The History of Gabrielson Park

By Larry Clinton
As you spread your blanket for the first Jazz and Blues by the Bay concert of 2013 this Friday, you might want to reflect back on a time when that part of Sausalito was known as “The Hole.”
Here’s a brief history of the area, excerpted from the June 8, 1971 MarinScope:
Visitors from around the globe pause in the picturesque park in the heart of Sausalito’s waterfront and enjoy the sweeping view of San Francisco Bay and the City of San Francisco providing a spectacular backdrop.  But the esthetic park, created by the Sausalito Rotary Club as a community project, is perhaps the most appreciated by the residents themselves, because most of them remember when the area was known as “The Hole.”
The name was unflattering but unfortunately fitting.  For at high tides the property filled with water and the water  became a muddy, murky unattractive lake.  The City owned property had been leased to an individual for fifty years leaving the City powerless to improve it.  The lessee was equally powerless to improve it due to building restrictions.  The choice location remained an eyesore.
Then in 1964, under the presidency of the late Marcus Davis, the Rotary Directors voted to take on the task of beautifying “The Hole.” Soon it became apparent that the undertaking was monumental and the Club was momentarily stopped.   Work finally started in 1965.  “The Hole” was filled with over a thousand cubic yards of sand and planting soil.  Then irrigation pipe was laid, paths defined and dwarf pines planted, all according to plans previously drawn.
Suddenly the project came to an abrupt halt.  The City proposed to buy the lease back and use the site for a new library.  A library bond issue put to the voters failed.  By now a year and a half had elapsed.  Meanwhile the lease holder, impressed with the Club’s initial efforts to provide a community park, released the property without cost for that use.
The Club resumed its work with renewed enthusiasm.  Materials were either donated by Club members or purchased at cost.  All labor was that of volunteer Club members.  And honors were bestowed on member and past president George Carney whose untiring efforts played the major role in completing the project in November of 1968.
The parked was named Gabrielson Memorial Park in memory of the late Carl Gabrielson, a true Rotarian well known for his outstanding contributions to his club and varied civic enterprises both in Japan and Sausalito.
A one-time member of the City Council, Carl Gabrielson died in 1964.


George Gabrielson (l.) with fellow City Councilman and park enthusiast Earl Dunphy.
Photo courtesy of Sausalito Historical Society.