Explore Vallejo’s Mare Island, the Bay Area’s First Naval Base

The best seat in the house

Mare Island was once the economic pillar that supported Vallejo, California. From the mid-1800s to 1996, when it closed, the Mare Island Naval Shipyard employed tens of thousands of civilian workers. The city of Vallejo was almost entirely dependent on the economic activity and revenue that the island generated. When it eventually closed, Vallejo struggled to find an equivalent economic engine. Despite its location in the generally prosperous San Francisco Bay Area and its proximity to the Napa Valley, the city remained impoverished. This culminated in Vallejo declaring bankruptcy during the Great Recession. However, during the last few years, Vallejo has been on the economic rebound. The juxtaposition of Vallejo’s economic successes, fueled by the navy in the past, its struggle with poverty in the present and its potentially bright future, are all manifested on Mare Island in striking visual detail, making it an excellent place in which to explore.

St. Peter’s Chapel, one of the oldest in the western United States

A World War II–era ship

Tunnel vision

Long before tech was the region’s defining industry, World War II was the biggest economic engine in the San Francisco Bay Area. East Bay cities like Richmond, North Bay cities like Vallejo, and a multitude of neighborhoods in San Francisco and Oakland were essentially built as a result of this wartime boom. However, when the war was won, many of these places were left with a void that couldn’t be filled. Formerly proud, diverse, middle-class communities were left desperately impoverished.

Bay Area building boom

Close-up

“Fallout 4” in real life

Another black eye to Vallejo’s reputation was the Zodiac Killer. His first victims were in the Vallejo area. The city had to grapple with not only a sudden decline in industrial jobs and the resulting increase in poverty but also with national recognition as a serial killer’s backyard. People who would have likely never heard of Vallejo otherwise began to view it as a scary, unsafe place.

Pathway

Green giant

San Francisco’s Salesforce tower looming in the distance

Currently, Mare Island is in the early phases of redevelopment. A large-scale brewery, a prefab housing manufacturer catering to tech workers and an upscale winery have set up shop on Mare Island. There was even expressed interest from a Chinese electric-car company hoping to compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla brand, named Faraday Future. However, due to financial complications on the company’s part, the project has been left in limbo. Tech’s influence on Vallejo isn’t as blatant as it is in San Francisco or in the South Bay. One of the more notable changes is that Vallejo has spent several months topping lists for America’s hottest housing market due to its relative affordability in the Bay Area, leaving some longtime residents wondering if Vallejo will face the same levels of gentrification that places like Oakland have.

Jamal

Framed

Mare Island’s bay shore, with Marin County and Mount Tamalpais in the western distance

Vallejo is the most diverse city in the country. The city has garnered notice from the New York Times as a result of its unique ethnic mix. The main reason for Vallejo’s diversity is because of Mare Island and the opportunity for work it has offered to workers of various backgrounds. Vallejo’s diversity has also led to the city becoming a major hub for the Bay Area’s hip-hop scene. Legends such as E-40 and Mac Dre call Vallejo home, as well as newer artists like Nef the Pharaoh and SOB x RBE, the latter of which just collaborated with Kendrick Lamar.

Glass ceiling

Rest in peace

Art

In recent years, artists from all over Northern California have flooded Mare Island due to the large, affordable and plentiful work spaces to be found. This influx has created a relatively large local art scene that’s remarkable for a city of Vallejo’s size, most visible in the downtown area.

A World War II–era gunship that I was allowed to board

Golf with a view of the bay

Suburbia

Mare Island is a place with a past, a present and a future. If you ever need a day away from the craziness of life in San Francisco, doing some urban exploration around Mare Island may be just what the doctor ordered. Although Mare Island is only 30 miles northeast of San Francisco, when you arrive, it feels like you’ve entered a completely different world, despite being a short ferry ride away from the city.

If you’re considering a trip to Mare Island, here are some suggestions:

—The dilapidated military barracks. (There’s no official address for these. When you get to Mare Island, you’ll know them when you see them; they’re amazing in a horror-movie kinda way!)

—San Pablo Bay Trail

—Vino Godfather Winery

—The USS LCS 102 WWII Landing Craft Support Gunboat

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