It’s Done! It’s Beautiful!

We couldn’t have done it without you!

The Sausalito Historical Society will host a dedication of the new Ice House Plaza on Saturday, October 26 at 10 a.m. The community is invited to celebrate the Plaza opening at a “Golden Spike” ceremony commemorating Sausalito’s railroad history.

Come take a first look at some of the exciting new features in the plaza. They include railroad tie benches, the Sausalito history timeline, Historical Society Founder, Phil Frank, statue, new seating, landscaping, and lighting.

The Ice House was built as a cold storage hold for the railroad in the 1880s. It was moved to Caledonia Street in the early 1900s and used as an outlet for residents to restock their ice boxes. With the advent of electric refrigerators, the Ice House was moved again to Caledonia and Litho Streets to be used as an office. When that property went on the market in 1998, local architect Michael Rex “sold” the Ice House to the City for one dollar.

The late Phil Frank, legendary Bay Area cartoonist and former Sausalito Historical Society President, spearheaded fundraising for the relocation of the Ice House and conversion into a downtown Museum and Visitor Center in 1999.

After years of planning and fundraising, the Historical Society broke ground on the new History Plaza in January of 2019. The plaza will feature a timeline commemorating significant dates in the town’s history, surrounded by Heath Ceramics tiles resembling the railroad lines that once ran through town to the Ferry Terminal, log benches designed to look like railroad ties, and platform benches surrounding the trees.

In addition to providing seating for tourists and locals, the new plaza will provide an outdoor classroom for the Historical Society’s Schools’ Program, which teaches Sausalito history to third grade students from Willow Creek Academy and Bayside/MLK Academy.

A donor wall with the names of the many individuals, foundations, corporations and community groups who helped fund the plaza will be displayed. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Frank, which has been housed in the Historical Society’s rotating exhibit room on the third floor of City Hall, will be permanently installed in the newly lit outdoor plaza.

The Ice House Museum and Visitor Center hosts more than 30,000 tourists and locals each year to view artifacts from the Historical Society's permanent collection, discover local highlights, and shop for Sausalito-themed books, cards and gifts. The Ice House is staffed by Historical Society docents six days a week.

Mike Moyle

At last night’s “Fire” program at the Sausalito Library, Bob Souza explained about the fire alarm boxes that were situated around town, each with a unique number assigned to the neighborhood where the box was located. When an alarm was pulled, a signal was transmitted to the fire station, and a horn, which could be heard all over town, was then blown signaling the number of the box. Lists of the codes were provided to all residents so everyone could know the general location of the alarm.

The town’s firefighters (back in the day largely volunteers) could then respond, with those closest to the fire heading directly to the site, while others farther away would go to the station.

Bob had kept one of those Sausalito boxes - #314 - and last night donated it to the Sausalito Historical Society.

Fire in Sausalito!
Current and former Sausalito firefighters will share stories and tips on fire prevention in this panel discussion presented by the Sausalito Historical Society. This will take place Friday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m., in the Sausalito public library. An introductory presentation will include a short video of the new fireboat purchased in 2019 by the Southern Marin Fire District that is stationed in Sausalito.

The panel will be followed by an opening reception for the new “FIRE!” exhibit in the Sausalito Historical Society, located on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

Exhibit

The Sausalito Historical Society’s latest exhibit, “FIRE!” will open on September 20th in the Sausalito Historical Society exhibit room on the 3rd floor of City Hall. The exhibit features stories and photos of fires in Sausalito, artifacts, and ephemera from the Sausalito Fire Department. Some of the artifacts on display include combat helmets, historic badges, tools, and other items from past firefighters. A timeline will depict significant fires, fire houses, Fire Chiefs throughout Sausalito’s History.

A display case across from the City Manager’s office in City Hall focuses on the early 1900s hose carts used by the Sausalito Fire Department. Both volunteers and paid firefighters used these carts to fight fires. Teams trained and pulled the carts, which invariably led to a competition to determine the fastest team. The display includes a map of cart locations, a large silver trophy presented to the fastest team in the 1910 race, and photos of the teams with their carts.

From the 1880's until the founding of the Sausalito Fire Department in 1904, the town was served by a Volunteer Fire Department with hand pulled carts. In 1893 the entire downtown business section was burned to the ground prompting calls for a more efficient system. In 1904 the city-funded fire department was formed, and town blacksmith A. A. Jewett named as the first Fire Marshal. The original firehouse is located on Bridgeway. It was here that one of the original hose carts was stored.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Sausalito's waterfront heritage at Galilee Harbor's Maritime Day yesterday! We'll be tallying up the results of our trivia quiz, and posting some of the responses to our "postcards to the future" in the days to come.

Annual 4th of July Celebration and Parade

To see the detail’s of Mike Moyle’s presentation, click on the links below:

Mike Moyle’s Presentation Commentary

Mike Moyle’s January 25 Presentation

Waldo Grand Now and Then Photo’s

Audio Visual of Mike Moyle’s Presentation
Recorded January 25, 2019

Ground Breaking Ceremony for Sausalito’s new Ice House Plaza:

There will be a pre-ceremony reception for Major Donors to Ice House Plaza

across the street at Poggio, 777 Bridgeway, starting at 8:30 AM. 

Coffee and pastries will be served.

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Join us at Sausalito's elegant historic mansion, The Pines, to benefit the Sausalito Historical Society and completion of the Ice House Plaza in the heart of Sausalito's historic downtown.

Guests can explore the beautifully restored 4 story Queen Anne Victorian house, enjoy wine and hors d'oeurves and bid on fabulous silent auction prizes and 3 live auction destination vacations.