By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
PHOTO COURTESY OF JUDYTH GREENBURGH
Michael Rex displays preliminary plans for exhibiting the paddle wheel of the Charles Van Damme | photo courtesy of Judyth Greenburgh | post by Larry Clinton
Back in 1983, shortly after moving to Kappas Marina, I was walking to the local laundromat when I spotted a flurry of activity along the waterfront. People were being evicted from the beached ferryboat Charles Van Damme, and bulldozers were waiting to dismantle the decrepit hulk. I didn’t know much about the old ferry, but I knew the community was losing an historic relic.
It turns out the Van Damme has led nine lives, according to the website
https://www. charlesvandammeferry.org/history.html.
1. Life as a Car Ferry In 1914, prominent San Francisco businessman Charles Van Damme was convinced to invest in a high-tech startup of the day: a car ferry line between Point Richmond and Marin. The Richmond-San Rafael Ferry & Transportation Company was created, and its first progeny was a wooden side-wheeler called The Charles Van Damme (CVD).
In 1943, the CVD was sold to Martinez, and ran between that city and Benicia until 1956, when it was withdrawn from service.
2. Life as A Restaurant The following year Sausalito salvagers brought the CVD to Richardson’s Bay. In 1958 it was leased out as a restaurant called the Canton Ferry and docked at Jack London Square. Unfortunately, the Canton Ferry went bankrupt the following year and Sausalitan Donlon Arques bought it at auction, then towed it into what became its final resting place at Gate Six.
In 1960 outspoken restauranteur Juanita Musson took over the ferry and turned it into the legendary Juanita’s Galley. But her emphasis on generosity over business sense, plus an unruly gang fight, finally put her out of business in 1963.
3. Life in The Spotlight A nightclub called The Ark opened on the CVD in 1966 and hosted many well-known musicians, some after finishing their gigs at other nearby clubs and playing until 6 a.m. Moby Grape used the Ark as a practice venue during the latter part of 1966 and made their live debut there.
4. Life as A Library? A plan was put forward that year for the town of Sausalito to purchase the Charles Van Damme and turn the ferry into a library…it was eventually turned down.
5. Life as A Hang-Out In the 1970’s Don Arques allowed Joe Tate, leader of the waterfront pirate band known as the Redlegs, to use the CVD for a fund-raiser. The enticement was Free Beer. That first dance led to another, then more. In 1973 a scene from Saul Rouda’s movie Last Free Ride, reenacting the houseboat wars, was filmed on board.
Visitors came and went frequently, including a raft of celebrities from Janis Joplin to Noel Coward. Two visitors who were entertained on the Van Damme for a short time were Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, according to T.J. Nelsen’s book Houseboats, Drugs, Government and the 4th Estate.
6. Life in Danger By then, the activities on the CVD eventually came to the attention of the authorities. Almost immediately public use of the ferryboat was banned. In 1976 the County ordered the CVD abated. Dreams of restoring the ferry proved too expensive, and it was demolished — as I watched — in March 1983.
7. Life in Ruins The smokestack, a name board, and one paddle wheel with shaft still attached, were all that could be salvaged.
8. Life in Limbo On April 24 2005, Catherine Lyons-Labate, a resident of the Gates Co-op, arranged a photo shoot of the community in front of the paddle wheel. That inspired Judyth Greenburgh, Dona Schweiger and Calli-Rose Lyons to celebrate the story of the CVD. They gathered the history, materials, stories, and art inspired by the Charles Van Damme.
9. Life as An Icon Beginning in 2003, the paddle wheel and artifacts were removed by community volunteers, and proposals were submitted to restore them and bring them back to Gate 6. A reconfiguration of Waldo Point Harbor had created a new waterfront park right where the old ferry had been beached, and permission was given to exhibit the ferry artifacts there, once they had been restored. By 2019 all plans, permits and quotes were issued and in place, and a fundraising campaign was underway.
Learn about the ship’s many lives on Friday February 2I at the Sausalito Library. Judyth Greenburgh and well-known local architect Michael Rex will tell the Charles Van Damme Ferry story from past to future. The multimedia show will be presented from 7-8.30 p.m.