History

Indigenous culture: 

Sausalito was once the site of a Coast Miwok settlement known as Liwanelowa. The branch of the Coast Miwok living in this area were known as the Huimen (or as Nación de Uimen to the Spanish). Early explorers of the area described them as friendly and hospitable. According to Juan de Ayala, "To all these advantages must be added the best of all, which is that the heathen Indians of the port are so faithful in their friendship and so docile in their disposition that I was greatly pleased to receive them on board." European settlers took advantage of the Huimen's kindness and hospitality, and completely massacred them within the span of a few generations. As historian Jack Tracy has observed, "Their dwellings on the site of Sausalito were explored and mapped in 1907, nearly a century and a half later, by an archaeological survey. By that time, nothing was left of the culture of those who had first enjoyed the natural treasures of the bay. The life of the Coastal Miwoks had been reduced to archaeological remnants, as though thousands of years had passed since their existence."

Tourism

Due to its location at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito receives a steady stream of visitors via the bridge (auto and bicycle traffic) and a ferry service from San Francisco. It retains one of the few ungated marinas in the Bay Area that attracts visitors.

Media

For several decades Sausalito had a local newspaper called the MarinScope, owned at times by Paul and Billy Anderson, and Vijay Mallya. However, as of 2018 the newspaper had ceased publication. Sausalito retains a small radio station founded by Jonathan Westerling, Radio Sausalito 1610 AM, which also serves as the city's Emergency Broadcasting System. The city's primary websites are the city's official site ci.Sausalito.ca.us, the Chamber of Commerce sausalito.org, a reference site oursausalito.com and a guide for locals and visitors to the area Sausalito.com.

Education

Sausalito is served by the Sausalito Marin City School District for primary school and the Tamalpais Union High School District for secondary school. Residents have two public schools to choose from: the K-8 public school Bayside Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy in Marin City or the K-8 charter school Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito. There are two private elementary schools that have been recently established in Sausalito, The K-12 Waldorf style New Village School, and PreK - 5 campus of the Lycée Français de San Francisco. High schoolers in public school attend Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

Parks and recreation

The public parks in Sausalito include Cazneau Playground, Cloud View Park, Dunphy Park, Gabrielson Park, Harrison Playground, Martin Luther King Park and Dog Park, Langendorf Park, Marinship Park, South View Park, Robin Sweeny Park, Tiffany Park, Vina del Mar Plaza, and Yee Tock Chee Park. The public beaches include Schoonmaker Beach, Swede's Beach and Tiffany Beach. Sausalito also has a municipal fishing pier and the Turney Street Boat Ramp. A club house/game room and an exercise room are located in the city hall.

Houseboats

The Sausalito houseboat community consists of more than 400 houseboats of various shapes, sizes, and values, along the north end of town, approximately two miles from downtown. While some of these are technically outside the Sausalito city limits, they are generally acknowledged as forming an integral part of the Sausalito community.

The roots of the houseboat community lie in the re-use of abandoned boats and material after the de-commissioning of the Marinship shipyards at the end of World War II. Many anchor-outs came to the area, which created problems with sanitation and other issues. After a series of tense confrontations in the 1970s and 1980s, additional regulations were applied to the area and the great majority of boats were relocated to approved docks. From 77 boats in the water in 1977, there were about 18 boats left in 2019. Several are architect-designed pieces that have been featured in major magazines. The Gates Co-op Houseboat Community remains to this day, although recent action has required them to fit city-standards of sanitation and building codes.

The humming toadfish makes mating noises underwater, keeping some residents awake at night.