Tiny Island Is Immensely Treasured

This is the island that the tour-boat guides in Newport Harbor don’t tell you about.

There’s bustling Balboa Island with its own ferry boat service, petite Collins Isle where Humphrey Bogart used to play poker, and the always popular Lido Isle. But Bay Island? Who knew it even existed?

The island -- “islandette” might be more fitting -- has all of 23 houses and not a single car. To get home, residents must arrive by boat or park on Balboa Peninsula and walk through a gate and across a narrow bridge that leads to the 5 1/2 -acre island.

There’s a tennis court, plenty of dock space and a wide stretch of open beach that faces toward the mouth of Newport Harbor.

The homes rarely go on the market, but rather are passed from family member to family member or held in family or business trusts. Locals call it “inheritance island.”

“It’s very private here, and that’s how we like it,” said Mary Ann Emett, president of the Bay Island Club, which functions like a homeowners association.

But for all the old-money charm of Bay Island, there are some inconveniences. Just bringing home groceries, for instance, can be a headache. And if someone buys a grand piano or a couch, chances are they have to be shipped in. Literally.

Bay Island, founded in the late 19th century, was originally known as Sand Island and was a popular spot for duck hunters who doubled as farmers, land developers and civic leaders. The cottages were used as vacation homes and hunting lodges.

By March 1903, five men who owned homes on the island incorporated Bay Island and became shareholders. By year’s end, 18 men had become shareholders, including Edward Russell Amerige, a California assemblyman and the first mayor of Fullerton. In 1906, Madame Helena Modjeska, a Polish actress, bought a home on Bay Island for $2,400. She proved so popular with the neighbors as well as outsiders that they almost renamed the island after her. (She was immortalized with the naming of Modjeska Canyon and Modjeska Peak after her.)

“It hasn’t changed very much, and that’s the way we like it,” said Ted Phillips of Los Angeles, who rents out his Bay Island home for $7,000 a week during summers. “It’s so unique.”

The island has a mix of some new but mostly original beach homes that still have aluminum frames and windows that crank.

“It’s a time warp,” said Emett. “And our kids and our dogs can’t get run over on the island. The garage isn’t your front door. It hasn’t changed like every place else has changed.”

Grown trees and clusters of plants hover above the common area and a tennis court. Residents drive golf carts with personalized plates. An island caretaker lives on the premises.

“Not having any cars or motorcycles is nice, compared to L.A.,” said Phillips, who runs an insurance agency. “There’s no mechanized cars, no sirens, no ambulances so it’s very quiet. It’s like Shangri-La.”

But Bay Island isn’t without its warts.

As home to various avian species, birds nest and poop on the island’s aged sycamore and eucalyptus trees, so crews sweep and spray down the lush grounds five days a week. Construction and remodeling during the summer are prohibited so guests and renters can enjoy the island’s serene setting. And the cost of any construction is about 30% higher because crews must haul equipment to the island.

And if there’s an emergency, firefighters have to drag in the hoses from off-island hydrants. Police and paramedics have to hurry in on foot.

“There are lots of inconveniences,” Emett said. “But it’s a wonderful place to live.”

Residents say the island has a sentimental value that is rarely found elsewhere -- each home carries generations of history.

“We know everybody and their families and their grandparents,” Emett said. “We know who bought and built, who died.”

Among the old-timers was Sennit Gilfillan, one of the first radio manufacturers on the West Coast, and his wife, Edna. They lived in Laguna Beach but often took their two daughters to vacation at Bay Island before World War II. In 1964, they bought a home on the island for $135,000. Shortly after, they gave the house to daughter Joan.

Joan Gilfillan and her husband, Phillips, then an electronics executive, rebuilt the house in 1966 in a fashion after the old Balboa Pavilion.

After Joan Gilfillan died a quarter-century ago, Phillips turned the house into a vacation home and moved up to Los Angeles to open an insurance office.

Phillips said he hopes the home will stay in the family when he passes away. “I have two sons and three grandsons, and they have their own lives.... It will be up to them if they want it to stay in the family.”