Current & Recent Exhibits in the SHS Exhibit Room
Sausalito Historical Society Exhibit Room
420 Litho Street
Sausalito, CA 94965
VOTE Exhibit
Opened - Ongoing
The Sausalito Historical Society takes a look back at over 100 years of ephemera, and advertising related to local elections.
Evident is the change in the diversity of the candidates and flavors of advertising over the years. The exhibit features material from notable candidates like Sally Stanford, and Earl Dunphy.
The exhibit is located in 3 areas, the top floor exhibit room in City Hall, a case in the hall on the top floor, and a case across from the City offices on the middle floor of City Hall.
• Mondays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 12 p.m.- 3 p.m.
SCHOOLS PROGRAM EXHIBIT
Opened June 8, 2024 - Currently Closed
In the Fall of 2009 and Spring of 2010, the Sausalito Historical Society (SHS) piloted a program for 45 third grade students at Willow Creek Academy and Martin Luther King Academy, in the Sausalito Public School District, which was endorsed by teachers, parents, and students alike. After a final evaluation and input from teachers and SHS program docents, the Schools Program was officially launched in the Fall of 2010 with the two third grade classes from Willow Creek Academy and MLK Academy with the support of the School District. Now in its 15th successful year, this annual educational program has become part of the third-grade curriculum. With classroom presentations, student research projects and field trips, the SHS Schools Docents continue to bring Sausalito’s vibrant history to life for students, teachers, and parents.
The exhibit featured photos of students, teachers, and Historical Society Docents. There were photos of students during the fall program when they visit the Ice House Museum and explore the early buildings, people, families, and businesses of Sausalito and how they have contributed to present day Sausalito. There were photos of students in the winter program which includes a classroom presentation followed by a field trip to City Hall where the students learn about the workings of our City Council in the council chambers. In the winter the students also visit the SHS Research Room where they learn the various ways to research local history and get a behind-the-scenes look into the collections of the Sausalito Historical Society. There were photos of the spring program which focuses on the history of the Marinship area of Sausalito and the impact and change it brought to the growth of the community. The program ends the school year with an award ceremony for students.
Included were examples of the student workbook which was researched and designed by the Sausalito Historical Society docents in conjunction with teachers and administrators of the Sausalito Public School District. The workbooks provide students with historical background information that helps inspire them to research their own projects.
by Susan Frank and Laurie Tandy,
Program Coordinators”
Arques Exhibit
Opened December 9, 2023 - Currently Closed
“Arques,” a new exhibit by the Sausalito Historical Society, has just opened in the Exhibit Room on the 3rd floor of Sausalito City Hall.
The exhibit contains tools, memorabilia and photos collected over the years from the Arques Shipyard and Marina, including items from the Arques Preservation Foundation, the Sausalito Historical Society and the San Francisco Maritime Museum.
Camilo Luis Arques was a boatbuilder in San Francisco who moved his operation to Oakland after the 1906 earthquake and fire, then to Sausalito in 1913.
Camilo expanded the shipyard from its original location at the foot of Napa Street, first to Johnson Street, then to the Marinship area after WWII. They built barges and tugs, dismantled ships and hauled goods around the bay.
His sons Donlon “Don” and James “Bub" carried on the family business. Don, a well-known figure in the community, ran the shipyard for almost 50 years. He battled with the city over fireplugs and renting aboandoned boats to artists and bohemians. He is considered the “Godfather of the Houseboat Community.”
Art Fest Exhibit
Opened October 20, 2022 - Currently Closed
A small festival took place at shell beach, where the Spinnaker Restaurant is today, on September 6, 1952, called the “Sausalito Art Fair”.
Over time the “Fair” became a “Festival” and moved to the “Casa Madrona Hotel”, then to a parking lot at Bridgeway and Anchor streets, and then to the Central School grounds in the early 1960’s.
The Festival producers shifted from the local artists to the Sausalito Woman's Club, to the Sausalito Artists and Merchants Association, to the Chamber of Commerce to the Sausalito Art Association, and finally the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation. Local non profits always provided the food, and volunteers provided security, beverages, parking, etc.
This exhibit was a look back at the posters, T-shirts, programs, and various memorabilia from the festival over the years.
Flags Exhibit
Opened June 14, 2022 - October 16, 2022
This exhibit features traditional flags, as well as pennants and banners. Drawing from the collections of both the Historical Society and that of late Sausalito resident Frank Fuetsch, items date from the late 1800s to the 1980s. The collection includes flags from the Marinship World War-II era, Maritime Days, the Golden Gate Bridge Opening Fiesta, Naval flags, shipping company house flags and more.
Frank Fuetsch was born in 1914 in San Francisco, the son of Austrian and German parents. In 1942 he began working as a ship inspector at the Marinship, where he began collecting flags.
Some of his collection was donated by his daughter to Call of the Sea and the Sausalito Historical Society. Special thanks to Alan Olson and Call of the Sea for assisting with this project.
Many of the flags are ‘National Flags’, some are ‘Military Flags’, some are ‘Organization Flags’, and some are ‘House Flags’. ‘House Flags’ are flags from shipping and trade companies that perform international maritime commerce.
The exhibit runs through Sunday, October 16, 2022
“FIRE” Exhibit
Opened September 20, 2019 - Currently Closed
Photo: Sausalito Historical Society
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.“
"Enid Foster, Sausalito's forgotten artist".
February 15, 2019 - August 31, 2019
The Sausalito Historical Society will be presenting an exhibit on Enid Foster and her art from March 29th and through the end of September. The opening and reception will be on the 3rd floor of Sausalito City Hall following a presentation by Allan Hayes at the Sausalito Library at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 29. Allan and Carol Hayes' new book about Enid Foster will be available for purchase at the library event and at the Ice House visitor center. An excerpt from the book:
"In the 1950s, Enid Foster stood at the center of Sausalito's art colony, a magic world of poetry, performance and visual wonder that owed as much to her powerful personality as it did to her brilliant art. In another time, that magic might have brought her fame, but in the 1950s, that art was too far beyond the mainstream. The curators, critics and gallery owners who had recognized her as an internationally important sculptor thirty years before now only saw Sausalito's town character: a white-haired, 60-year-old in frayed blue jeans, beat-up tennis shoes and a railroad man's work shirt walking an old dog through town on her way to the bookstore. She was an amusing eccentric who made irrelevant art.
In 1958, new Sausalito residents Allan and Carol Hayes met Enid Foster when they bought one of her paintings. As their friendship developed, Enid introduced Allan and Carol to the thriving Sausalito art colony that revolved around her. Enid had been an internationally respected artist before 1920, but the critics, curators, and gallery owners of the 1960s saw her only as the town character, an amusing eccentric who made irrelevant art. Today, that "irrelevant art" dazzles us with its vitality, freshness, and originality."
The Sausalito Historical Society Exhibit on Enid Foster will open on March 29th and run through the end of September. The exhibit is on the third floor of the Sausalito City Hall in the Sausalito Historical Society's exhibit room. The exhibit room is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10am to 1pm.
The Sausalito Renaissance and the Birth of Mid Century Modern in Sausalito
November 2018 - January 2019
When the WWII ended in 1945, the upheaval that transformed the sleepy town of Sausalito to an industrial factory for the war effort was winding down. It was after the war when men, especially, were out of fulfill some of their dreams and regain lost time. The men and women who had fought to overcome tyranny abroad now sought to created lives with renewed purpose.
Aspiring artists, writers and musicians began returning home and enrolled in schools with the help of the G.I. Bill. Sausalito was having a Renaissance in the late 1940's. This exhibit focuses on those local poets, artists, impresarios, and makers.
Sausalito That Never Was
September 2018 - February 2019
The SHS Exhibit Room in Sausalito’s City Hall will feature: “The Sausalito That Never Was”. We’d like to tell you some things that maybe you don’t know about what might have happened here. Here are some of the things that "Never Were":
A Library on the Bay?
1956 BART MasterPplan with stations in Marin
A BART Station on the north side of Sausalito?
William Randolph Hearst Castle Home in Sausalito by Julia Morgan
A Castle in the Hills
No Name Bar: The Wonder Years 1959-1974
June 2018 - September 2018
Photo No Name web site
“The No Name Bar the Wonder Years”, from 1959 to 1975. Steefenie Wicks and Neil Davis, former owner of the No Name Bar, created the exhibit which featured photos and memorabilia from the No Name Bar.
An event was held where several past patrons and employees told stories of their days at the storied watering hole. The Video can be viewed from the link below.
The History of Caledonia Street: Golfers, Gangsters and Garages
April 2016 -
The Sausalito Public Library and the Sausalito Historical Society presented "The History of Caledonia Street: Golfers, Gangsters and Garages" a talk by local resident Mike Moyle.
Photographs and information from that talk are on view in the Research Room of the Sausalito Historical Society located on the top floor of Sausalito City Hall, 420 Litho Street, Sausalito, CA. PDF Files of Mike's presentation are below:
PowerPoint Presentation from April 1, 2016
Commentary on the PowerPoint Presentation From April 1, 2016
Remembering Shel Silverstein Exhibit
May 2015 - April 2016
The Sausalito Public Library and the Sausalito Historical Society will join for a celebration of the life and works of former Sausalito resident Shel Silverstein.
Silverstein’s diverse and remarkable body of work earned him renown as a cartoonist and illustrator, an author of popular children’s books, a poet, a screenwriter and an award-winning songwriter.
On view in the Research Room.
Al Sybrian Exhibit
October 2014 - April 2015
A Show of Sculptor Al Sybrian’s work is currently on display in the Sausalito Historical Society’s Gallery on the 2nd floor of City Hall through May 1, 2015. The exhibit is a tribute to the artist Al Sybrian, sculptor of the bronze Sea Lion that graces the waterfront on Bridgeway at the south end of Sausalito.
A recently published beautiful, limited edition book portrays the life of Al Sybrian and the imprint he made on history of Sausalito. The book is available to purchase at Society Publications, the Ice House in downtown Sausalito or by contacting Bill Kirsch at 415/888-3919
Free Box” Exhibit
June2009 - February2010
Photographer Bruce Forrester of Mill Valley chronicled the alternative houseboat community of the Sausalito waterfront during 1975-1980. His black and white photographs portray an iconoclastic lifestyle based on non-materialism, creativity, unfettered individuality and a strong sense of community.
Photographer Bruce Forrester of Mill Valley chronicled the alternative houseboat community of the Sausalito waterfront during 1975-1980. His black and white photographs portray an iconoclastic lifestyle based on non-materialism, creativity, unfettered individuality and a strong sense of community.
The Craig Sharp Photographic Collection Exhibit
March 2008 - May 2009
Craig Sharp (1924-1994) was a professional Bay Area photographer who chose as one of his projects to document the Sausalito waterfront community of the 1970s. At the suggestion of his son Scott Sharp of Carlsbad, CA, the SHS Board agreed in 2007 to cooperate in the printing of 83 images from the original negatives, 36 of which were chosen for display in the exhibit.