Seated near the northern end of the Golden Gate, Sausalito is a frontline San Francisco bay city, in Marin County, California with an area of 2.2 square. Its geography has been blessed with a variety of natural features that accentuate its residential neighborhoods, commercial districts, harbors and waterfront, and a business district that is obviously built in deference to its marine backdrop. Historical buildings, wooded hillsides, encompassing San Francisco bay scenery nestled against the Golden Gate National Recreation Area blend to make Sausalito a community of irresistible charm and natural seduction.
Name and History
There is a complicated explanation to the exotic sound of the city’s name but cutting through it, etymologists says Sausalito in short translates as “place of abundance”. In many ways, the city and its community live up to that.
Sausalito’s prehistoric name is Liwanelowa, as how the area was once called by Coast Miwok Indians that inhabit it. The inhabiting tribe was also called Huimen and was describe by early explorers as friendly and hospitable.
During the Prohibition era, Sausalito became a notorious center for bootlegging, the term used for smuggling beverages which were illegal at that time. Since then, the city has evolved into a important port. In World War II it was rapidly converted into a shipbuilding center. Although the consequent industrialization of that period now gives way to structures of affluence and artistic sophistication, somehow its strategic location simply makes it a natural transit point. Today it serves a throng of daily visitors going to the Golden Gate or coming from San Francisco or vice versa.
Attractions
One peculiar feature of the city is the presence of the houseboats, which constitutes a community of 400 households. Remnants of the shipbuilding period, these houseboats were once controversial because the city simply didn’t know what to with them then. Now, architecturally evolved, they have featured in popularly circulated magazines.
Close to a million visitors from throughout the world have attended the Sausalito Art Festival since its inaugural Event in 1952. Sausalito has been the focal point for artists for roughly 200 years. The Festival puts Sausalito in a significant position in the nation’s art scene. The Sausalito Art Festival is one of the first juried fine art festivals in the nation. In the 1970′s, a cash awards purse was instituted. Today, the jury includes museum curators, professional collectors, gallery owners, and art professors.
To those whose aesthetic sense is most expressed through buying things, Sausalito offers more than 30 unique boutiques for every taste and fancy. Strolling along Bridgeway, Princess or Caledonia Street, you’ll be enchanted by the local shops and the wide range of retail merchandise. None of those imposing big chain, simply stress-free shopping as it’s meant to be.
A Home
The allure of the Sausalito is in its exquisite blend of modern day rush in the backdrop of a visible fixation on arts and aesthetics by its community. (The nearest comparable out west in Nevada is Reno-Sparks.) This mix earned it the reputation of being an artistic enclave that consequently lures not a few artists and art activities. But more than that Sausalito has developed into a place that one would consider calling home. With a sophisticated yet naturally peaceful community, and an environment that has been beatified by all the tourism going on around it, why not?
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