Winehaven was a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

and town in Richmond,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, that held the title of "world's largest winery" for 12 years (1907–1919). It later became a

fuel depot An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these Petroleum product, products are transported to end u ...

for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake left the city in ruins, the California Wine Association moved to Point Molate, a promontory on the east shore of

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

, and began construction of Winehaven. At the peak of the season, as many as 400 workers lived here, as all of the California Wine Association's shipments to foreign, coastal and New York markets sailed from the Winehaven dock—shipment capacity was 500,000 gallons (1,892,705 liters) a month, and 40 ships sailed annually for New York alone. The winery was shut down by

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

in 1919, and the company sold off its assets to avoid bankruptcy. Winehaven went mostly unused from about 1920 until the late 1930s. A post office operated at Winehaven from 1910 to 1925. Winehaven (Richmond, CA)

The Navy bought the site in 1941, moved into the winery buildings, and constructed 20 large concrete tanks on the hillsides above for a fuel depot. Thousands of drums of fuel were stored in huge buildings, pipelines were laid, a new pier was built and the old one was eventually removed. The old Winehaven Hotel was pressed into service for a period as barracks and

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

, and the workers' houses were renovated for the use of naval personnel. The Commanding Officer of the Naval Fuel Depot was assigned the largest house on the bluff overlooking the others, which previously had been the home of the winery superintendent. Despite the switch from wine to fuel, the historic district remains virtually unaltered from its days as a winery. There are 35 buildings in the National Register historic district built between 1907 and 1919, the most notable being the castle-like Winehaven Building adorned with

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

and corner turrets. Also within the district is the Winemaster's House (Building 60), which became the Commanding Officer's residence, and the Village of Point Molate, a row of turn-of-the-century cottages used to house Winehaven and military families. The Navy continued to operate the fuel depot during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

until it was decommissioned in 1995.

References

External links

Historical Sites in the City of RichmondContra Costa Times article
* * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, California Buildings and structures in Richmond, California Ghost towns in California Ghost towns in the San Francisco Bay Area Former settlements in Contra Costa County, California Military in the San Francisco Bay Area Historic American Buildings Survey in California Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in California Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California

See also

References

External links