FOCUSHow Shark Island Came Up in the...

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How Shark Island Came Up in the World

Linda Isle is a secluded enclave, home to wealth, conservatism and privacy, guarded privacy.

The approach to Linda Isle is from Bayside Drive, off East Coast Highway. A quick turn off Bayside puts you at the canopied entrance to Linda Isle. But access to this gated community is another story. Uniformed guards will halt unauthorized visitors taking a Sunday afternoon drive or, worse yet, pictures.

If you’re invited onto the island, you might get the impression that you have happened upon a real-life Fantasy Island. And while Ricardo Montalban won’t be there to greet you, neither will you have to put up with Herve Villechaize screaming: “ De plane, de plane .”

Designed and constructed in the shape of a horseshoe, Linda’s layout allows each lot to have a boat slip at its back door. Most homes have an assortment of water-traveling vessels swaying back and forth on the sun-sequined water. In the center of the horseshoe is a tennis court, basketball court, clubhouse, guest dock and a mini-beach.

While many California teen-agers can vividly recall turning 16 and taking that first solo drive, teen-agers raised on Linda Isle may recall the excitement of owning their first boat. Some residents find traveling by water almost as natural as driving a car on land.

Linda Isle has 107 lots, with each home having its own identity. And although the island is predominately an adult community, children appear to be thriving. A little boy playing in the sand looks up from his castle-making and asks: “See that big yellow boat over there? It belongs to me.” (The yacht belongs to the Rothschild family of wine fame.) Another youth washes the family’s Mercedes; down the street, a little boy plays with his red and yellow go-cart while a nanny pushes a baby carriage around a small patch of greenery.

Before it was Linda or an isle, the private island that Donald Bren of the Irvine Co. would call home was a tidal flat called Shark Island Shoal. Far from the exclusive neighborhood of today, it was subject to public use when it wasn’t under water, which it was at high tide. In the late 1940s, it gained a measure of fame when, according to an Irvine Co. spokeswoman, some scenes from the John Wayne classic “Sands of Iwo Jima” were filmed there. Some years later, Wayne moved to Bayshores, directly across the water from where the movie was shot.

The name change, to Linda Isle, took place in 1953. It was named after Linda Irvine Gaede, daughter of Myford Irvine, son of James Irvine II.

After a 7-year study and 2-year site preparation of the area by the Irvine Co., the 28-acre island was the choicest open area of land left on the bay. Between 1967 and 1972, 107 lots were leased or sold for $55,000 to $250,000. Today the range is $1.4 million to $5.4 million. The average lot is 45 feet by 133 feet.

In 1981, the Irvine Co., which still owned the ground on which many Linda Isle residents had built their homes, offered the option to purchase the land; 84% made the conversion from a leasehold to outright ownership. The company still holds the leases on 13 lots.

One of Linda Isle’s residents is Paul Salata, creator of Irrelevant Week. Later this month, the National Football League will hold its annual draft and in June, for the 14th year, Irrelevant Week will fete the last man picked in the draft. The 344th choice will be brought to California and for a solid week be honored with parties, gifts and plenty of publicity.

Next door to Linda Isle is Harbor Island, a smaller bayside community with a beach at its back door instead of boat slips. This residential spot is also very private and although there are no guards, a remote-control gate controls passage onto the island. Harbor Island’s streets are reminiscent of alleys, with the houses very close-knit.

The Galley Cafe, only a hop, skip and jump from Harbor Island, located in the Balboa Island Yacht Basin, has been known for its omelets for 32 years. Proprietress Myrtle Flach says that when the area was remodeled, her customers purchased a bronze plaque bearing the inscription Myrtle Park and placed it on the only green spot across from the cafe. Because she has been a fixture in the area for so many years, her clientele wanted to make sure her fame lasts into the next century.

Beacon Bay, on the mainland across from Harbor Island, was for years a summer retreat for the affluent. Today, most of the small cottages are lived in by the owners. These quaint New England-style homes have plenty of front and side greenery. And there’s even a miniature white lighthouse marking the grounds--for those who might forget the way home to the good life.

Population Total: (1988 est.) 1,893 1980-88 change: +17% Median Age: 45.6 Racial/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino), 97%; Latino, 2%; Black, *%; Other, 1% * less than 1% By sex and age: MALES Median age: 46.4 years FEMALES Median age: 44.8 years Income Per capita: $64,422 Median household: $123,113 Average household: $76,067 Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 9% $25,000-49,999: 18% $50,000-74,999: 23% More than $75,000: 50%