Treasure Island

Treasure Island

In the 1934 movie "Treasure Island" with Jackie Cooper and Lionel Barrymore, Jim Hawkins (Jackie Cooper) goes on an adventure he will not soon forget. Part of that movie was filmed on the island beyond once known as Treasure Island. Today it is called Goff Island, named after Hubbard Goff who first homesteaded this little bit of paradise in the late 1800's. There was also once a concrete based pier at this beach and a trailer park on the cliffs above. You can still see some remnants of the pier on the beach if you look hard. But you would hardly know that by seeing it now. Since 2003 this gorgeous location has been home for The Montage Resort, a combined beach cottage rental and luxury hotel resort focused on the affluent traveler.

However, in 1953 this location was nothing more than an ordinary trailer park, albeit with the best view of southern California beach life. The beach below the trailer park was known as Treasure Island Beach and the island retained its notoriety from the filming of the movie with Jackie Cooper playing Jim Hawkins. The trailer park was also home to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the filming of MGM Studio's movie "The Long, Long, Trailer". Anyone growing up in the 1950's and 1960's knows Lucy and her real life husband Desi (Ricky in the TV show), the Cuba born band leader. The movie in its own right was a success for the studio and still has a cult following. Though not connected to the actual TV show, the movie was really a full feature version of Lucy and Ricky in Technicolor. Parts of the movie were filmed in Yosemite National Park and here on the cliffs above Treasure Island. During the filming of the movie, two existing palm trees at the real life trailer park Shore Acres were named for Lucy and Desi. These two palm trees still exist today, overlooking the beautiful southern California coastline resort. Of course they have grown a little, towering about 100 feet or so and are located in the front yard of The Studio Restaurant at cliff side over the Treasure Island Beach below.

Memories of times past in southern California. . .