Marinship and World War II History Walking Tour August 8
Date: August 8, 2009
Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
Place: The guided walk starts at the Bay Model Visitors Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito CA 94965. Although the address for the Bay Model Visitors Center is on Bridgeway, the building itself is actually located off of Marinship Way, which splits off of Bridgeway just to the south and runs down a small hill to the nuilding. The satellite photo below shows the huge complex, and the map shows how Bridgeway and Marinship Way intersect. Once you've turned onto Marinship Way signs will lead you to parking for the Bay Model Visitor Center. The entrance faces the Bay.
Price: Free, although donations are appreciated at the Bay Model.
After the attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, the U.S. Government threw their support behind developers' plans to fill in a series of San Francisco Bay marshlands in Sausalito and build a major new shipyard here. They were so anxious to start shipbuilding that they dynamited a small promontory after giving people only a few weeks to move from the homes that had been located there for generations.
The Marinship shipyards started production within a year and became an important part of the war effort, employing over 20,000 workers before the end of the war. This website's editors can count a father and a grandfather who worked there during the War.
In addition to building "Liberty Ships" for the US merchant marine, the shipyards brought thousands of new residents from all over the country to Sausalito, helping to create the diverse local culture of our community.
This guided walking tour will explore the history of the Marinship shipyards en situ, starting at the Bay Model.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
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