Caledonia St. Barbers

35 Caledonia St., Sausalito CA 94965 415-331-5707

Free street parking in the area, plus parking lot nearby at the foot of Locust St..

Fast Forward Summary^TM: It’s a barber shop where a lot of people get their hair cut, often for less money than they’re used to paying. Oh, and it’s a major cultural site. Sausalito has “a town for the people who live here” that is separate from “the town the visitors come to see.” That “town for the locals” has been here a long time. This place and the people who visit are part of that (wonderful) long tradition.

Caledonia Street Barbers: The Details

My “Hidden Sausalito” articles are about places that only the locals know about, Sausalito institutions that you can visit on your trip where you’ll experience the real local scene. In some cases — like this one — you’ll get to go back to the old Sausalito of generations ago.

This is an old-style barber shop where two of our editors (who, ahem, vary a bit in age) get their hair cut, by (ahem) different people.

When you walk in, be prepared to have entered a time machine back to 1960-something. This isn’t the slick re-creation of a past world for a theme restaurant. The pictures on the walls really have been up there for 40 years. Publicity shots from old boxers, including one woman who must have been well ahead of her time. A wide panorama photo of San Francisco burning in 1906.

OK, the plastic clock with the Viagra logo on it is new, but most of what’s there has been there for a long time.

You’ll be greeted warmly and sincerely by the people who work there. Ed Ramirez has the chair closest to the front door. A newspaper article on the wall celebrates his 50 years of cutting hair in Sausalito. Next to him most days is Debbie, who hasn’t had a chance yet to be anywhere for 50 years.

The great majority of the customers are local people who have been coming here for years.

The front door of the shop stays open on nice days… which means most of the time. Local residents, merchants and the occasional character wander in and out, saying hello and catching up on conversation. The world passes by on Caledonia St. and some of what happens is worth noticing and talking about.

Little kids, 20-somethings and old men all come through, sit down in the chairs, get their hair cut. When the kids are in the shop the language used changes abruptly, only to return to “colorful” once it’s a 100% grown-up audience again. Modern life comes in and out, somehow meshing seemlessly with the throwback nature of the place.

Norman Rockwell could have set up an easel in here and had a lot to work with.

Maybe I’m not doing this place justice. But there’s something about good people that makes time travel like this possible. If you ever figure out how to bottle it, please let me know. I’ll buy a case of the stuff.

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