Fiesta Island wasn’t always the colorful playground it is today, where people walk dogs, enjoy water sports, and take part in other outdoor activities.
Before it became a popular venue for locals and tourists, its’ creation involved an engineering problem and public opposition to a proposed solution.
As Mission Bay was being transformed into a sought-after destination, the city had a major question: What should be done with the large quantities of material unearthed during the dredging process? In his report “Mission Bay Aquatic Park,” published in the Journal of San Diego History, City Engineer Ed Gabrielson discussed the engineering challenges and decisions involved in creating Fiesta Island.
According to Gabrielson, public opposition to dumping unacceptable material into the Pacific Ocean led the city to hunt for another solution within Mission Bay.
Here are six things you might not know about Fiesta Island.
1. Mission Bay wasn’t always a recreational place
Sometimes referred to as False Bay, the area was a tidal marsh before dredging and filling transformed Mission Bay into a recreational area. Dredging and filling work began in the late 1940s and continued through the following decades as the city reshaped the bay for recreation.
According to the City of San Diego, around 25 million cubic yards of sand and silt were dredged to create Mission Bay Park’s landforms as a whole, not just Fiesta Island.
2. The city considered dumping material into the ocean
In 1956 and 1957, the city’s Engineering and Planning Department created early drawings calling for millions of cubic yards of poor-quality soil and other material to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean. Public hearings drew strong opposition to the proposal, and Gabrielson reported that the city then opted to add an island in Mission Bay to serve as a disposal area.
3. Fiesta Island was designed with 200-foot-wide sand levees
Following these complaints, Fiesta Island was added to the plan in 1958. Gabrielson’s report describes a design calling for 200-foot-wide sand levees around the island’s margins and a sand covering at least 3 feet deep.
Contract drawings specified the shorelines, slopes, and areas where different types of sand and silt would be placed. The island was a planned engineering project, not simply a pile of dredging material dumped into the bay.
4. A big engineering problem
The ground on the north side presented a challenge because it held silty clay. Gabrielson reported that sand sank as much as 8 feet into the clay, creating a “mud wave” outside the levee. The response from the city included widening the dike and removing extra amounts of material.
5. Western Contracting wins project
The city asked for bids for the Mission Bay dredging work on June 12, 1958, and awarded Western Contracting Corp. the contract, signed on Sept. 4, 1958.
The company’s dredge, the Western Eagle, was built in Kansas City, Mo., and arrived in San Diego on April 30, 1959. A 1968 California Court of Appeal opinion concerning the company’s tax dispute states that the dredge’s construction was finished in Kansas City on Dec. 23, 1958. Work under the Mission Bay contract began on May 6, 1959, according to Gabrielson’s report.
6. The project took years to finish
Gabrielson reported that Western Contracting completed dredging on Aug. 1, 1961, although “bulldozer and dragline work” continued. The city accepted the completed work in November 1961.
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Sources:
- City of San Diego, “Mission Bay History.”
- Journal of San Diego History, “Mission Bay Aquatic Park,” by Ed Gabrielson.
- California Court of Appeal, Western Contracting Corporation v. State Board of Equalization (1968).
