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Bay Curious

The Island Ghost Town in the Middle of San Francisco Bay

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9999 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2017

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Drawbridge was a popular bird hunting destination decades. What happened? Reported by Jessica Placzek. Produced and edited by Olivia Allen-Price, Vinnee Tong, Paul Lancour and Suzie Racho. Theme music by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Ask us a question at BayCurious.org. Follow Olivia Allen-Price on Twitter @oallenprice.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

From K-Q-Q-E-D.

0:05.0

At the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, not far from Fremont, you'll find a cluster of abandoned buildings straight out of the Wild Wild West.

0:16.4

Out in the middle of the marsh is a ghost town called Drawbridge.

0:21.6

That's right, here in the Bay Area, home of skyrocketing rents and

0:24.9

home prices, a small town sits completely empty. Passengers of the Ace train,

0:31.0

which passes by several times a day, are some of the few who get a close up look at the town that once was.

0:37.0

Today you'll get a close up look too.

0:40.0

Support for Bay Curious is brought to you by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, still family owned, operated, and argued over.

0:47.0

Explore their brews wherever fine beverages are sold and taste how trailblazing runs in the family.

0:54.0

Visit Sierra Nevada.com to find your new favorite beer today.

0:58.0

Reporter Jessica Plachik took a hike out to the town with this week's question-esqueer John aired.

1:04.0

Well it's a wonderful day here with Jessica.

1:07.5

We're going on our little adventure walking out to the drawbridge overlook.

1:12.5

John and I walked in the wind along levies,

1:15.4

passing an abandoned kayak in birds like

1:18.0

cormorants and Canadian geese.

1:20.2

Well, we're in the middle of a slew, that's for sure, to our backs.

1:25.0

It's the southern part of the bay, and looking east,

1:29.0

there's this huge expanse of grass.

1:33.2

After walking almost an hour, we finally make it to the lookout.

1:37.8

And across the water, we see the town.

1:40.3

But we have to stop here, because going into the town is illegal.

...

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