Sausalito, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sausalito is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area situated in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 7,330 at the 2000 census.

Sausalito, as seen in this view from Bridgeway, is often compared to Mediterranean villages such as Positano on the Amalfi coast.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Tourism
5 Education
6 People
7 Industry
8 Sausalito in Fiction
9 Sausalito in Music
10 Trivia
11 See also
12 External links

[edit] Geography

Sausalito is located at 37°51′28″N, 122°29′25″W (37.857708, -122.490266)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²). 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (15.18%) is water.

[edit] History

The site of Sausalito was originally occupied by the Uimen indigenous people. In 1838 during the Mexican era, an Englishman by the name of William Richardson, who became a Mexican citizen and married the daughter of the Commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco, established a large ranch from which the later town acquired its name, the "Rancho Del Sausalito". Sausalito is Spanish for "little willow grove".

In the 1870s, the North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) extended its tracks southward to a new terminus in Sausalito where a rail yard and ferry to San Francisco were established. The NPC was acquired by the North Shore Railroad in 1902, which in turn was absorbed in 1907 by the Southern Pacific affiliate, the Northwestern Pacific.

By 1926, a major auto ferry across the Golden Gate was established, running to the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco [1]. This ferry was an integral part of old U.S. Highway 101. It ceased operation shortly after the Golden Gate Bridge opened in May of 1937.

During World War II, a major shipyard of the Bechtel Corporation called Marinship was sited along the shoreline of Sausalito. The thousands of laborers who worked here were largely housed in a nearby community constructed for them called Marin City.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,330 people, 4,254 households, and 1,663 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,489.5/km² (3,852.9/mi²). There were 4,511 housing units at an average density of 916.7/km² (2,371.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.65% White, 0.65% African American, 0.29% Native American, 4.17% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.33% of the population.

Sausalito's harbor sidewalk

There were 4,254 households out of which 8.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% were married couples living together, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.9% were non-families. 45.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.72 and the average family size was 2.34.

In the city the population was spread out with 7.4% under the age of 18, 2.4% from 18 to 24, 39.5% from 25 to 44, 38.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $87,469, and the median income for a family was $123,467. Males had a median income of $90,680 versus $56,576 for females. The per capita income for the city was $81,040. About 2.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Tourism

Lying at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, picturesque Sausalito receives a steady stream of visitors who both cycle over the bridge or use the ferry service from San Francisco. It retains one of the few ungated marinas in the Bay Area that attract visitors.

A ferry to Angel Island runs from Sausalito.

[edit] Education

Sausalito is served by the Sausalito Marin City School District for primary school and the Tamalpais Union High School District for secondary school. Grades K-6 attend Bayside Elementary School in Sausalito while high schoolers attend Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

[edit] People

One-time Sausalito City Council member and former Mayor Sally Stanford, founder of the restaurant Valhalla, once ran the finest brothel on the west coast, at 1144 Pine Street in San Francisco.
Sausalito was home to the 20th-century philosopher Alan Watts, who lived on a converted ferry boat there.
Sausalito is home to Stewart Brand founder of the Whole Earth catalog and The WELL.

[edit] Industry

Sausalito is the home of Genetic Savings and Clone, a company involved in cloning pets.
Heath Ceramics, founded by mid-century modern ceramacist Edith Heath, has been operating in Sausalito since 1948.

[edit] Sausalito in Fiction

Scenes in the third act of the 1947 film The Lady from Shanghai, directed by Orson Welles, take place on the Sausalito waterfront.
The 1942 black and white film China Girl with Robert Blake has some footage of Sally Stanford's Valhalla restaurant on the waterfront. The scene shows the docks in their full state and illustrates the rum running aspect of Sausalito.
In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the fictional Cetacean Institute is located in Sausalito.
In Sofia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translation, a Jazz Band called Sausalito performs at the Park Hyatt Bar.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there is a community in Tierra Robada County named Bayside that is situated right next to San Fierro, which is a parody of San Francisco, and is connected by the Gant Bridge, which is based off of the Golden Gate Bridge.

[edit] Sausalito in Music

Sausalito was the setting mentioned by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper in their 1967 tune "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay." The city was also referred to in a 1980 roadtrip song by the Dutch band Diesel, titled Sausalito Summernights.
San Francisco-based rock band Santana had an instrumental song called "Samba de Sausalito" on their 1973 album Welcome
Huey Lewis and the News recorded an album in Sausalito.
Grover Washington Jr. recorded a song called "Sausalito" on his Grover Washington Live in Concert album in 1977.
The Disco Biscuits song, Mr. Don contains a reference to Sausalito.
Dave Matthews Band and Metallica have each recorded two albums in Sausalito. Alternative Metal band Faith No More recorded their hit album The Real Thing there as well.

[edit] Trivia

Willows often mark where there is water. Sausalito has many springs, hence the popularity for early mariners and explorers to get fresh water. There is an apartment complex called "Whisky Springs" after the The Mason Disterillery which made medicinal alcohol there.
The Southern Pacific ferryboat Berkeley was docked in Sausalito for several years during the 1960s after being taken out of service. It was subsequently towed to San Diego where it was restored and is now a tourist attraction there.
Sausalito has always been a hot bed of progressive activity, with rock and roll, Plant recording studios and Mick Jagger hanging around, in the dot com day with The Well and many other innovative high tech companies, and still moves forward on the cutting edge in certain areas.
In the Television Series "Enterprise" a Vulcan compound is based here.
The "No Stopping" signs on the entrance to Highway 101 at the north end of Sausalito are there because in 1978-1979 several "Ladies of the Evening" were plying their trade on this onramp. Sally Stanford's comment when the proposal to put up the signs was made, was "Get it while you can."
Sausalito is home to one of the largest houseboat communities on the West Coast. Aside from the cost of the houseboat itself, purchasing the right to a berth can easily run into six figures, and the monthly rental for the berth can be well into four figures.