The Point Molate site was originally home to the Winehaven winery, which operated from 1907 until Prohibition shut it down -- or rather, pretended to shut it down. The winery's remote location on the Richmond shoreline made it an ideal bootlegging operation, and its massive brick buildings provided ample cover. When the Navy needed fuel storage facilities on San Francisco Bay during World War II, the Point Molate site offered deep water access, existing infrastructure, and the isolation that fuel depots require.

The Naval Fuel Depot at Point Molate stored petroleum products for the Pacific Fleet, with underground tanks and pier facilities for loading and unloading fuel ships. The depot operated throughout the Cold War era, supplying the naval vessels that operated out of San Francisco Bay. The facility was decommissioned as part of the post-Cold War base closure process, leaving the Navy's infrastructure alongside the winery's brick buildings in an unlikely architectural combination.

Since decommissioning, the Point Molate site has been the subject of various development proposals, including a casino project that was ultimately defeated. The site's waterfront location, its existing infrastructure, and its proximity to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge make it valuable real estate. Environmental cleanup of petroleum contamination from the fuel depot complicates any redevelopment. The old Winehaven winery buildings, some of the finest industrial architecture on the bay, await a future that has been debated for decades without resolution.