Special Feature :
The Evolution of Shoreline Park
A look back on the ambitious plans for a bayfront park in Mtn . View
By David P . Salinero MVHA Member
This year Shoreline Park is celebrating its 40-year anniversary of being open to the public . The park officially opened July 17 , 1983 . The 750-acre park and its surrounding area has undergone many manmade changes in its history . The first inhabitants of the area were the native Ohlone tribes who lived in the area for centuries before the Europeans arrived . They built villages and hunted and fished in the San Francisco Bay shores . Earth mounds ( including the nearby Ynigo mound ) from these inhabitants have been found at sites near Shoreline Park . Some San Francisco Bay Ohlone even harvested salt from ponds near the Hayward coast . The Mountain View Historical Association ’ s meeting of November 2022 focused on the history and challenges of the tribes and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area who still live here today .
Spanish colonists expanded salt pond harvesting during the Mission period . It became a major industry of the Bay Area with approximately 18 family-owned operations during the mid-1800s . But by 1868 , Leslie Salt Company had bought up many of the local operators and became the largest landholder in the area . These operations transformed the tidal marshes into salt ponds all around the South Bay . By 1930 , about half of the tidal marshes around the South Bay had been converted to salt production . Cargill bought Leslie Salt in 1978 and even today there are still thousands of acres producing salt . The U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service has taken control of the salt ponds just north of Shoreline Park . Today , the salt ponds named A1 and A2W are being restored back to tidal marshes by the Salt Pond Restoration Project .
In the early 1960s , the City of Mountain View bought the land that now makes up Shoreline Park . One of the motivators was to create a park instead of housing as was done in other areas of the bay , such as
ABOVE : The ambitious 1968 General Development Plan for Shoreline Regional Park included some features that were built like a boating lake and golf course , but many that were shelved as priorities shifted to more nature-focused recreation . These neverbuilt features visible on the plan include a sports area , equestrian area , zoo , aerial tram , puppet show theatre , aquarium , children ’ s playland and more .
Foster City . The original General Development Plan for the park was sent to residents in a flyer in 1968 . This plan had big ideas and called for a boat lake , marina to the bay , golf course , sports area , and equestrian area . It also mentions a zoo , miniature golf course , theater , and aerial tramway . Some of these amenities were later removed from the final plan . In part , the mailer read :
Shoreline Park is an investment in the future for everyone in Mountain View . The benefits that we and our children will derive from the park are incalculable . The recreation and educational opportunities the park will afford will be perpetual repayment for our investment .
According to a historical outline put together by the City in 1973 , the area was home to wrecking yards , two substandard dumps , a pig farm , a sewage treatment plant , and low-lying flood lands . If you visited the dump in the 1960s , you noticed it was an early adopter of the “ freecycle ” movement . You might deposit your old rusty patio furniture and return home with some “ perfectly good ” used lumber .
The park was approved by U . S . Government agencies and a bond measure in 1966 . The original plan was to fill areas with dirt to prevent flooding . This proved to be too expensive . So , in 1970 , the City of Mountain View contracted with the City & County of San Francisco to truck tons of garbage to the site to raise the land 15 feet . This would buffer it from flooding .
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