basic Data Contibution 9, Menlo Pak, Califonia. Pettitt, Geoge A., 1973. Bekeley: The Town and Gown of It; Bekeley, Howell-Noth Books, 208pp. Save San Fancisco Bay Association, May 1986. Califonia. Stan, Fances, July 7, 1983. Temko, Allan, Apil 8, 1985. Watefont clippings file, July 17, 1918. the Bekeley Public Libay. Fact sheet on the Eastshoe State Pak; Bekeley, A Sunny Vision fo the Shoeline; The Bekeley Gazette. Shoeline Built of Gabage; San Fancisco Chonicle,, May 31, 1981. Son of a Beach to Be Bon; Gassoots. Says Bekeley Is Best Teminal Site; unknown pape found at, Apil 10, 1985. Key Dates in Shoeline Fight; San Fancisco Chonicle., unknown date. The City's Watefont; unknown pape found at the Bekeley Public Libay. " \