A recent obituary for architect Sim Van der Ryn, known as the “father of green architecture,” brought to mind his connection to one of the most historic homes in our community. The Ameer was an old ark that had been converted into a houseboat when it was purchased by Phil...
Poet, historian and builder Keith Emmons visited the Sausalito waterfront in 1970 with his wife Jane. They spotted an ad for a converted landing craft at Gate 3 and bought it for $1400. Later they moved onto the Fortune Cookie, built on another surplus landing craft. Then Keith got inspired...
On May 19, as crowds on the lawn at Van Damme Park enjoyed Day in the Park, the FHA’s tour committee had the inaugural run of its new format for group tours. Two groups of about a dozen each were led off to see what our unique lifestyle has to...
Biochemist and marine biologist Michael Konrad of South 40 Pier sends along the following natural history of one of our most important neighbors, eelgrass: Life began in the ocean. Then continents generated by tectonic plate movements gradually became hospitable to life, and some living organisms migrated onto this new dry...
Living on the water means having animal neighbors that land residents infrequently see. The terns, gulls, egrets, herons, pelicans, and cormorants are familiar to us all, and if you live near deeper water, you may see seals. Schools of small fish swim in both shallow and deep water around our...
A spectacularly remodeled floating home on South 40 Pier is profiled in the August issue of Dwell Magazine. The Seneca, which was featured in the FHA’s 2021 Virtual Gala and Tour, is owned by Marka Hansen and Joe Brubaker, who teamed with Sausalito designer Michelle Chan and Steve Crutchfield of...
Renaissance man Davey Jones of Main Dock is the proud owner of the Black Cat, a 16’ gaff rigged catboat built at Spaulding Wooden Boat Works. Having lovingly restored her, he wanted to take her to the Master Mariners wooden boat show at the Corinthian Yacht Club last Father’s Day, June...
When power went out on South 40 Pier during the recent spate of storms, just after midnight, PG&E announced that it might not be restored before 10:00 p.m. on the following evening. Joe “Gramps” Tate, who lives in an ark that sits on pilings just off of South 40, fired...
This fall, Georgia students participated in the annual Reading Bowl challenge, which invites students statewide to read all the Georgia Children’s Book Award Finalists. I was lucky to zoom into Media Specialist Abby Shapiro’s library to meet her reading club members and talk to them about my children’s novel, Muffled....
A new documentary about the life of South 40’s Stewart Brand, entitled “We are as Gods,” will be screened at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday, August 13th. ”We Are as Gods” offers a deep dive into the many sides of Stewart Brand—a...