The city of Alameda is an island in San Francisco Bay, hence its nickname "the Island City". Known for its Victorian houses (median house age is pre-WWII); its longtime association with the Naval Air Station; its great diversity of languages spoken, views held, and lifestyles practiced; still, it's mainly known as a quiet, residential city, and a piece of small-town life in the middle of the SF bay area. A city ordinance passed in 1975 limited development, so many areas of the city seem frozen in time around 1973. The movie "Spirit of '76" which spoofed the 70's was filmed in Alameda.