Treasure Island was built by the Army Corps of Engineers specifically to serve as the site for the Exposition and was expected to serve as the location where Pan Am Airline's China Clipper would be housed after the Fair closed. When the United States was pulled into World War II, the island provided a convenient location for a large new navy base.
Some conspiracy theory nuts are very skeptical of the fact that Treasure Island just happened to become available at the very same time when America needed to build a big naval base on the West Coast to conduct the Pacific faze of WWII. Apparently they just don't appreciate the fact that some coincidences come along at a very appropriate time.
The fairgrounds, on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, were deserted and void of tourists and walking down the empty streets was reminiscent of the opening sequence in the movie "Twelve O'clock High."
Late fair visitors can find a coffee shop and a pizza (was that invented by 1939?) place called the Oasis Cafà � and two small convenience stores.
We did wind up in the Naval base brig, which now is the site for The Fat Grape Winery, where the congenial staff (owner Patrick Bowen) welcomed this Fair visitor and gave us a brief tour of the facility even though the writer hasn't had an alcoholic drink for a good number of years.
We were disappointed to learn that Sally Rand's Dude/Nude Ranch didn't deliver and hedged by featuring a cast of ladies who were "almost" naked.
The Fair headquarters building is the location of a leasing office, today, and the surrounding area features a variety of sports fields which have had the same effect on real estate developers as a waving a red flag has on high strung bulls. We were told that next month residents will learn what the next step toward in a redevelopment movement, with promises of high rise apartments with spectacular views of either San Francisco or the East Bay, will be.
Like most tourists, we took a good number of snapshots with our trusty Coolpix before hopping on the two busses which would return us to the World's Laziest Journalist's home office.
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