By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
PHOTO FROM BRUCE FORRESTER
To kids, the Sausalito waterfront was a giant playground.
Long-time Marin photographer Bruce Forrester has spent the past 50 years photographing people and events for a wide range of publications, corporate and private clients and just for fun. On April 18, he will give a Zoom presentation on two collections of his works: "Celebration & War: The Sausalito Houseboat Community in the 1970s" and "Celebrity Photos from the 1980s and 90s" plus his current pursuits. The one-hour online slide show will start at 7:30 p.m.
In my 2017 review of his Houseboat book, I noted that he recalls the 70s waterfront as “a place of creativity and high energy with theater, art, boat building, music and more... Every occasion was a cause for a celebration. Then came development that threatened this free wheeling way of life. New docks were planned along with rent increases. The community came together and fought back with every means at their disposal in an attempt to keep the Sausalito houseboats affordable housing.”
Bruce was an eyewitness and chronicler of those turbulent times. He moved to the north end of Sausalito, across the street from the early houseboat community, shortly after graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1974 with a BFA in photography. While a landlubber, Bruce became involved with the waterfront community and from 1975-1980 he extensively photographed there. His book is a collection of Bruce's favorite historic black and white images in glossy, high quality reproduction.
"It was a community where people took almost every opportunity to have a celebration, a celebration of life," says Forrester. "One person's creativity inspired the next person's creativity."
After photographing the local waterfront, Bruce went on to a successful career in photography, specializing in people and events. Town & Country Magazine once called Bruce one of the top wedding photographers in the country. His photographs of celebrities have been published in more than 30 countries worldwide and his photography has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The free online slide show will be open to all. To RSVP, please send a one time email to stephmopho@gmail.com.
"Celebrity Photos from the 1980s and 90s" is available at Waterfront Wonders, 314 Caledonia Street or directly from Bruce at bruceforrester1@gmail.com.