Red Rock Island
Encyclopedia
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
located just south of the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge. The property is the only privately owned island in San Francisco Bay. The boundaries of three counties – San Francisco, Marin
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
and Contra Costa
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
– converge on this high rock. The San Francisco County portion is an incorporated part of the city of San Francisco since it is a consolidated city-county; the Contra Costa portion (most of the island) is incorporated inside the city limits of Richmond
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
.
The mountain of bright red earth and rock is 500 ft (152.4 m) across from east to west, 750 ft (228.6 m) from north and south, and rises out of the bay to a height of 172 ft (52.4 m). It is surrounded by some of the deepest water in the North Bay - 60 ft (18.3 m) deep.
History
Selim E. WoodworthSelim E. Woodworth
Selim E. Woodworth was a commander in the United States Navy, prominent San Francisco businessman, and member of the Woodworth political family.-Early years:...
was the first owner and resident of Red Rock Island, where he built a cabin and maintained a hunting preserve. The island was once mined for manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
. It was privately purchased in the 1920s. After a series of owners, David Glickman, at the time a San Francisco attorney and part-time real estate buyer, purchased the island in 1964 for US$49,500.
In the 1980s, a plan was floated (but never implemented) to remove the top half of the island (which would be sold for highway roadbed construction). The island would then be developed with a 10-story hotel and casino, and a yacht harbor on the lee
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
(north) side. Water and power would be provided from lines connected to the San Rafael Bridge.
In June 2007, Glickman, now a gem dealer in Thailand, announced that Red Rock Island was for sale for USD10 million dollars. He had previously attempted to sell the island in 2001, including to the California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
. No conservation groups or agencies have so far expressed interest in buying the island, though some have considered it.
As of mid-2010, the island is listed with a realtor with an asking price of US$22 million.