Crown Memorial State Beach is a state park in the city of

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

on the shores of San Francisco Bay. It is operated by

East Bay Regional Parks District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

(EBRPD), under a cooperative agreement with the State of California and the City of Alameda.

Description

The park's Crab Cove Visitor Center, at the north end of the beach, features exhibits about the marine life environment of San Francisco Bay, the history of Alameda, and the importance of the Bay. There is an 800-gallon aquarium system with interactive stations for viewing sea creatures up close. Naturalists offer programs for schools and other groups, and weekend nature programs and lectures. The park's visitor center is located at Crab Cove. The Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, at the east end of the beach, is currently undergoing restoration and is closed to visitors until this work is completed.

History

From the 1880s until the U.S. entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in December, 1941, the area around the visitor center was part of

Neptune Beach Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach ...

, an amusement park and resort community that featured bathing spas and waterfront houses. It was formally called Alameda Beach and nicknamed "Coney Island of the West." During World War II, the site was used as a training base for Merchant Marine commanders. The park was subsequently known as "Alameda Memorial Beach" until it was renamed for a local politician, Assemblyman Robert W. Crown (1922 - 1973) who was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing the street. The current visitor center building was used as the base infirmary.http://www.ebparks.org/parks/vc/crab_cove Crab Cove Visitor Center The beach is long. By 1982, it had become dangerously eroded, so a restoration project employed a barge to pump sand from the bay back onto the beach. The restoration was not permanent, even though

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

had been installed, and another such project was undertaken in 2013. This project pumped of sand onto shore, restoring the beach and its dunes. The visitor center's current exhibits opened in 2004. The beach is a popular destination for birdwatchers in the fall and winter.

Sea bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s such as grebes,

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

s, and

loons Loons ( North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order ...

are viewed. Most of the beach received a grade of A or B for year-round water quality in 2010.Bay Area beaches grade well for safe swimming
May 27, 2010 by Carolyn Jones, ''San Francisco Chronicle'' In 2015, EBRPD agreed to buy of land on McKay Avenue that had once housed a U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) facility. The price was reported to be $2,182,500. The fate of the parcel, known as Neptune Point, had become quite controversial in 2011, when the General Services Administration (GSA), announced that it would sell the property to a private developer who wished to build 48 private luxury homes adjacent to Crown Memorial Beach Park. Attempting to expedite the sale, the U.S. Government sued the State of California and the park district in an eminent domain action in 2014. The California Attorney General, working with attorneys for EBRPD and California State Parks, countered by asserting that eminent domain could only be used for a public benefit, not for the private benefit of a developer. They proposed an alternative whereby if the proposed sale were allowed, the U. S. Government would have to pay the state and the park agencies $1.4 million in compensation. Karnes, Bea. "Crown Memorial State Beach to Expand." ''Alameda Patch''. October 27, 2015.
Accessed August 13, 2017.

Activities

Swimming is allowed year-round during park hours. There is a bathhouse on the west end of the beach. There are no lifeguards. Crown Memorial State Beach has no boat launch facilities.

Windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

, and small craft such as kayaks are permitted. Access fees are levied for pet dogs. No dogs are allowed on the beach. Visitors are allowed to bring dogs onto lawns and paved pathways, but must be under owner's control at all times and on a leash (maximum length ). Owners are expected to clean up after their dog. Picnic tables and barbecue pits are located next to the bathhouse. Some of these are reservable. Some areas of the park are accessible by wheelchair. Beach wheelchairs are available on a first-come basis at no charge.

Notes

References

External links