J A N E T D E L A N E Y | Treasure Island 2022 - 2023

Treasure Island is a 400-acre artificial landmass in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. Its name alludes to the specks of fool’s gold found in the mud brought down from the Sierra foothills to complete the project. The island was constructed between 1936 and 1937 and funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as part of an effort to lift the region out of the Great Depression. Initially, the site hosted the Golden Gate International Exposition. When World War II broke out, ownership was transferred from San Francisco to the Navy. Now, over 80 years later, Treasure Island is reinventing itself as San Francisco’s newest neighborhood.

Since 2022 I have been photographing here as part of an effort by the San Francisco Art Commission to document the island’s latest transformation. Remnants of the past have a tentative hold on the land. People are being relocated as buildings are torn down, and new construction dominates the landscape. I watch freighters from Oakland and Richmond glide silently past on their way to ports around the world as the winds whip through the island’s bent trees and the fog rolls in through the Golden Gate.