The Meteoric Rise of Marinship in Sasaulito During WWII

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Did you know Sausalito went from mudflats to a massive shipyard in the matter of months?

In March 1942, just four months after Pearl Harbor was bombed, the U.S. chose W.A. Bechtel Co. to build an emergency shipyard in Sausalito. They immediately began construction on what would be called Marinship (including bulldozing dozens of homes).

Over the next three years of World War II, Marinship produced 93 ships, an average of one every 11 days! There were 15 Liberty ships, cargo ships designed for a five-year lifespan, and 78 T2 tankers that carried the fuel necessary to wage war on other continents. It is amazing what can be accomplished in such a short amount of time when your life depends on it.

Who built these ships? Marinship’s workforce was approximately 10% African Americans and 15% Chinese Americans, all working side-by-side, which was not the norm at that time. Marin City was quickly built to house many of these workers, and it continues to be a diverse community today. (There was also a landmark CA case James v. Marinship argued by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall that helped stop union race discrimination.)

Marinship was also comprised of 25% women. These weren’t desk jobs, these strong women were building the ships alongside the men. See the famous Rosie the Riveter poster (there is a Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond as well).

The Sausalito Historical Society has a number of excellent articles with pictures if you want to learn more.

A good book on the impact of U.S. businesses on the war: Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II.

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Plop some Adirondack chairs on this great lawn and watch the fog roll into SF from sunny Sausalito.

This “Georgian-style hilltop home” has impressive details and comes in at almost 5,000 sq ft. But I would just want to sit in the yard all day.

This home was listed for sale at $9.5M back in 2021, was on and off the market, several price adjustments, then eventually sold for $5.8M in 2023. It just went back on the market this week.

Check it out:

Zillow link

Thanks for reading. We will be back with the regular events and activities email Wednesday morning!

— Allison + Brian