Page 65 - Historical Study of Yerba Buena Island, Treasure Island and Their Buildings

In 1943, new office space on Treasure Island was provided to the Commanding Officer,
Executive Officer, Personnel and Disbursing Departments of the Receiving Ship. During the
same year, six and seven-tenths acres were added to Yerba Buena Island via landfill. Most of
this new area was devoted to recreational facilities, athletic field, theaters, gymnasium and
bowling alleys. In 1944, with a continued increase in barracks space on Treasure Island,
Receiving Ship turned over its medical, dental, supply and public works offices to Naval
Training and Distribution Center, Treasure Island (TADCEN).

During the course of the war, Receiving Ship handled an average of one thousand five hundred
men per day. It had a high of twelve thousand men in one day. When the Magic Carpet of
aircraft carriers, huge transports and liners brought returning veterans "stateside" at the end of
the war, the Receiving Ship workload more than doubled to about three thousand five hundred
per day with four thousand arriving every day. The processing of the first deluge of veterans as
they swarmed down on Receiving Ship was hectic and quickly increased to one hundred
thousand in the first month. The experience of these first weeks soon developed into a
streamlined system which received a man, processed him, and sent him speedily on his way in an
average time of seventy two hours. Finally, in 1946, the Navy acknowledged the existing
situation and officially redesignated Receiving Ship, San Francisco at Yerba Buena Island to the
Receiving Station, Treasure Island. Although Y erba Buena Island continued to be used for
various functions, such as the Radio School, never again would it be the headquarters for a Navy
command.

1.3.3 Residence and US Coast Guard, 1946-Present (1995)

After the Receiving Ship command was removed in 1946, Yerba Buena Island barracks was used
for the overflow of Navy personnel from Treasure Island. The Officers' Quarters at Yerba
Buena still served as housing for the upper level officers of Treasure Island. The Commandant's
House (Building 1) continued to be used for the base Commandant until 1945 when he moved
into Building 62. Although a major fire devastated Building 1 in 1934 requiring large scale
rebuilding and the permanent closure of its third floor, the building continues to be used today as
Flag Officer's Quarters. From July 1963 to March 1966, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz lived in
the house; thereafter, Building 1 was informally known as the Nimitz Quarters. See Figure 31.

After World War II, the US Coast Guard became the primary user of the eastern side of Y erba
Buena Island. When the Coast Guard took over the Lighthouse Reservation in 1939, they
demolished the old buoy storehouses. Probably influenced by the Exposition on Treasure Island,
the Coast Guard constructed new concrete storehouses in an Art Deco style. The buoy wharf
was expanded and the dock was lengthened. In 1966, approximately, several new apartment
style quarters were built on the north and west sides of the island and were occupied by officers.
Along the same timeline, naval enlisted personnel were moved from Yerba Buena Island into the
newly constructed enlisted personnel housing on Treasure Island. During 1973, a large portion
of the old Training Station property was transferred from the US Navy to the US Coast Guard.
Recently modernized and fully operational, the Coast Guard Station now monitors the San
Francisco Bay and its adjoining waters. It will continue to be the only remaining naval presence
on Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands after the closure of the Naval Station in 1997.

September I, 1995 Historical Study ofYerba Buena Island, 1-41
Treasure Island, and their Buildings