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Ice House Museum

Categories: Play - Nonprofits & Community

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780 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-0505

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Tucked into downtown Sausalito sits one of the Bay Area's most charming little museums, a building with a story almost as colorful as the town itself. The Ice House began life in the 1890s as a railroad cold cargo hold, was hauled to Sausalito in the 1920s to serve as an ice sales business, and was rescued from demolition in 1998 when the City bought it for one dollar. In a twist of historical fate, it was relocated to the site of a former passenger rail line that once carried ferry travelers between 1871 and 1907. Today, this lovingly preserved relic serves as a free museum and welcome center for the more than 30,000 visitors who pass through its doors each year.

Step inside and you'll find a surprisingly rich window into Sausalito's layered past. The central display case features stone tools and projectile points left by the indigenous Coast Miwok people, while exhibits trace the waves of Portuguese, English, Chinese, and African American settlers who helped shape the town. WWII shipbuilders from the Marinship era share space with profiles of the famously eccentric characters who called Sausalito home, like madam-turned-mayor Sally Stanford, author Jack London, poet Shel Silverstein, actor Sterling Hayden, novelist Evan Connell, and painter Richard Diebenkorn, to name a few.

Whether you're a history buff, an architecture lover, or just looking to escape the bayfront crowds for twenty quiet minutes, the Ice House offers a genuine, unpolished slice of what makes Sausalito feel like Sausalito. Start your visit here and you'll see the town with completely different eyes afterward.

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