[Photo credit: Diego Rivera's Pan-American Unity, Collection CCSF]
Today's a big day for Treasure Island and the plans to develop thousands of condos and townhouses there. Presentations before Board of Supervisor's committees, among the first steps towards approval. Expect serious buzzword deployment, grandstanding, plus unanimous votes for deferral. The usual suspects, too: toxic waste, seismic upgrades, affordable housing, public transit and ferries. Thankfully, John and Denise York are not involved.
In today's Chron article, Supervisor Daly expresses concern about costs and possible displacement of the island's two thousand residents. Many of these residents are rumored to be former Mayor Willie Brown's ex-cronies and ex-girlfriends, although a few years ago Brown famously demurred, saying "I have no ex-girlfriends." We're glad that at least for Brown and Daly, chivalry is not dead.
Along with the girlfriends, Treasure Island, also known as Yerba Buena Island, is left-over WW2 Navy base combined with left-over 1940's Golden Gate Exhibition. Mexican muralist Diego Rivera painted the Pan American Unity murals for the exhibition, ten years after his first San Francisco murals at the Art Institute (he also married Frieda Kahlo at City Hall. Busy year.) Sitting a decade without a suitable home, the murals wound up at the City College Ocean Avenue campus in their theatre lobby, where they don't get seen enough.
New to us: the Bay Bridge originally carried rail traffic. What a thought. More than you'll ever need to know about the Bay Bridge here including its real name.
· Treasure Island "Biggest Step" [SF Gate]
· Diego Rivera Mural Project [CCSF]
· Treasure Island [TI/YBI]
· Diego Rivera Murals [SFAI]
· San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge [Wikipedia]