Steve Holderfield's Real Estate Blog

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 Okay, here’s a fun one.  Have you ever thought about pulling off the Bay Bridge on Yerba Buena or on the other side, Treasure Island?  Well I had always sort of planned to do just that and one day I did.  At the time I was taking a Photoshop class and the instructor had told the class that there was this place on Yerba Buena, located behind the trash cans at some condominiums there on the Island that had a spectacular view of the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.  It seems that the folks who live there on the Island had set of a sort of hang out spot behind the condos.  They even used to have a trampoline set up there along with yard chairs.  They have named this great picturesque view, “The Spot”, which it surely is.  It just looks like a place to hang out a bit, although the parking is very limited and I have had to move my car a couple of times.     

I was intrigued by how the instructor described it and thought I would visit there sometime and see if I could find this great spot.  I was working from my home in Pleasant Hill one afternoon when it started to cloud up and it look like the sky was going to be a little dramatic, always a plus for a shot like this.  So I jumped into my car and beat it to from the East Bay to Yerba Buena Island.  I took this shot around 7:00pm in May of 2005.  It was just after sunset.  I think they call it dusk, not quite evening and nor quite night.  I love that in-between time as you can usually achieve really nice colors in your photographs.  Many photographers refer to this time as the “golden hour”.  So here’s the result:    

The Island has quite a history that you can read about here: Yerba Buena Island.  Here’s a map to direct you to the Island: Map.  Now directions to “The Spot”.  How to get here:  These instructions will change as the new Bay Bridge is being built and the access to Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands will, I’m sure, be changed.  Proceed on the Bay Bridge and take the exit to Treasure Island.  Once on Treasure Island Road proceed to just before the old entrance to the Naval Base where you will see a a road that sort of goes back up the hill that you just came down.  Take a right there on Macalla Road.  Then take the next right on Nimitz Drive which is the parking lot for the condominiums that you should be in front of.  Park your car and proceed to the garbage cans and walk around them.  Please be considerate to the needs of the folks who live there as they will appreciate you being quiet.  You will see a trail which will lead you to ”The Spot”    

There’s a ton more to see there like Admiral Nimitz’s home… there’s a picture of his home located just below the Bay Bridge on a site I found along with a chronology of the history of the Island, here.    

I have gone back to “The Spot” several times.  Here’s another shot I took at night.  It’s a little spookey there at night but the view is spectacular:    

Here are some other photos I found online at Yerba Buena and Treasure Island: Photos.  Next time your on the Bay Bridge pull off on Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands.  There’s a lot to see and the view is fantastic!  Enjoy!