Redwood Shores

Redwood Shores is a highly affluent waterfront community in Redwood City, California. It is located along the western shore of San Francisco Bay on the San Francisco Peninsula in San Mateo County. Redwood Shores is the home of several major technology companies, including Oracle Corporation, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, and Shutterfly.GeographyRedwood Shores is located roughly halfway between San Francisco and San Jose, and is bordered by Belmont and San Carlos to the southwest. Foster City lies to the northwest and Bair Island to the southeast; both are separated from Redwood Shores by sloughs. To the northeast is San Francisco Bay. Bair Island technically connects Redwood Shores to Redwood City, but there are no bridges between Redwood Shores and Bair Island. As a result, there is no way to drive from Redwood City to Redwood Shores (and vice versa) without exiting Redwood City and passing through San Carlos or Belmont (via unincorporated San Mateo County).HistoryRedwood Shores was built up from reclaimed land in the marshes of San Francisco Bay in the 1960s, much like its neighbor, Foster City, but the development almost never came to be. The owner of the land, the Leslie Salt Company, filled in soft ground known as "bay mud" formerly used for salt-evaporation ponds, but a significant controversy developed over fears of its susceptibility to serious earthquake damage because the area is between and close to the San Andreas and Hayward faults. The ensuing battle between various government agencies and business interests eventually put Leslie Salt out of business. As a result, Bank of America became the owner of the development in 1972.