By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
In 1960 the Sausalito Foundation was formed by residents to purchase two city blocks of underwater property at Shelter Cove and to deed them to the city. The purchased lots have preserved the view of San Francisco and the Bay forever. These lots are located on Bridgeway, from The Trident past Eden Roc.
Eight years later the Foundation began an ongoing acquisition and archival presentation of works by Sausalito artists and of Sausalito subjects, supported by the sale of sea lion replicas cast by Heath Ceramics. Many of the historic paintings and photographs are on display in City Hall.
In honor of the nation's bicentennial in 1976 the Foundation undertook restoration of the Vina del Mar fountain, which was originally created for the 1915 San Francisco Pan Pacific Exposition. Since then, the elephant sculptures and fountain in the park have been restored three times.
The Foundation has also refurbished and restored local parks and playgrounds and in 1985 installed the Sally Stanford Drinking Fountain and Leland Fountain for dogs at the downtown ferry landing. The fountains are, of course, named for the infamous Madame Mayor of Sausalito and her dog, Leland.
For the City’s Centennial in 1994 the Foundation, along with the Friends of the Art Festival, commissioned the installation of the Bolinar sculpture by local artist John Libberton, with landscaping by David Schwartz, at the intersection of Napa Street at Bridgeway near Dunphy Park. Donors were honored with their names on Heath Ceramic bricks.
More recently the Foundation has made annual contributions to the 4th of July fireworks, Sausalito Library Children's Holiday Tree, and has served as the non-profit fiscal agent for neighborhood improvement projects.
In 2012 the Foundation began the project of upgrading the Ice !louse Plaza at Bridgeway and Bay Street, which was completed by the Sausalito Historical Society in 2019. The plaza includes benches and items of historic interest in a landscaped setting— including a life size statue of Historical Society co-founder Phil Frank, who was instrumental in moving the Ice House from Caledonia Street to its central downtown location.
In 2016 the Foundation began the repair and restoration of the Jean Varda mosaic in Marinship Park, next to the Bay Model. The mosaic was originally part of Villa Roma Hotel in San Francisco. A costume and musical celebration of Varda was held in the park, saluting the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love.
The next year a photograph of the San Rafael ferry by Bruce Forrester was added to the Foundation's collection of local artists in City Hall. Bruce’s photos have often illustrated historic articles in MarinScope.
Last year the Foundation served as fiscal sponsor for the All Our Children United project to clean, beautify, and enhance the experience of moving through the tunnel that connects Marin City and Sausalito.
And this year the Foundation is working to restore and replace the sea lion statue by Al Sybrian which fell into the Bay in the January storms. As a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, it is soliciting tax deductible donations to fund the restoration and future maintenance. According to Foundation co-treasurer Felicity Kirsch, some 140 donors of $250 or more have received commemorative replica sea lion statuettes.
The refurbishment plan includes patching cracks and affixing a new bronze base to secure the piece to its concrete pad. Reason Bradley of Universal Sonar Mount, an engineering and underwater sonar group, is coordinating the effort to fix the sea lion along with other Marinship artisans.
Donors can contribute online at thesausalitofoundation.com or mail checks to the Sausalito Foundation, P.O. Box 567, Sausalito, CA 94966.
The Foundation hopes to complete the project by late spring.
PHOTO FROM SAUSALITO FOUNDATION
Sea lion statue being sandblasted to search for cracks.