Scipio Ratto: Prospector, Reformer, Merchant

By Jack Tracy and Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

Back in 2010, we ran Jack Tracy’s account of the political struggles between gamblers and reformers in early 20th century Sausalito. Most of the gambling involved off-track betting on horse races, at establishments euphemistically dubbed pool rooms — literally rooms where betting pools were organized. These rowdy saloons were hangouts for loafers, criminal types, and drunks.

PHOTO FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Scipio Ratto stands behind his assistant “Babe” Malone inside the grocery store Ratto co-owned with John Mecchi.

In Tracy’s words, “Scipio Ratto in many ways exemplified the Sausalito reformers who took the town out of the hands of the gambling interests and gave it back to the residents, and who worked tirelessly over the years to improve life in their town.”

Mr. Ratto was an intriguing figure in Sausalito history, as evidenced in these lightly edited excerpts from Tracy’s book, Moments in Time:

He was born in San Francisco in 1869, son of a Mother Lode general store proprietor who came to California from Italy in 1852. Scipio's father ran two San Francisco bakeries and what few days off the family had were spent in Sausalito. It was on these picnic outings that Scipio fell in love not only with Sausalito but also with Angelena Antoni, whose parents had come over land to California during the Gold Rush.

When gold was discovered in the Yukon, Scipio Ratto set out for the Klondike. He arrived in Juneau in the summer of 1897, full of high hopes and big plans. He went up the Whitehorse River in search of gold. After almost a year of struggling with freezing cold, scurvy, wild rivers, lots of ice, and very little gold, Ratto made his way to Dawson City, then a scruffy boom town crowded with miners and merchants. He eventually found work in George Biber's general store in 1899. Like most others, he left the Yukon no richer than when he arrived.

In 1904 at age thirty-five, Scipio Ratto was ready to settle down. He married his sweetheart Angelena and moved to Sausalito, where he formed a partnership with John Mecchi in 1905

Downtown Sausalito resembled the rough and tumble mining camps of the Yukon when Ratto arrived. The streets were mud holes, rowdy drunks were common on Water Street, and the gambling rooms and saloons seemed like the principal business. Ratto and his wife became political activists, taking part in almost every effort to improve their town as well as rearing two daughters.

Reformers like Ratto continued to push for elimination of legalized gambling, and in 1909 the California Legislature outlawed off-track betting. The Sausalito poolrooms closed their doors. By that time most of the disreputable saloons were long gone, replaced by respectable family restaurants like the Arbordale. And the Board of Trustees was dominated by men who put civic pride and service above personal gain.

Ratto maintained a successful grocery business in Sausalito until he retired in 1935. He also helped form the Old Town Social Club, was an officer in the South Sausalito Improvement Club, and served as Assistant Chief of the Sausalito Volunteer Fire Department in 1912. He was a charter member of the Sausalito Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West for over forty years. In his spare time he served on the Sausalito School Board, from 1922 to 1940, and was a member of both the Eagles and the Elks Club.

Mr. Ratto died in 1951 at age 82.

Moments in Time is available through the Sausalito Library and at Sausalito Books by the Bay.

Open Space Champion Huey Johnson

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

PHOTO FROM REBELS WITH A CAUSE
Huey Johnson enjoying Marin open space

Huey Johnson, an early environmentalist who challenged wealthy builders and the government during a grassroots campaign to protect the Marin Headlands from development and who helped create the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, died recently at age 87.

As western director of The Nature Conservancy, Mr. Johnson was involved in many environmental negotiations, but his landmark case was Marincello, the planned community which would have crammed apartment towers, as well as hundreds of homes and townhouses into 2,000 acres of the Marin Headlands in the 1960s. How Mr. Johnson and a team of volunteers fought the project is depicted in the highly praised documentary, Rebels With a Cause.

In a 2016 oral history with for the Mill Valley Historical Society, Mr. Johnson told how he convinced the Gulf Oil Corporation to abandon the project and to sell the land to the Nature Conservancy which then transferred it to the newly formed Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Here's the story, in these lightly edited excerpts from Mr. Johnson’s conversation with Debra Schwartz:

Marincello had been part of a former ranch centered in an Army base on the coast. It was owned by an oil company [Gulf], and the oil company leased it to a big New York developer, who was really big time. And he came out with a vision, design and a miniature of this whole vast valley including Venice-like canals with boats and thirty skyscrapers.

In the end it was so preposterous, that I didn’t ever take it that seriously. But the developer was very serious. A handful of us decided it wouldn’t make a lot of sense and started opposing him. And that may have been a turning point for a lot of environmental interest in Marin. A lot of people thought about that and got angry and got involved.

The Board of Supervisors had turned it down, not wanting it on the ballot. We wanted to try to get it in the ballot, to take advantage of educating the public. And these two elderly sisters blocked traffic on

101 with petitions. [laughs] One had a can for contributions, and the other would have people sign up. So a sister would go on each side of your car, have you sign a petition, and ask for a contribution. And that was just wonderful.

That was written up, of course. And that started to create the drum roll of interest and support and pressure on the supervisors, et cetera. And in the end, I kept going back to the headquarters of the oil company, it was in Pittsburgh. I think I went back half a dozen times at least. I’d be ushered into a meeting and there’d be a dozen people there and the vice-president of real estate and he’d say, “Well, you’re known as opposing our project and we want to negotiate.” And so he’d say, “We’ve cut back some.” They’d unroll the plan, which before had had every hilltop covered, they’d cut back a little bit — each trip they’d cut back a little bit. And each time I said, “I’m telling you, the people of Marin are not going to allow this thing to be built and you’d save a lot of money by just forgetting it.” And this guy was tough, big fists, and he’d swear at me. And all his minions were taking notes and getting ready to do the next draft.

And the last time I came in, he wasn’t there in the headquarters. A new face was there and he said, “Here’s our offer.” And I said, “I repeat, I’m telling you no.” And he said, “Never mind, everybody leave the room,” in a loud voice. And they all got up and left. “Not you, Johnson.” And I sat again and there I was alone, facing him, and he said, “All right, you bugger, you win. What do I do?” And I couldn’t think. It didn’t ever occur to me when I went, I guess. And I sat there blank with “win” in my head spinning around. I didn’t have a legal document, but I said, “Well, you’ve got to sign an option.” And he said, “Where is it?” So I tore out a notebook paper and I provided an option and he signed it and I said, “I’ve got to give you a down payment.” And we negotiated the terms. It was going to be $12 million and whatever. And he said, “How much are you going to put down?” I said, “$100,” ‘cause that’s all I had in my checking account. And he swore some more.

I said, “It’s symbolic. What you’re getting from me is I’m going to go to Congress and I’m going to get Congress to guarantee you’re going to get a tax credit of $6 million, and $6 million in cash. That will be the deal. And you can’t do it because nobody would trust you.” It was an oil company. And he said, “All right.”

I wrote the check for $100, he signed the document, and I never went back.

If you’d like to know more about the colorful Huey Johnson, you can view Rebels With a Cause on DVD or online. You can also listen to his oral history, or read the transcript, at: https://millvalley.pastperfectonline.com/archive/6A2EA579-089E-4B20-90F3-752281227206.

Temperance Never Caught On

By Phil Frank, Sausalito Historical Society

The late Phil Frank wrote the following history of Prohibition in Sausalito for the Arcadia Sausalito book:

PHOTO FROM ARCADIA BOOK SAUSALITO
Confiscated alcohol is poured into the Bay under the watchful eyes of Sausalito officials and two local kids

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Sausalito became a major player in Northern California's effort to skirt the 18th Amendment, which had made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport intoxicating beverages in this country. On the surface, the Volstead Act, the law that implemented the 18th Amendment, was more or less observed. Beer breweries switched to soft drinks or low-alcohol "brews," or just went out of business. Liquor stores shut down. Bars became soda parlors. Hundreds of distilleries closed their doors.

But Prohibition, as it was popularly called, was doomed from the beginning. The trouble was that it took such a long time to die—from 1919 to 1933. And during that time, much of the rum- running and bootlegging action on the West Coast centered on Sausalito. The reasons were obvious. First, it was the closest harbor to the Golden Gate. Fast boats—rumrunners as they were called—could be built and serviced in the town's boatyards, moored in Richardson's Bay, and fueled at its docks. Second, Sausalito was the jumping-off point for most North Bay ferryboats headed to San Francisco. At night, boatloads of liquor were brought to the rocky Mann County coastline in speedy boats, operating from Canadian and Mexican "mother ships" lying offshore in international waters. The cargo would be loaded onto trucks or into cars and, traveling the back roads, funneled through Sausalito to the ferry landings at Water and Princess Streets.

The town had a two-man police force generally tolerant of local "soda parlors" known to lace their lemonade with alcohol, as long as the owners weren't too flagrant about it. It was only when barrels came in the front door, or grocery stores were found open in the wee hours of the morning with their curtains drawn, that local authorities clamped down.

Federal Prohibition officers based in San Francisco were highly suspicious of the little town across the bay. They knew there was alcohol traffic, speakeasies, and stills in operation there. But the only way to get to Sausalito was on the ferryboats, and the ferry workers were mostly locals. A phone call from San Francisco to Sausalito could beat a ferryboat to its slip any day; so every time the officers arrived, an air of temperance pervaded the town.

Federal authorities were convinced that Sausalito police were in cahoots with the rumrunners, or were aiding and abetting the bootleggers. One headline from the Sausalito News in the 1920s read, "Prohi Officers Draw Guns On Sausalito Police." The fact that Mason's Distillery was located in Sausalito also drew the attention of the Feds. Since Mason's was a major producer of whiskey prior to the 18th Amendment, after 1919 it was allowed, under federal supervision, to continue producing alcohol for industrial and medical purposes. By 1925, it was generating two million gallons of denatured alcohol annually, nearly one-sixth of all the alcohol produced in the United States.

During Prohibition's lifespan, Sausalito hosted several speakeasies—neighborhood bars operating out of private homes—as well as unknown numbers of illegal stills back in the hills. Rowboats slipped under wharves after dark and tapped signals on waterfront restaurant floor hatches, after which "hootch" would be passed in gunny sacks into waiting hands. When the Sausalito Woman's Club was preparing for a party, a call could be placed to the Sausalito Pharmacy, and a "prescription" for five gallons of medicinal alcohol would be written.

The nation breathed a sigh of relief when the 18th Amendment was repealed, but it was a wistful breath in Sausalito. Here there was a hint of regret that the income flowing from Prohibition, the excitement it offered, and its opportunities for enjoying forbidden pleasure, was a thing of the past.

While the Historical Society is closed to the public, the Arcadia Sausalito book is available at the library, Sausalito Books by the Bay and online.

Mrs. T. Carves a Path

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

Elizabeth Terwilliger, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 97, was a remarkable woman in many ways.  A recent Marinscope profile noted that Mrs. T., as she was lovingly known, was a descendant of Kit Carson, Daniel Boone and James Fenimore Cooper, and “a modern-day trailblazer in the world of conservation and nature education.”

PHOTO BY LARRY CLINTON

These days, the multiuse path seems more popular than ever

Plus, according to an oral history she recorded in 1972 for the Mill Valley Public Library, she was also a bicycle activist. In these lightly edited excerpts from her conversation with Dorothy Slate, Mrs. T. tells the story of how she crusaded for the Mill Valley-Sausalito Multiuse Path:

We moved [to Mill Valley] from Strawberry so the children could bicycle to school and I wouldn't have to drive them to everything. We were within easy bicycle range.

One day a mother in Sausalito said to me, “Do you know you can't bicycle legally from Mill Valley to Sausalito?” Sure enough, as you drive to Sausalito, right there by the Buckeye restaurant is a sign that prohibits pedestrians, cycles and so on (including bicycles) on the freeway. How else could you get to Sausalito without a car? Well, under the Richardson Bay bridge were the railroad tracks. But right there is a sign saying, "Private. Permission to pass revocable,” etc. Then when you come out on the highway, the signs say, "Go back! Wrong way!

All this meant that no child from Sausalito or Marin City could legally walk or bicycle to high school. Here's the Division of Highways, telling the parents to get their kids to school the best way they can, but they may not walk, and they may not cycle. I thought, "This doesn't make any sense. A child should be able to get to school on his own." I had passed that sign near the Buckeye for years, but it hadn't meant anything to me. I wondered why I had been so blind.

After visiting offices of the Division of Highways, Mrs. T. was referred to the courthouse in San Rafael.

So I called. The lady who answered the phone said, "Mrs. Terwilliger, I know what you're talking about. I live in Sausalito, and my son goes to Tamalpais High School. He could bicycle to school very easily; it’s level. But the law says no, so it costs me a dollar a day for his transportation.”

He wrote to me and said, “Dear Mrs. Terwilliger, I just carry out the laws; I don’t make them.”

Mrs. T. wrote to Bill Bagley [State Assemblyman from Marin County], to the state superintendent of schools, and to the governor. Then, thinking big, she also contacted her congressman the U. S. Secretary of Transportation. But she also kept the pressure on local authorities:

Meantime we explained it to the Tamalpais High School District and the Mill Valley School District. Then I wrote to the railroad people, asking why we couldn't have a bicycle path alongside the railroad. They said, "Oh no, the insurance would be too high,” etc.

Pretty soon we were going round and round in a circle and still weren’t getting anywhere. Finally the bicycle people in the county got together and had a big meeting. We decided to meet once a month until something had been done about the problem of a bicycle path. Michael Wornum had gone in as the new county supervisor, and he helped us, and Pierre Joske [Marin County Director of Parks and Recreation] helped us. Meantime I had written to Peter Behr [state Senator from Marin] and asked him to help us.

We had a meeting, with speakers from the Golden Gate Bridge District and from the County; we had Peter Behr; we had Mr. McDevitt from San Francisco—because by then San Francisco was waking up to bicycle paths. So, we had many voices speaking.

Then Mary Mayer of Sausalito said she had a cousin on the board of the railroad. She talked to him, and he was finally convinced that we could put in a path from the high school to the Bait and Tackle Shop outside Sausalito. But just west of Tam Junction you have to cross the creek. Where would we put the bridge and how could we pay for it? Then it occurred to the Water District that they already had a pipe going across there, and they said we could put the foundations for the bicycle path bridge on their foundations. So, we finally got our path put in that far.

At Tamalpais High School the [unincorporated] County line stops and the City of Mill Valley begins. So that's where the bicycle path stopped! I appealed to the Mill Valley Parks and Recreation Department, and they said the Public Works Department couldn't do it. I appealed to the mayor, telling him we needed just this short stretch from the high school into Mill Valley. This was finally done; with the widening of Camino Alto the money was appropriated to put the path in there. So, we now have our path, and everybody is gung-ho for it!

The 3.8-mile paved path, stretching from Mike’s Bikes in Sausalito north to East Blithedale Ave. in Mill Valley with views of Bothin Marsh Preserve and Richardson Bay in between, was officially opened 1981. According to the website enjoymillvalley.com, it has become “one of the most popular paths in the entire Bay Area, with more than a half-million people using it between March and November each year,” based on annual WalkBikeMarin Path Counts. And thanks to Mrs. T.

Gabrielson Park Rose Garden

 By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

“The Rose Garden in Gabrielson Park is looking beautiful!  Please stroll by on your next walk through downtown Sausalito and have a look!  It will bring you joy.”  That’s the message that documentarian MaryAnn Dietrich recently relayed to members of Sausalito Village. But, of course, the invitation is extended to all.

PHOTO BY LARRY CLINTON
Gabrielson Park Rose Garden with Hermandad in background

“The original garden was established in 1961,” MaryAnn noted. “It has been maintained over the years by members of the Sausalito Woman’s Club (SWC.)  In the last decade, Wera Musaus has led the SWC volunteers.  In 2015, it was decided to concentrate on roses — and those flowers have blossomed with gratifying generosity. This year’s blooms are spectacular!

“Wera hopes that in the midst of this health epidemic and civic unrest you will find comfort in visiting Gabrielson Park.  Please rejoice in the beauty of nature and our good fortune in living in Sausalito with its very-special Rose Garden.”

The rose garden is situated on the Northwest corner of Gabrielson Park under the shadow of the 17-foot high sculpture Hermandad. The steel sculpture by Chilean artist Sergio Castillo was erected in 1968 to celebrate Sausalito's sister city relationship with Castillo's hometown of Viña del Mar. The 17,000-lb. sculpture was knocked over by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In 2009 the sculpture was restored, and the rose garden created, according to the City website.

Gabrielson Park was once a backwater known as “The Hole.”  At high tides the property filled with water creating a muddy, murky unattractive lake. 

Then in 1965 the Rotary Directors began beautifying “The Hole,” by filling it with over a thousand cubic yards of sand and planting soil. Irrigation pipe was laid, paths defined and dwarf pines planted, all according to plans previously drawn.

The project was delayed when the City proposed to use the site for a new library. When voters declined to approve a library bond, the Club resumed its work with renewed enthusiasm.  Materials were either donated by Club members or purchased at cost.  All labor was volunteered by Club members. The Hole was renamed Gabrielson Memorial Park in memory of the late Carl Gabrielson, a Rotarian well known for his outstanding contributions to his club and varied civic enterprises both in Japan and Sausalito. A one-time member of the City Council, Carl Gabrielson died in 1964.

A 1993 Marinscope article offered this description of the park’s appeal: “The grassy portions of the park are often used by those seeking some sun in the summer and there are benches fronting the bay for those inclined to stop and admire the view. The park is popular with visitors to the City and is well used on weekends.”

That article also reported: “The rose garden on the right side of the park is dedicated to another beloved member of the Sausalito community, Blanche Dunphy,” and a stone marker holds a dedication plaque. Mrs. Dunphy was born and raised in Sausalito and shared a long-term interest in the community with her husband, Earl Dunphy, an ex-mayor and namesake of nearby Dunphy Park, which is slated to reopen soon after an extensive makeover

Sausalito Gets its Act Together

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

In 1875, Sausalito was still maturing from a bucolic hamlet into a small city. Two years after its incorporation, the town boasted a railroad terminal and ferry landing, but the streets were still unpaved, and streetlights were just beginning to be installed.

Nothing illustrates the pastoral nature of early Sausalito like a couple of ordinances passed by the Board of Trustees and published in the Sausalito News that fall.  One new law made it “unlawful for any person to herd or picket or permit [animals] to run at large upon any public street within the corporate limits of the Town of Sausalito,” with certain exceptions.

PHOTO FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIET

The annual Portuguese Chamarita procession was exempted from the regulation barring animals from Sausalito streets.

The ordinance empowered the Poundmaster and Marshal of the Town “to take into custody any animal found upon the public streets of the Town of Sausalito, in violation of the provisions of Section 1 of this ordinance, and immediately place the same in the Public Pound of said town. Any animal found trespassing upon any private enclosure in this town may be taken up by any person and committed to the custody of the Pound Keeper, who shall hold the same subject to the provisions of this ordinance.”

The Poundmaster was responsible for keeping “a true record of the number and description of all animals taken into custody and of the time when taken and of the manner of their disposal,” and posting a list and description of these delinquent critters “at the Postoffice door and at the office of the Town Clerk.” If an animal was not redeemed within five days, it was to be sold “at public auction without further notice.”

Any person claiming to own one of the missing animals could redeem it on paying the Poundmaster “For each horse, mare, cow, bull, ox, mule, or ass, two dollars, with fifty cents a day for keeping. For each colt or calf under one year old and for each hog, one dollar, with twenty cents per day for keeping. For each sheep, goat or pig, fifty cents, and fifteen cents per day for keeping.”

A second ordinance made it unlawful “for any person to deposit within the corporate limits of the Town of Sausalito any dead animal or to suffer the same to be or remain upon any premises in said town owned or occupied and controlled by such person, unless so soon as such dead animal shall be deposited upon such premises, and so long as the same shall remain upon any such premises, such dead animal shall be buried in an excavation in the earth to such a depth as to prevent any odor from such dead animal escaping into the atmosphere, and the carcass shall be covered with earth to depth of not less than four feet.”

As an alternative, the ordinance permitted animal carcasses to be deposited in the bay “at least eight hundred yards from shore.”

The law also addressed another offense in those pre-plumbing days, stating that any “sink, cesspool, vault, privy or other place for the reception of excrement or filth shall be so constructed as to entirely prevent any deposit therein from running over the surface of the same, or from percolating through the soil,” in order to “entirely prevent the odor of the excrement or deposit therein from escaping into the atmosphere surrounding the same.”

Sometimes the good old days can help us appreciate even more what we have today.

Sausalito Proposed as Transcontinental Rail Terminal

By Robert L. Harrison and Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

There’s a long list of things that almost happened in Sausalito — in fact the Historical Society devoted an entire exhibit, The Sausalito That Never Was, to some of these near-misses in 2018. Now Bob Harrison, researcher for the Anne T. Kent California Room at the Marin Civic Center Library, has unearthed another dream that didn’t come true. Here’s the story:

PHOTO © ANNE T. KENT ROOM

Sausalito as it appeared in about 1874. In the distance is the railroad trestle which crossed Richardson Bay to Strawberry.

The second half of the 19th Century was a time of great railroad planning and building. The Transcontinental Railroad, approved in 1862 by President Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War, linked Sacramento with Omaha at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869.

The full transcontinental route was attained on September 6, 1869 when the tracks from Sacramento were extended to Alameda with a ferry connection to San Francisco. Two months later the rails were completed to the Oakland Pier. The original route from Sacramento used an indirect alignment with steep grades via Stockton, Livermore and Niles Canyon (Hayward). The Niles Canyon route measured about 140 miles from Sacramento to San Francisco. Considerable speculation followed on where a permanent Bay Area terminal for trans-continental trains should be located as well as which route should be taken to get there. The plan was to find a connection with lower grades and better alignment.  

A direct or “air line” route from Sacramento to the Bay Area was described in the December 17, 1870 Contra Costa Gazette: “The engineering corps of the Central Pacific Railroad Company [is] engaged in surveying the shortest practical route from Sacramento to San Francisco….and are now running a line of survey along the face of the cliffs on the south side of the Straits of Carquinez, after passing which, a tolerable straight line may be taken for Goat Island [Yerba Buena Island]….the whole distance between Sacramento and San Francisco will be eighty-six miles, all upon a water-level grade, which will admit of high speed with comparatively little wear and tear.”

The Daily Alta California in a July 19, 1871 Financial and Commercial column included both Goat Island and Sausalito as its preference for a national railroad terminal: “…. the people want Goat Island for a great depot of trans-continental traffic. They also want the point of the Saucelito [spelling per the 1870s] Peninsula for another…. there must be three great termini — Saucelito, Goat Island and San Francisco.” Goat Island was described by the Daily Alta as an excellent terminus for the trans-continental railroad: “If Goat Island should ultimately be appropriated, leveled and docked out, a magnificent and effective depot would be obtained….”

The July 19th Daily Alta California was not the first newspaper to mention Sausalito as a major railroad terminal. An earlier July 1871 opinion piece in the Saucelito Herald was titled, “Saucelito and New York, the Railroad Termini of the Union.”  The Herald explained, “….inspecting the maps and coast survey instructions, the conviction is forced that the only ultimate terminus of this vast system [national railroad network] is Saucelito, with its sheltered bay, its deep water and its landing facilities….The fact is gradually forcing itself upon the practical minds that govern railroads….until one of them extends its rails to Saucelito, and victory will then be decided, and the whole peninsula, at the head of which stands Tamalpais, will become the western terminus of the National railroad network.”

Neither Goat Island nor Sausalito became the western terminus of the national railroad network. In 1879 an alignment similar to the “air line” route was built from Sacramento to Benicia where a large ferry transported locomotives, rail cars and passengers across the Carquinez Strait to Port Costa. The ferry operated until 1930 replaced then by a railroad bridge. The rails continued from Port Costa to the Oakland Mole and Pier. Since 1869, Oakland and later Emeryville, have served as terminals for passenger trains from the east.

Sausalito did become the site of a railroad terminal, albeit on a much smaller scale than the advocates of the trans-continental railroad terminal had hoped. The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) established the village as its terminal to connect the towns of Marin and the lumber regions of Sonoma County with San Francisco, via train and ferry. The NPC was incorporated in December 1871 and one month later gained local financial support when Marin County voters approved a $160,000 ($3.5 million in 2020 dollars) bond measure.  

A groundbreaking ceremony took place in Sausalito on April 12, 1873. Work crews immediately began construction of the route across Richardson Bay to Strawberry, through the Ross Valley and to West Marin. San Rafael gained a connection to the NPC via a spur from Junction (San Anselmo). The town of Tomales was the system’s initial northern terminus. The first train left Sausalito for Tomales in January 1875.

Despite not becoming the western terminus of the national rail network, the NPC and subsequent railroad companies brought prosperity to Sausalito. A railroad continued to operate in Sausalito for nearly 100 years.

The SHS’ current exhibit, “FIRE!” in the exhibit room on the 3rd floor of City Hall, features stories and photos of fires in Sausalito, artifacts, and ephemera from the Sausalito Fire Department. It is open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10am-1pm or by appointment.

One Sausalitan’s D-Day Saga

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Societ

In the weeks following the June 6, 1944 invasion of Europe the Sausalito News carried many reports on the exploits of local boys who participated in D-day and subsequent fighting. One in particular stands out.

A July 6, 1944 article stated: “One of Sausalito’s most promising sons, Corporal Francis Milani, who dropped behind enemy lines on June 5 with the sensationally brave and reckless paratroopers leading the invasion forces, is reported missing in action, according to word sent by the War Department to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Milani, 21 Girard Ave., early this week. Corp. Milani got through D-day but has been missing since June 6. A graduate of St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, young Milani had completed two years at U.S.F. when he left to join the army and later to become a paratrooper. Since the War Department’s grim message, the Milanis have received four letters from their son, one of which was written on the night of June 4, eve of invasion.”

Young Frank had starred in youth baseball in the 30s and was in the New York Yankees farm system in 1940 before enlisting in the service. But his life dramatically changed after that.

In December, 1944, Milani’s frantic parents received some welcome reassurance, according to the News: “The grandest Christmas present they could possibly have asked for was received last week by Mr. and Mrs. James Milani ... a letter from their son, Cpl. Francis Milani, from a prison camp in Germany. Young Francis was reported missing in action just after the invasion of Europe, June 6. He was among the first waves of invading paratroopers that led the invasion on D-day and the subsequent message which the Milanis received from the War Department was indeed grim. But the veil of suspense was lifted last week when they opened a much censored envelope to find the following message inside: ‘Dear Pop and Mom: By now I hope that you got at least one of my letters. Things here in camp are OK now. My health is good. Please take good care of yourselves, too. I know I’m going to see you soon. We all know that here in camp. All my love, Your son, Francis.’ Another letter, written the same day and sent to his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Folli, says: ‘Dear Folks; Just a couple of lines to let you know that I’m OK. Things are much better now than they were before. The Red Cross is taking good care of me. I pray for the day when I will be able to see you all again. Give Joanne (his cousin and Godchild) a kiss for me. Love, Francis.’

”That prayer is soon to be answered,” the Sun reported on April 19, 1945 — about three weeks before V-E Day. “The young man escaped last month and is on his way home, after an internment of nearly ten months in southeastern Germany. A War Department telegram was received by his family, Mr. and Mrs. James Milani, several weeks ago. Last week, Corporal Milani telephoned his mother, telling her that he was on the last stretch of the homeward journey. Nearly 27 years ago, his dad was homeward bound after the same sort of experience, also at the hands of the Germans. He was captured while serving with the Italian army and was interned in Austria until his liberation by the Allies.”

Upon returning to Marin, Frank Milani became a car salesman for much of his life.  A member of the Native Sons of the Golden West since before the War, he was president of the local chapter when he died in 1997 at the age of 88.

As a coda to this story, here’s a Sausalito News editorial from August 1944:

“There are 495 names on Sausalito’s Honor Roll.

“The names glint in the sun as you pass the little plaza. Some of the young owners who answered to them will not look at daylight again. On that list are boys who gave up their lives in the fight; there are boys now reported missing in action. They flew over battlefields; they slugged up the Normandy beaches on D-day; they were in torpedoed submarines and drowned when their ship exploded. At least one of those boys was on Bataan when they starved and went wild-eyed with fever. He’s there now. a prisoner of the crudest enemy on earth; others on that list parachuted into German battlegrounds. They are Sausalito’s sons and they are enrolled in the tragic, inspired, terrible battalion now fighting to the death. On November 11, 1943 this city dedicated an Honor Roll to her sons in service. With song, with music and tall brave words, the rites were said. It is time now to rededicate our Honor Roll—to take note of the record boys from this town have made. It is time to match their gift with blood. They have copiously spilled theirs; we can safely offer ours. On Friday, August 18, and on Saturday, August 19, the Red Cross Mobile Unit visits this city and will take donors to the Procurement Center in San Rafael. Make it a Sausalito Day. Remember the boys who are giving so much; rededicate our honor roll with a service that counts: rededicate it with blood.”

That honor roll was rededicated again on Saturday, May 21, 2016, at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It remains on display at the Sausalito Historical Society’s Marinship display at the Bay Model Visitors Center.

Mountain Play, down but not out (Copy)

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

PHOTO FROM MOUNT TAMPALPAIS STATE PARK BY MARC HOLMES

Next year, hopefully, the banks of the Cushing Amphitheater will be full of happy playgoers

Last week we told the story of the early days of the Mountain Play and lamented the closing of its 2020 season. But over its 107-year history, the Mountain Play has overcome a number of challenges along the way. The following report was compiled from a Facebook post by the Marin History Museum, from a recent promotional supplement published by the Mountain Play Association and other sources:

The Mountain Play Association adopted resolutions in November, 1915 which established the annual production as a permanent institution in the life and development of Marin County.

Early in the 20th century, Mountain Plays attracted thousands of patrons who hiked or took the gravity train, “the crookedest railroad in the world”, up the mountain to see traditional plays like Abraham and Isaac and Peer Gynt. The April 17, 1915 Mill Valley Record offered this advice: “The Mill Valley and Mt. Tamalpais train is taken to West Point and from there the walk is made over a practically level trail in a half hour. The 10:45 Sausalito Ferry will enable one to reach the Mountain Theatre by one o’clock, allowing an hour for lunch. The 1 1:45 will bring one to the Theatre in time for the play. Luncheon should be taken by all as there are not adequate facilities for dining. Plans should be made to spend the day on the mountain as there are abundant spots for picnicking and plenty of pure water.”

In 1924, Marin County was under quarantine due to an epidemic of Hoof-and- Mouth disease that resulted in widespread panic across the US. By May 1924, the quarantine was lifted on Marin County — too late for the Mountain Play to resume, but a relief for the overall community.

In 1929, beloved Mountain Play director Garnet Holme had a tragic fall coming down a steep trail from his Larkspur home and died three days later. There was discussion to postpone the play until the next year to honor Mr. Holme, but it was decided that he would have wanted the play to go on and it was dedicated to his memory.

By the early 1930s, the quaint trains stopped running up and down the mountain due to decreased patronage because of the Depression. During 1942-1945, the U.S. Army took over the mountain and no plays were presented.

The Mountain Play Association held the deed to the property until 1936 when it was donated to California to complete the Mount Tamalpais State Park. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began work to quarry and set ‘rock terraces’ for the 3,750-seat stone amphitheater that same year.

In 1977, Marilyn Smith took over as executive producer and the Mountain Play focused Broadway-style musicals resulting in a financial revival and increased attendance.

In 2013, The Mountain Play celebrated its 100th anniversary with a production of The Sound of Music. Recently retired Executive Producer Sara Pearson accredits the Mountain Play’s longevity to its uniqueness: “It’s the combination of the natural world, that beautiful historical amphitheater and the wonder of seeing live theater outside. Those three elements make the mountain play unlike any other experience.”

Although this is a history column, now’s the time to look forward, not back. As the Mountain Play supplement recently put it: “Humans have been gathering together for thousands of years to enjoy theatre for a reason.  We look forward to the Mount Tamalpais Greek-style amphitheatre being filled in the spring of 2021 with all of us regaining the opportunity to experience live theatre together — our magically great outdoor theatre adventure.”

Hopefully Hello Dolly can be performed next year. In the meantime, if you’d like to support the Mountain Play during this hiatus, donations can be made at https://tickets.mountainplay.org/TheatreManager/1/login&donation=0.

Gabrielson Park Goes Dark

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

For the first time in 34 years, there is no Jazz and Blues by the Bay this summer. As a regular attendee for virtually every season, I decided to look into how this ongoing music fest came to be.

PHOTO FROM HIGHWATERBLUES.COM
Highwater Blues Band performing during a previous season of Jazz & Blues by the Bay

The series was started in 1996, under the direction of Park and Rec director Carol Buchholz and Michael Aragon, band leader and booker for the no name bar.

“We decided to copy the Friday night jazz series at Larkspur Landing [now Marin Country Mart], and call it Jazz by the Bay.” Carol told me recently. “Michael knew jazz and I knew how to get the people of Sausalito excited. We arranged for a Friday night farmers market near Gabrielson Park, and invited non-profits to serve food and drinks.”

Originally the waterfront performances were low key, just for locals.  Carol recalls, “We publicized it in the city newsletter and Marinscope.” But over time, word spread and soon the lawn and tables were packed with picnics, kids, dogs and happy TGIFers. That was long before social distancing became a thing.

In July 1998, this paper reported: “Jazz & Blues by the Bay offers fun and convenient entertainment for residents. Listeners are finding all kinds of transportation to Sausalito Jazz Blues by the Bay. Many bike or walk from the ferry or from home. Others tack along the shore or near the Sausalito Yacht Club on sailboats. At one point on Friday it looked like a catamaran was going to end up in the parking lot. Sausalito Jazz/Blues by the Bay is great for potluck picnics, or eating on your own.

“The concerts are great for young children because kids are free to play around. People of all age groups come for fun and entertainment. The crowd is mainly locals, yet some foreign tourists have been spotted. The crowd ranges in size. The Friday before last, it seemed there were around 250 people. So you may still want to arrive a few minutes early to find up close seats. However, the seats in the back have a gorgeous view of the Bay. Two weeks ago. Mark Naftalin and Ron Thompson provided the night's blues music. Thompson, a singer and guitarist, has played with Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins. Naftalin was keyboardist for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Sausalito Jazz/Blues by the Bay is something everyone should try. You will probably want to come back for more.”

The following year, the Scope quoted Michael Aragon: “’The people in Sausalito are very responsive to music. We've got a wonderful local following of people. The beautiful thing is that they bring their kids. It’s hard for kids to be exposed, I think they should be exposed to live music at an early age. You can’t just get that thing anymore.” Aragon remembered a time when he was playing with a friend, and a dancing child came up to the stage. “I got him and I put him on my lap. He started playing and hitting all the drums. We played a little solo together. In some place that’s going to change his life. That’s what music is about."

A few years later, Carol left Sausalito to become Parks & Recreation Director for the Tamalpais Community Services District. When Michael Aragon retired last year after a 36-year gig at the no name, she stated, “Michael was my music guru when I was in Sausalito. He has contributed in so many ways to the music scene in Marin. His entire life he’s been doing this. I can only say wonderful things about the man.”

After Carol left Sausalito Adam Politzer took over producing the events. Today, of course, Adam is City Manager. In 2001 Radio Sausalito became the official media outlet for the concert series, broadcasting and recording each performance at no charge to the city. Station honcho Jonathan Westerling emceed each performance for several years.

These days, Julie Myers, Recreation Supervisor for Special Events, handles the booking and welcomes the crowds from the Gabrielson Park stage. In response to a public survey conducted last year, Julie tweaked the 2020 lineup to include a country music band from Nashville and Dirty Cello, a group that plays bluegrass in addition to the blues. Guess we’ll have to wait till next year to catch them.

At the end of April, Julie wrote to Jazz & Blues sponsors: “It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that we are cancelling Jazz and Blues by the Bay 2020. We feel that we are unable to ensure everyone’s safety at the events with social distancing requirements for large groups. We know that you understand and hope that you will come back to support this great event next year.”

Mountain Play, down but not out

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

Last week we told the story of the early days of the Mountain Play and lamented the closing of its 2020 season. But over its 107-year history, the Mountain Play has overcome a number of challenges along the way. The following report was compiled from a Facebook post by the Marin History Museum, from a recent promotional supplement published by the Mountain Play Association and other sources:

PHOTO FROM MOUNT TAMPALPAIS STATE PARK BY MARC HOLMES

Next year, hopefully, the banks of the Cushing Amphitheater will be full of happy playgoers

The Mountain Play Association adopted resolutions in November, 1915 which established the annual production as a permanent institution in the life and development of Marin County.

Early in the 20th century, Mountain Plays attracted thousands of patrons who hiked or took the gravity train, “the crookedest railroad in the world”, up the mountain to see traditional plays like Abraham and Isaac and Peer Gynt. The April 17, 1915 Mill Valley Record offered this advice: “The Mill Valley and Mt. Tamalpais train is taken to West Point and from there the walk is made over a practically level trail in a half hour. The 10:45 Sausalito Ferry will enable one to reach the Mountain Theatre by one o’clock, allowing an hour for lunch. The 1 1:45 will bring one to the Theatre in time for the play. Luncheon should be taken by all as there are not adequate facilities for dining. Plans should be made to spend the day on the mountain as there are abundant spots for picnicking and plenty of pure water.”

In 1924, Marin County was under quarantine due to an epidemic of Hoof-and- Mouth disease that resulted in widespread panic across the US. By May 1924, the quarantine was lifted on Marin County — too late for the Mountain Play to resume, but a relief for the overall community.

In 1929, beloved Mountain Play director Garnet Holme had a tragic fall coming down a steep trail from his Larkspur home and died three days later. There was discussion to postpone the play until the next year to honor Mr. Holme, but it was decided that he would have wanted the play to go on and it was dedicated to his memory

By the early 1930s, the quaint trains stopped running up and down the mountain due to decreased patronage because of the Depression. During 1942-1945, the U.S. Army took over the mountain and no plays were presented.

The Mountain Play Association held the deed to the property until 1936 when it was donated to California to complete the Mount Tamalpais State Park. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began work to quarry and set ‘rock terraces’ for the 3,750-seat stone amphitheater that same year.

In 1977, Marilyn Smith took over as executive producer and the Mountain Play focused Broadway-style musicals resulting in a financial revival and increased attendance.

In 2013, The Mountain Play celebrated its 100th anniversary with a production of The Sound of Music. Recently retired Executive Producer Sara Pearson accredits the Mountain Play’s longevity to its uniqueness: “It’s the combination of the natural world, that beautiful historical amphitheater and the wonder of seeing live theater outside. Those three elements make the mountain play unlike any other experience.”

Although this is a history column, now’s the time to look forward, not back. As the Mountain Play supplement recently put it: “Humans have been gathering together for thousands of years to enjoy theatre for a reason.  We look forward to the Mount Tamalpais Greek-style amphitheatre being filled in the spring of 2021 with all of us regaining the opportunity to experience live theatre together — our magically great outdoor theatre adventure

Hopefully Hello Dolly can be performed next year. In the meantime, if you’d like to support the Mountain Play during this hiatus, donations can be made at https://tickets.mountainplay.org/TheatreManager/1/login&donation=0.

It’s Curtains for 2020 Mountain Play

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

PHOTO FROM MOUNTAINPLAY.ORG

Abraham and Isaac was written in 1316 by an unknown author. The biblical story is based on the supremacy of duty over love.

One of the casualties of the Coronavirus pandemic is the Mountain Play on Mount Tam. This would have been the 107th production, and my wife and I would be rounding up friends and relatives to go see Hello Dolly. But since the season has been shuttered and we’re all shut-ins, I thought I’d look back to the beginnings of this beloved Marin tradition.

How did the idea of putting a play on top of Mt. Tam come about? The Marin History Museum (MHM) asks and answers that question on Facebook: “It happened when three hikers, Garnet Holme, John C. Catlin and Richard O’Rourke, stopped in the popular hiking area Rock Spring, to take in the breathtaking view of the Bay. Mr. Holme, a director, playwright and UC Berkeley drama coach, is said to have exclaimed ‘What a perfect setting for an outdoor theatre.’ This would become the Cushing Memorial Amphitheater with annual productions delighting audiences for over 100 years.

“The first play, entitled Abraham and Isaac, was performed on May 4, 1913 directed by Mr. Holme. Paying 50 cents apiece, more than 1,200 people attended. And, the only way to get to the amphitheater was to ride the Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway from downtown Mill Valley or hike up the mountain.”

The Mill Valley Record announced the inaugural performance in its April 5, 1913 edition:

“The Mountain Play is a sincere effort to inaugurate a festival on the mountain side worthy of its great beauty. Mt. Tamalpais has never been fully appreciated by the great bulk of those who live in its shadow. To the visitor the majestic form of the great cliff looms large in the memory of his visit to the City of the Golden Gate and he is far more likely to ascend the easy trails to the summit than he who resides within sight of it. Such a mountain is worthy of a great festival and it is only lack of knowledge of its beauties that is an obstacle to such an undertaking. The Mountain Play, to be given in a worthy and dignified manner, will, it is hoped, start a movement which will adequately do honour to this beautiful guardian of the Bay.

“It is a beautiful idea, this of giving a Mountain Play on the summit of one of the most famous mountain ridges of the world, where the background of the stage is made by the San Francisco Bay, with its islands and blue water and the rugged shore line of the Pacific two thousand feet below; with magnificent old Mount Diablo as sentinel in the east and Mount Montara at the South. No drama has ever been presented with so magnificent a setting; for here on the rugged mountain side, among the stately pines, with tapestries of madrona and oaks, nature has built and decorated its own theatre and set a stage on a little bank of turf among lichen covered boulders of primeval serpentine. The spectators will place themselves on the slopes of the two grassy banks that run down to the front of the stage. The auditorium formed without human aid can hold at least two thousand people and all can see and hear perfectly. There will be no effort to provide wooden seats on this first Festival and the onlookers will group themselves at their pleasure on the bank side. The approach to the Mountain Theatre consists of a woodland trail from West Point, a little over a mile in length. The wayfarer passes through delightfully shaded lanes, every now and then traversing an uncovered space where he may see the grand sweep of the Bay and the Pacific and the hills of San Francisco in the far distance.”

The Mountain Play Association was formed the following year to make the shows an annual event. Congressman William Kent deeded the land for the amphitheater, according to the MHM, “and it was named after the mountain railroad magnate, Sidney B. Cushing, a conservation crusader of Mt. Tam.”

The following year, automobiles were able to reach the amphitheater, and this announcement ran in the Sausalito News: “On one day of the year, Sunday, May 17th, you will have the privilege of motoring to the top of Mount Tamalpais. Furthermore you may witness, in California's largest and most magnificent theatre, built by Nature on a splendid scale, the first American open air performance of India's famous mountain drama, Shakutala. An admission fee of only 5O cents will be charged to provide for the expense of preparing and presenting a Mountain Play, and there will be no other charges. On the day following the play, Kent's private road, thrown open to autos for the occasion, and connecting with the newly opened road to the mountain theatre, will be closed. Will you come? We shall be very much pleased to have you, and you may be assured of a day long to be remembered with pleasure. Yours very truly, The Mountain Play Committee."

Next week: how the Mountain Play evolved, despite many obstacles over the years.

When Sally Came to Sausalito

By Nora Sawyer, Sausalito Historical Society

Recently, the Valhalla compound on Sausalito’s waterfront once again made headlines when it hit the market for $11.8 million.  First built as a German Biergarten in 1893, the property is accustomed to the spotlight. In its original incarnation, as the Walhalla, it served as a bar, restaurant and dance hall until 1919. Billed as a “Soft Drink Parlor” during Prohibition, the restaurant’s mild moniker cloaked a less-than sober interior. A 1921 raid netted 478 quarts of illegal spirits, and in 1932, Lester Joseph Gillis (more commonly known as Baby Face Nelson) tended bar.

When prohibition ended, the Walhalla once again became a legitimate bar, now with inexpensive rooms that were rented out to artists. In 1947, it played a cameo role in Orson Wells’ Lady from Shanghai. Then, in 1948, it was purchased by one Sally Stanford of San Francisco.

A bust of Sally Stanford joined Historical Society members during Sausalito’s 125th anniversary celebration

Of course, the restaurant was not Sally Stanford’s first business venture. As the Sausalito News noted in 1948 (the first time Stanford’s name appeared the Sausalito paper) Stanford was “frequently in the toils of the law in San Francisco for operating ‘colorful’ establishments.” Put more plainly, she was one of San Francisco’s most notorious madams.

After years at the forefront of San Francisco’s more scandalous social scenes, Stanford was ready for a change. In her autobiography The Lady of the House, she writes, “I knew what I wanted to be: an ex-madam.” Long keen on starting her own “smart restaurant,” and familiar with fine food and drink, she soon found an ideal location, as detailed in her autobiography, The Lady of the House:

A few minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge, strung along the hillsides of a beautiful cove, is a little town called Sausalito. It hangs over the water like pleasant picturesque scenes from the French Riviera. At the end of a dead-end street, hanging over a huge pier with a view of the Bay and San Francisco, was a small barnlike building with a tattered sign Valhalla. It looked good to me so I bought it. This would be my new home, a new Sally’s.

There was plenty of work to be done. One of the first things Stanford did was buy a large antique safe for the restaurant. Filled with cash (her preferred way of paying for the renovations), it had just been placed in the restaurant’s main hall when “without warning, the safe crashed through the floor and settled in the ooze at the bottom of the Bay.”

Within a few days, the safe was hauled up and placed on more solid ground. Stanford was not amused by the “two starfish, the few barnacles and the amorous leopard shark that came up with it,” but was relieved to find its contents intact and unharmed.

Renovations continued, until finally the restaurant was rebuilt and ready to open. On March 24th, 1950, the Valhalla first opened its doors to the public, bringing out crowds that included, as Sally would later recall, “everything but nuns and nudes.”

Well-wishers, evil wishers, delighted friends, envious enemies, natives from down the street and some who’d come all the way from Los Angeles and Seattle. . . There were morbid curiosity seekers, San Francisco police brass, true food fans, celebrity collectors, and celebrities — middle-size, I suppose.

Decked out in “Victorian and post-Victorian” grandeur, including “a famous piece of plumbing Queen Marie of Roumainia carried with her on all her travels,” and grillwork made from “ornate, highly polished bedsteads retired from service,” the restaurant’s interior was, in Sally’s estimation, “a real conversation-maker.”

The press certainly found plenty of things to discuss. Herb Caen wrote in the Examiner that “Sally Stanford, S. F.’s long-reigning madam queen, opened her newest venture…over in Souseliito [pun intended], Friday night. And I’ll bet the lady had no idea there was so much money to be made legitimately.”

The Chronicle reported that, “in the background the glasses tinkled merrily and musically in opening night concert. The place was packed. Outside the police were busy hustling parked cars out of the red-painted zones. ‘My place is enriched by red paint. It makes it rough on parking but it sure marks the place off well,’ Miss Stanford said.”

The San Francisco News described Stanford’s “first co-educational institution, built on a Sausalito wharf. Inside it’s decorated in a rowdy, honky-tonk manner, and outside the Bay water slaps at its bottom. The opening was a sensational success and the joint was jammed with two types of people: old friends and women who came saying, ‘I want to see Sally’.”

Both the Valhalla and Sally Stanford would go on to become Sausalito institutions, with Sally eventually serving on the city council and as Sausalito’s mayor, and vice mayor. Though both she and the Valhalla are gone, visitors can still “enjoy a drink on Sally” at her memorial drinking fountain by the ferry landing.

The Story of the Galilee

by Margaret Badger and Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

This column first appeared in 2009 and has been updated.

Galilee, the fastest and finest west coast brigantine of the late 1800s, was built locally in Benicia in 1891 by innovative ship builder Matthew Turner.  The beautiful wooden ship fulfilled her destiny as the “Queen of the Pacific” for almost forty years. The second phase of her life, retirement from the sea, began in Sausalito around 1936 and continued for more than half a century. Galilee, named by missionaries traveling aboard to the South Pacific, was and remains inspirational to seamen, shipbuilders and countless more Sausalitans fascinated with the town’s maritime history.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Galilee in Carquinez Strait with the tug Santa Fe.

Galilee was the last built of the three speedy packets of Matthew Turner’s Tahiti Packet Line, which sailed from San Francisco to Papeete between 1891-1896. Besides Galilee the line included Tropic Bird and City of Papeete. Not simply cargo carriers, they were also designed for passengers and light freight such as mail and perishable fruits.  Galilee set two records on her maiden voyage, 19 days from San Francisco to Tahiti and 22 ½ days on return, a straight windward haul. As summarized in Mordecai ben-Herschel’s “The Ballad of the Galilee:”

 A record coming home was broken
As if Neptune’s soul had spoken, no
Sister ship could hold a token
To the Galilee
Her bold name on the transom did they see.

Galilee’s reputation was built on beauty as well as speed. Of the 228 ships built by Turner, Galilee was deemed the loveliest, “a real thoroughbred.” An article written in 1899 in The Rudder described her as follows: “She has invariably out-sailed and out-pointed every vessel with which she has ever been in company, and has long had the reputation of being the smartest sailing vessel out of San Francisco.”

The design of the “Queen” was only one of many extraordinary innovations pioneered by Turner. Rather than following the traditional brigantine model, he built his ships long and sharp forward and full and short in the stern. He was warned that his brigantine would “pitch and dive into the water and be always wet.” But this did not turn out to be so and his sleek ships traversed the Pacific with enviable grace for decades.

By the early 1900s, steam ships were beginning to compete with the great sailing ships of the previous century, but Galilee’s reputation for speed kept her in service well into the steam era. She was recruited in 1905 by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institute in Washington to conduct a magnetic survey of the Pacific Ocean.  A “wood-built, non-magnetic sailing vessel” was called for in the proposal. “The steel rigging was replaced with hemp and by removing as much ferrous metal as possible the vessel’s deviation was reduced to nearly nothing so the scientists could observe and determine the deviation caused by the earth’s magnetism.” She completed three Pacific Ocean expeditions ranging in length from 10,000 nautical miles to 35,000.

When Matthew Turner died in 1909, Galilee was sold to the Union Fish Company and converted to a three masted ball-headed schooner. She carried cod fish from the Bering Sea to the cod fish cannery on Belvedere Island for over a decade. After serving a final two years in the tuna fishing industry, she was sold into retirement.

We’ve previously reported on the construction of a 132-foot replica of the Galilee called the Mathew Turner. It sits dockside at the Bay Model, waiting for the Covid 19 pandemic to pass so it can undertake its maiden voyage.  The ship’s sponsor, Call of the Sea Foundation, is issuing weekly updates at https://callofthesea.org/sail-with-us.

Sausalito’s First Sister City: Viña del Mar

by Michael Moyle and Larry Clinton

The following column first ran in 2011. It is based largely on research prepared by Historical Society member Michael Moyle and has been briefly updated

President Dwight Eisenhower held a White House conference in 1956 to promote nongovernmental contacts between people in the US and overseas. This conference led to the establishment of the Sister Cities International organization.

In early 1958, Sausalito Mayor Howard Sievers attended a League of California Cities meeting where the People-to-People program was discussed and brought the concept back to Sausalito. Later that year, City Councilwoman Marjorie Brady was appointed chair of a City Council committee to study a possible sister city program. Soon the

Sausalito Citizens’ Committee for the People-to-People Program (the “P2P Committee”) was organized, under the direction of Mrs. M. Justin (Gladys) Herman.  Mrs. Herman was the wife of urban planner M. Justin Hermann who soon was appointed by Mayor George Christopher to head the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. Today, he is memorialized at Justin Herman Plaza at the foot of Market Street.

PHOTO FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Mrs. M. Justin Herman and Mr. Robert McCabe, Master of Ceremonies, at a 1961 celebration marking first anniversary of the affiliation of Vina del Mar and Sausalito as Sister Cities.

The P2P Committee studied various possible sister city candidates. “The preference was soon narrowed to South America because of its importance and because teaching of Spanish had just been introduced in Sausalito’s elementary schools,” according to comments by Representative Clem Miller of California in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

Mrs. Herman noted: “Chile appears to be the country in which it would be most likely to find a waterfront community which would possibly affiliate with Sausalito.”

Eventually, contact was established with Viña del Mar. Rep. Miller reported that the mayor of Viña, “took up the idea with equal enthusiasm.” So, the relationship began.

In February 1960, the City Council renamed the old Depot Park “Viña del Mar Plaza.” A kick-off ceremony was held at the Alta Mira Hotel attended by, among others, Sausalito Mayor Howard Sievers, Mrs. Herman, and Chile’s Consul General in San Francisco. Chilean artist Luis Guzmán presented a statute of a Chilean woman to Sausalito as a gift commemorating the event.

In May of that year a magnitude 9.5 earthquake hit Chile. While Viña del Mar did not suffer any significant damage, thousands of Chileans were killed by the quake and the resulting tsunami; property damage was measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Sausalito staged an earthquake relief fundraiser and forwarded the proceeds to the U.S.

Ambassador to Chile in Santiago. Ironically, another devastating earthquake struck Chile in May of last year, almost exactly 50 years later, and Sausalito again staged a relief drive to aid victims.

The Chilean naval training ship La Esmeralda visited San Francisco in 1978. La Esmeralda’s captain delivered a framed metal seal bearing the inscription: “The Mayor of Viña del Mar (Chile) to our Sister City Sausalito — Official Visit of the Esmeralda — San Francisco, May 1978.” The framed seal was put on display at City Hall along with other artifacts from the Sister City program. La Esmeralda returned to San Francisco Bay in 2011, and the ship’s band played at a ceremony at Viña del Mar Plaza. 

Virginia Reginato, mayor of Viña del Mar, and other visitors attended the Jazz & Blues by the Bay event on Friday evening, July 22.

Today, the cornerstone of the Viña del Mar Sister City program is the women in business mentoring program. And two additional sister cities have been added: Sakaide, Japan and Cascais, Portugal. While it’s impossible to make firm plans these days, all three sister city committees are planning a fall fundraiser that promises to be the event of the season.

Deadly Flu Epidemic of 1918

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Societ

Over 100 years ago, Sausalito—and most of the rest of the world—was in the grips of a pandemic with eerie similarities to what we’re experiencing today.

ILLUSTRATION FROM SAUSALITO NEWS
Nurse using a mask as a protection from influenza

Known colloquially as Spanish Influenza because King Alphonso of Spain was one of its victims, the epidemic killed more than three times the number of American casualties in World War I, according to the Sausalito News. The paper quoted Surgeon General Rupert Blue’s opinion that “there is no reason to believe that it originated in Spain. Some writers who have studied the question believe that the epidemic came from the Orient and they call attention to the fact that the Germans mention the disease as occurring along the eastern front in the summer and fall of 1917." In fact, he added, “"Epidemics of influenza have visited this country since 1647.”

In October 1918, the paper reported: “Nearly fifteen thousand cases of so-called ‘Spanish influenza’ have been reported to the California State Board of Health during the week ending October 15th.”

The News article continued: “While a large number of cases have been reported from the larger cities of the State, some of the less populous cities have reported a much larger proportion of cases than have the large cities. So far, the disease has not appeared in as virulent form as it has in many of the eastern cities. Out of the fifteen thousand cases reported, there have been less than one hundred deaths. The disease appeared in California first in some of the railroad centers close to the railroad gateways at the State's border lines. In every instance the outbreaks in these railroad towns can be traced to persons who were sick with influenza and who were taken off the trains in these towns where so many cases were later reported. It is probable that the present outbreak will continue for at least a month, and at the present time we are only in the early stages of the epidemic.”

Several cases of influenza in Sausalito were contracted across the bay, according to the paper: “In our town it is not so likely to spread as in a thickly populated city. It is contracted mostly in crowded theatres or public gatherings and offices and stores, especially where ventilation and sanitary conditions are poor. The disease itself is not dangerous, but complications occur which are. As a precautionary measure, Forts Baker and Barry are quarantined for forty days and the National Defender's Club closed for a short time. Major Malott of Ft. Baker has ordered that soldiers be detailed to see that no man in uniform attend motion pictures, dances or gatherings inside of doors. There is no influenza at Ft. Baker.”

Advice from the State Board of Health has a familiar ring today: “To avoid influenza, the Board advises workers to walk to work, if possible; avoid the person who coughs or sneezes; wash your hands before eating; make full use of all available sunshine. Do not use a common drinking cup or a common towel, they both spread disease. Should you cough or sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a handkerchief. Keep out of crowded places; walk in the open air rather than go to crowded places of amusement. Keep away from houses where there are cases of influenza. If sick, no matter how slightly, see a physician. If you had influenza, stay in bed until your doctor says you can safely get up. Sleep is necessary for wellbeing. Avoid over-exertion. Eat good clean food. To Householders: The Board advises keeping out of the sick room unless attendance is necessary. Do not handle articles coming from the room until they are boiled. Allow no visitors, and do not go visiting. Keep away from crowded places, such as movies, theatres, street cars. See to it that your children are kept warm and dry both night and day.”

Some advice now seems a bit dated: “Have sufficient fire in your home to disperse the dampness. Open your windows at night. If cool weather prevails, add extra bed clothing. If you feel a sudden chill, followed by muscular pain, headache, backache, unusual tiredness and fever, go to bed at once. See that there is enough clothing to keep you warm. Open all windows in your bedroom and keep them open at all times, except in rainy weather. Take medicine to open the bowels freely. Take some nourishing food such as milk, egg and milk or broth every four hours.”

At year end, Sausalito public schools were closed “until there is a great decline in the number of influenza cases.”

But by February, 1919 the News stated: “Despite the fact that the influenza epidemic was prevalent here three weeks ago, the health of the city, as shown by the mortality statistics, is now normal —or better than normal if it be considered that twenty-eight of the deaths recorded last week were the results of previously acquired influenza.”

As a precaution, however, the paper quoted from a State Board of Health pamphlet which stressed that “the burden of responsibility in the control of influenza rests, after all, chiefly upon the people themselves. People should remain at home whenever suffering from a cold, even though they have no suspicion that they may have influenza. The isolation of cases is undoubtedly of first importance and this is, after all, largely a matter of education of the general public, with voluntary observance of the common sense demands of the situation on their part.”

Those are words to live by.  Quite literally.

Triumph and Tragedy

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

The recent announcement of the maiden educational voyage of the tall ship Matthew Turner marks the culmination of an ambitious project to recreate an iconic Sausalito vessel.  But it reminded me that not all such projects succeed. Take the case of the historic steam schooner Wapama,

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Poster commemorating the Wapama by Windgate Press

The last remaining ship of its kind, the Wapama once carried cargo and passengers up and down the West Coast. As the Historical Society’s Annie Sutter wrote in this paper 36 years ago: “In 1937 she went into service for the Alaska Transport Company, and, renamed Tongass. served the Seattle to Alaska route until being scrapped in 1949. After years of neglect, she became a part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and went on display at the Hyde St. Pier in 1963. As deterioration advanced, she was placed on a barge in 1980.”  The barge and ship were first towed to Oakland, then to Sausalito. There was still a ray of hope for her survival, but in 1988 the National Park Service terminated restoration of Wapama and proposed to scrap her.

Two prominent Marin citizens, Admiral Tom Patterson and Ed Zelinsky, hastily formed a Save The Wapama Committee. Zelinksy told Annie Sutter: ““First, we must get permission from the National Park Service to stabilize the ship, get insurance for going aboard, and then get the volunteers back. I am starting a list of volunteers. Donations are also needed, and money is being banked now.”

The Sausalito City Council endorsed the efforts of the Committee to preserve and save the ship in 1996, but despite all the good intentions, the project eventually proved unfeasible. Historian Carl Nolte reported on SFGate: “By 1997, the maritime park's general management plan called for ‘minimal’ measures to slow the Wapama's deterioration, but it added, ‘The vessel's underlying structural decay will not be addressed.’ That, essentially, was a death sentence for the ship.”

In 2000 the old steam schooner was moved to the Port of Richmond, prompting MarinScope columnist Marc Anderson to write: “The Wapama departed our shores Wednesday morning, drifting off in the fog like a lumbering dinosaur to its new berth in the East Bay. Around 10 a.m., I had the unexpected view of its departure from my perch above the Yacht Harbor, witnessing a vessel embodying almost 100 years of history passing by being pushed by a Red & White tugboat, followed by a few local boats. It was a ghostly sight. The close of an important chapter in our waterfront’s legends. Was it just one more notable artifact of Sausalito’s shoreline and identity being hauled off to the dustbin of history or a beneficial direction to preserve a historical monument? Who knows? Not to go on a rant, but most of what Sausalito was is now being ‘converted,' developed or moved.”

The old hulk’s final indignity came in 2014. Stephen Canright, Historian and Curator at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park recounted the sad story for Sea Letter, the magazine of the Maritime Park Association: “0n Monday July 22nd, I watched the beginnings of the scrapping work on the hull of the steam schooner Wapama. The contractor's gang started their work at the stern. By the end of the day they had wrecked out the whole of the port side of the stern overhang, using a four-pronged hydraulic claw to pull apart the timbers.”

So, one dream died while another thrived.  All the more reason why we should celebrate the inspiring efforts of Alan Olson and the other members of the educational nonprofit Call of the Sea who planned, secured donations and recruited volunteers who gave more than 150,000 hours of their time to build the Matthew Turner.

Little League Memories

By Jerry Taylor and Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

Long before he was president of the Historical Society, Jerry Taylor was president of the Sausalito/Marin City Little League. And long before that he was a shortstop for the Sausalito Police Department Stars, one of this town’s earliest Little League teams.

In 1996 the league held a special celebration to recognize the official naming of the field in honor of the man who coached local kids through five decades, Konnie Knudsen. On that occasion, Jerry detailed the history of the league for this newspaper.  Here are some excerpts from his account:

Sausalito's Little League Baseball traces its history to 1953, when Joe Morello, a former pro baseball player, organized a team of youngsters who played a series of games with a team from Tiburon.

PHOTOS FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Little League diamond in 1957

In 1954, the Sausalito Fire Department was enlisted as an official sponsor. Chief Matts Perry directed fireman Swede Pedersen to assist coach Joe Morello. A league was formed with Mill Valley and Tiburon; Sausalito's representatives won the name "Giants" in a drawing. (When the NY Giants moved West in 1958, Sausalito sent a delegation to Seals Stadium to officially welcome and adopt them.) With no home field of its own, the Sausalito team was unofficially the "orphans". The team finished one game behind the Mill Valley Yanks, at 6 wins and 6 losses. The Sausalito News carried weekly stories about the financial and organizational progress, and game descriptions.

In 1955, a field was created on Herb Madden's land, then called Shell Beach (between where the Bank of America and the Spinnaker stand today). Mill Valley had created its own league, so Police Chief Louis Montanos helped create the Police Department Stars, who joined the Giants and played against teams from Tiburon and Strawberry.

By 1956, interest had grown to enable Sausalito to stand on its own, and the Rotary Club Oaks and Salvage Shop Seals debuted. (The new teams took their names from the Bay Area’s highest-level professional teams, the San Francisco Seals and Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.) The games moved to Richardson Bay School. The managers were: Ed Souza Giants; Fred Gustafson Stars; Wally Mays Oaks; and Konnie Knudsen Seals. Enough boys turned out to fill four teams and to create a Farm Team under Bud Bettencourt. The First all-Sausalito league resulted in a championship for the Seals, presented to the head of the Sausalito Salvage Shop, Clara Crosby, “the Mother of Sausalito Little League."

In 1957, the league received permission to create a permanent home at what is now Willow Creek Academy. An account written the next year recounted how: “Much work and planning was done to develop the diamond from a dusty, rugged field to a regulation ball diamond. With the guidance of Pres. Willard ‘Red’ Hall, parents and youngsters and many friends of Little League were called on to turf the diamond, build dugouts, etc.”

Over the ensuing years, the ball players and their parents grew older and moved on to other interests, but one of us stayed active in Little League for forty years, and embodied Little League baseball to generations of local kids. That's why we recognize his lifetime of dedication and are naming the ballpark

For Konnie Knudsen for his years of dedication to the Little League.

In March, 1996, grizzled league veterans Chuck Bradley and Jerry Taylor organized an alumni reunion softball game for players from the earlies days. The boys of the 1950's were in town to honor Knudsen and all the founders of the league at the ceremonies, and to meet again on the ball field of their youth. Here’s how Jerry described the day in the March 19, 1996 Marinscope:

We rode proudly on a truck together in the parade, cheering our 5-15 year old successors ahead of us, proud of our roles, and our parents' roles, in their heritage. We cheered, and we cried at the field during the ceremony. We watched the kids wearing "our" uniforms reenact time-honored customs, and we were young again.

The Sunday morning gathering at Smitty's was full of stories. I saw guys I knew from Cub Scouts and Central School for the first time in thirty or thirty-five years. Following some light lubrication, we reassembled our old teams on the field. The original team, the Giants, from 1954, and the Stars, founded in 1955, linked together under the coaching of Bob Souza, whose father Ed coached the Fire Department Giants to a championship in 1957. The "newcomers" Oaks and Seals, who started in 1956, were coached by Dick Bettencourt, whose dad Bud had coached many of us boys in the 1950's.

The game ended in a familiar manner, as someone muttered: "Damn Seals, they won again." But that's not quite right. We all won, and we're ready to suit up again.

This year, Konnie Knudsen’s son Steve and his daughter Honour are coaching a team that they named the Seals in honor of their father. Opening day is scheduled for Saturday, March 14, starting with a parade of players, coaches and parents in decorated vehicles. At Konnie Knudsen Field, there will be well-wishes and recognition of volunteers and their contributions to the league, refreshments and photo ops. Topping it off will be a home run derby.  For details, check the League’s website: https://www.smcll.com.

PHOTOS FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Little League diamond in 2020

Lime Point from Prominence to Obscurity

By Robert L. Harrison and Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

This report is a lightly edited excerpt from an essay by Bob Harrison for the Anne T. Kent California Room:

Many in Marin are not aware of the name Lime Point, a significant feature of the Marin headlands made less conspicuous today by the presence of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Point is that bit of land framing the north side of the passage through the Golden Gate. Together with its counterpart to the south, Fort Point in San Francisco, it forms the doorway to one of the world’s great harbors. Lime Point was for many years intended to be a key player in the protection of San Francisco Bay. But in recent years that once prominent point of land has become almost invisible.

We have previously described how Golden Gate was named by John C. Fremont in 1848. How Lime Point emerged as a name is less clear.  Jose de Canizares in 1776 drew the first map to identify the point.  Canizares was the sailing master under Captain Juan Manuel de Ayala of the Spanish ship San Carlos, the first European vessel to enter San Francisco Bay.   On his Plan del Gran Puerto de San Francisco Canizares named the northerly edge of the entry to the Bay as the Punta de San Carlos.  Lime Point was named Punta de Santiago on later Spanish maps.  The Spanish maps made no reference to limes or limestone.

PHOTO © ROBERT L. HARRISON

Lime Point Fog Signal Building in background; the Needles rock formation in left foreground

The first mention of lime appears on a map based on the surveys of San Francisco Bay by Capt. F. W. Beechey of the Royal Navy. In his 1831 Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific Beechey described the entrance to the Bay, “The port of San Francisco does not show itself to advantage until after the fort [Point] is passed, when it breaks upon the view, and forcibly impresses the spectator with magnificence of the harbor.”  

The map entitled The Entrance of San Francisco Harbor, based on Beechey’s 1828 survey, identifies the point of land forming the north edge of the Bay’s entrance as Lime Rocks. The English surveyors of the Bay, it seems, believed the rocks that formed this point were of the same white chalk limestone that forms the cliffs of their island nation. Lime Point in fact, often covered in white bird droppings, is dark in color and mostly composed of pillow basalt.  Over time Lime Rocks on Beechey’s map became Lime Rock Point. In future references to this most significant segment of the Marin headlands it became simply Lime Point.

President Millard Fillmore established the Lime Point Military Reservation in 1850. In 1853 Congress gave further recognition to the importance of Lime Point by designating it as one of the three locations to be fortified for the defense of San Francisco Bay. A congressional action provided $500,000 to fortify Alcatraz Island, Fort Point and Lime Point.  

The government did not own the land at Lime Point in 1853.  The debate and court challenges over the purchase of Lime Point dragged on for over ten years and became known by some as the Lime Point swindle.  From the Sacramento Daily Union of August 1, 1866: “Lime Point has been at last purchased by the United States.  It is rumored that the price paid is $165,000.”

Finally, in 1867 work began on the long promised fortifications for Lime Point. The largest blasting operation in the country was used to create a level site for the proposed multi-tiered casemate fort.  However, the work was stopped almost before it began due the expiration of funds. By 1876 a series of smaller batteries located near Lime Point were completed at Gravelly Beach (today’s Kirby Cove), Point Cavallo and on the bluff above the Point.

Heavy fogs that blinded ships attempting to enter the Bay made clear the need for a fog signal at the Point. Of particular note was the wreck of the steamship Costa Rica in September 1873. Headlines in the Daily Alta California read: “The ‘Costa Rica’ Ashore. A Magnificent Steamer Wrecked for the Lack of a Few Barrels of Water. The Vessel Runs on Lime Point While Seeking for the Fog Whistle.”  Unfortunately, the steam powered fog siren, recently installed at Point Bonita, was inoperative because no fresh water was available to make steam. It seems the system was dependent on rainfall and by September of 1873 its cisterns were empty. The Costa Rica was heavily damaged but fortunately the incident caused no loss of life and most of the cargo was eventually salvaged.

In September 1883 twin twelve-inch steam fog whistles, powered by coal fired burners, were placed in operation at Lime Point.  A reliable fresh water supply was constructed from springs near the top of the bluff, some 1,800 feet from the fog station.  In 1902 the system was converted from the coal to more efficient and less polluting oil.  

Lime Point Station was automated in 1961 and all structures except the decaying fog signal building were removed. Since the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, the location just east of the base of the Bridge’s north tower goes mostly unnoticed.  It has been largely obscured by the great structure above.

Whither Travis Marina?

By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society

“One of Marin’s best-kept-secret views of the Golden Gate Bridge is through the windows of an unassuming-looking building that sits behind the Discovery Museum on the shore of Horseshoe Cove at Fort Baker.” That’s how Marin Magazine described Travis Marina, home to the Presidio Yacht Club at Fort Baker.

PHOTO FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Travis Marina and Horseshoe Cove

The Marina has a long history, but a cloudy future. Fort Baker was established in 1897 as a satellite station of the Presidio of San Francisco. The fort became part of the Army’s Coast Artillery Crops in 1907.

Around 1900 a golf course was added to the parade ground. In his book Moments in Time, Jack Tracy writes: “Sausalito golfers designed the course and constructed all the traps and greens. It was so popular that the Sausalito Golf Club was organized and a clubhouse built near the edge of the parade ground.” The military reservation was already a favorite of local hikers and picnickers. Dances and parties at the post were well attended by Sausalitans.  So, the tradition of civilian recreation at Fort Baker dates back well over a century.

Militarily, the fort served primarily as a training facility until the onset of WWII when a working boatyard sprung up to maintain the “Army’s Navy” – the fleet of small boats that maintained the Coast Artillery’s undersea minefields anchored just outside the Golden Gate Straits.

By the early 1960s the army’s need for a full-service boat repair operation had dwindled, and the former mine boat shops and marine railways were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Presidio Yacht Club (PYC), a “quality of life” recreational facility open to active duty military personnel and retirees. The former lumber loft was converted into a wood paneled lounge complete with a bar, dance floor, and tables. Existing windows in the south wall on both floors were enlarged to provide stunning views of the Golden Gate.

In 1972 East Fort Baker was included in the new Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA),

But the PYC and its members continued to operate as a semi-private yacht club within the boundaries of a National Park.

By the mid-1990s, the Sixth Army at the Presidio was inactivated. The Presidio Yacht Club would have to find another military post as a sponsoring agency if it was to retain its military status. In late 1994 Col. David Peixotto, President of the PYC Advisory Council, wrote the U.S. Army asking if it was possible for Travis Air Force Base to take them over after Base Closure. Final approval for a 5-year agreement was granted in April 1995.

At the termination of the original 5-year agreement, oversight of the Yacht Club was turned over the National Park Service, which has continued to grant a permit to the Travis Sailing Center and Marina on a year-to-year basis. The small bar and grill are open to the public, and occasionally feature live music.

Now, the NPS is looking at developing plans for the Fort Baker waterfront that may include transforming the yacht club from a semiprivate Marina to a day-use facility similar to Ayala Cove at Angel Island State Park. You can read more about the NPS’ plans at https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/news/foba-rfq.htm.

A group of concerned locals, who want to keep the marina and yacht club accessible to its loyal community, and to preserve it for military families, has started a campaign to save Travis Marina in its current form as an alternative to the upscale Farley Bar and Murray Circle restaurant at the nearby Cavallo Point Lodge. A community-led petition to keep yacht club and waterfront with Travis Airforce Base has garnered more than 8,450 total signatures. Information on this effort is available at https://www.change.org/p/save-historic-travis-marina-before-it-s-too-late/sponsors/new.

PHOTO FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Travis Marina and Horseshoe Cove