It’s been called “the most beautiful part of San Francisco Bay no one’s ever heard of.”
Point Molate is an 80-acre park that traces the coast of the bay just north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. And now it will be preserved.
The City of Richmond and the Guidiville Rancheria of California tribe will sell the property to the East Bay Regional Park District.
In a special meeting held earlier this month, Richmond’s City Council approved a letter of intent to sell Point Molate for $40 million.
The state will provide $36 million. The rest will come from the Park District. Proceeds will be transferred to the Guidiville Rancheria.
Today, Point Molate is a sprawling piece of biodiverse land with beaches and hills and views of Mount Tamalpais. And it’s lived many lives.
The Ohlone and Miwok tribes were the original inhabitants. Later, Chinese immigrants set up a shrimp camp there before the area was developed into “Winehaven” — once called the "world's largest winery."
After prohibition, the navy took over and turned Point Molate into a fuel depot.
In recent years, the site has been the subject of hot debate— there were plans for a tribe-owned casino, then a housing development that hit environmental roadblocks. But today, it has a new, green future.
