Mudflat Originally, Balboa Island was little more than a
mudflat surrounded by swampland. Today's Newport Harbor emerged only after dredging millions of tons of silt. In the late 1860s, James McFadden and his brother, Robert, purchased a large portion of the future site of Newport, including the oceanfront of Newport Beach, much of Balboa Peninsula, and the sandbars that were to become Balboa Island and Newport Harbor's other islands. They immediately began subdividing and selling their property. They established a successful fishing wharf on the Balboa Peninsula and the townsite of Newport Beach. In the late 1860s, the bay was used as a landing to load hides, tallow, hay and other goods for export. In September 1870, Captain Samuel S. Dunnells' steamer
Vaquero ventured into the bay to offload a cargo of lumber and shingles. Captain Dunnells soon established "Newport Landing" by constructing a small wharf and warehouse near the west end of the present Coast Highway/Newport Bay Bridge. The McFadden brothers acquired the landing in 1875 and for the next 19 years operated a thriving commercial trade and shipping business. However, the bay was not yet a true harbor and sand bars and a treacherous bay entrance caused the McFadden brothers to move the shipping business to the oceanfront by constructing a large pier on the sand spit that would become the Balboa Peninsula. The site was ideal because a submarine canyon (Newport Submarine Canyon - a favorite breeding ground for
great white sharks), carved along with Newport Bay by the ancient
Santa Ana River, provided calm waters close to the shore. McFadden Wharf was completed in 1888 and was connected by rail to Santa Ana in 1891. For the next eight years, the McFadden Wharf area was a booming commercial and shipping center and a company town began to grow. However, in 1899, the Federal Government allocated funds for major improvements to a new harbor at San Pedro, which would become Southern California's major seaport. The McFadden Wharf and railroad was sold to the
Southern Pacific Railroad that same year, signaling the end of Newport Bay as a commercial shipping center.
Creation by dredging, 1906-1941 Collins and Hanson saw Newport Bay's resort and recreation potential. They took on Henry E. Huntington as a partner in the Newport Beach Company. Huntington had acquired the Pacific Electric railway system and used it to promote new communities outside of Los Angeles. In 1905, the Pacific Electric "
Red Cars" were extended to Newport. By 1906, the
Pacific Electric line Red Cars began servicing the Balboa Peninsula and
Balboa Pavilion, and soon the Red Cars brought thousands of visitors from Los Angeles. Collins built a dredge and, by 1906, began dredging a channel on the north side of the bay and depositing the sand and silt on tidelands that would become Balboa Isle. However, despite the advertisements, Collins originally sold lots on the Island for as little as $25.00, with promises that all streets, sewers and street lights would soon be installed and a bridge and ferry service to follow. Construction was begun for the ferry landing. Streets were staked out and lots were mapped. Even a few narrow sidewalks were built. A low wooden bulkhead was built along the south side of the island and an impromptu sewer system was laid out with pipes draining onto the beaches at their low tide levels to keep the discharge out of sight. The island grew slowly at first, but in 1916, it became part of the City of Newport Beach. In 1918 the
Balboa Island Improvement Association was started. The BIIA was a motivating force in working with the City on bulkhead repair, ferry service, a sewer system, water, gas, electricity, paved streets and sidewalks, and street lighting. Thousands of tents were pitched in the area accessible only by a muddy two-lane trail called Palisades Road. The road was soon paved, and later the name was changed to Jamboree Road in honor of the event. It remains a major thoroughfare through Newport Beach, ending at Balboa Island. According to the
2000 US Census, Balboa Island was one of the densest communities in Orange County. Approximately 3,000 residents live on just giving it a population density of 17,621 person per square mile—higher than that of San Francisco. Despite having some of the country's most expensive homes, most of the dwellings are on small lots. A lot size on Balboa Island is x . In 2008
teardowns on interior lots of that size were going for $2,000,000. As times change some of the lots are being cobbled together into 1.5 or 2.0 sized lots for larger homes. The perimeter of the island along the Bayfront is dotted with piers for the homeowners' boats. Marine Avenue and Agate Avenue form the commercial spine of the island. Balboa Island has several associations. The Balboa Island Improvement Association, a voluntary group of people who live or work on Balboa Island; the Business Improvement District, a merchant-sponsored group on Marine Avenue; and the Little Balboa Island Association, a group of home owners only on Little Balboa Island. There is plenty of opportunity for community involvement on Balboa Island. Balboa Island is one of the most expensive real estate markets in North America outside of
Lower Manhattan. A two-bedroom house with a water view from the living room can cost about $3 million. Lot value is $2 million. Interior new construction sells for $4 million. Bayfronts range from $3.5 million to $9 million. Balboa Island's only bar, the Village Inn (or VI, as locals like to call it), has sat near the end of Marine Ave for more than 80 years. ==In popular culture==