Vallejo (ferry)
Encyclopedia
The Vallejo, originally known as the O&CRR Ferry No. 2, is a houseboat
in Sausalito, California
, United States. It previously served as a passenger ferry in Portland
, Oregon, in the late 19th century, and in Vallejo, California
, for the first half of the 20th century.
The Oregon & California Railroad Ferry No. 2 initially served Portland, providing connectivity between the East Portland
terminus of the O&C Railroad line and Downtown Portland
. It was put into service in 1879 by Henry Villard
, to replace an aging ferry initially set up by Ben Holladay
. Differing accounts have the boat built on the East Coast and coming to Portland around Cape Horn
, or else being built in Portland. The Portland ferry service was the subject of a court case appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court
: in November 1878, a drunken passenger stepped off the boat before it landed, and drowned.
With the construction of the Steel Bridge
in 1888, the ferry was no longer needed; after several idle years, it was transported to the San Francisco Bay
, renamed the Vallejo, and converted to use coal and then oil for fuel. A bill of sale dated 1923 reflects a purchase by Robert Rauhauge of the Mare Island Line. It was put into service transporting workers and visitors between the city of Vallejo
and Mare Island
. Ferry service was discontinued after the end of World War II, and with the construction of a causeway
connecting Mare Island and Vallejo; the Vallejo was the last ferry to be retired. She was sold for scrap in 1947, and delivered to Sausalito
to be broken up.
Artist Jean Varda
noticed the boat while its demolition was pending. He, surrealist Gordon Onslow Ford
, and architect Forest Wright purchased it; Wright soon sold his third to Ford. They made extensive, improvised alterations, using scraps in the area, and turning the boat into an art studio and houseboat
. Ford described it as "a place where artists blossomed, flowered", adding that "Varda set the tone" with his interest in entertaining.
Zen Buddhist Alan Watts
bought Ford's share of the houseboat in 1961. Varda's parties and salons continued. The most famous party, thrown in 1967, was known as the "Houseboat Summit", and featured Timothy Leary
, Allen Ginsberg
, Gary Snyder
and Watts discussing LSD
; it was featured in the counterculture magazine the San Francisco Oracle
. The Vallejo deteriorated heavily during the 1960s. Varda died suddenly in 1971, as did Watts in 1973.
Marian Saltman, who had begun living on the Vallejo in 1971, arranged for its purchase in 1981, and began to restore the boat. She said, "I hope she will continue to be the home of remarkable people and ideas, and I wish her to serve the creative and artistic needs of Sausalito and the Bay Area."
The Vallejo was transferred across the San Francisco Bay to an Alameda
shipyard for repairs in 2000, and then returned to her dock in Sausalito.
A new fiberglass outer hull is currently being built and will be installed sometime in 2012. Please note that the Vallejo is a private residence and may not be visited.
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
in Sausalito, California
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
, United States. It previously served as a passenger ferry in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon, in the late 19th century, and in Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, for the first half of the 20th century.
The Oregon & California Railroad Ferry No. 2 initially served Portland, providing connectivity between the East Portland
East Portland, Oregon
East Portland was a city in the U.S. state of Oregon that was consolidated into Portland in 1891. It was founded on a land claim by James B. Stephens in 1846, who bought a land claim from John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company...
terminus of the O&C Railroad line and Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
. It was put into service in 1879 by Henry Villard
Henry Villard
Henry Villard was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway....
, to replace an aging ferry initially set up by Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...
. Differing accounts have the boat built on the East Coast and coming to Portland around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, or else being built in Portland. The Portland ferry service was the subject of a court case appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
: in November 1878, a drunken passenger stepped off the boat before it landed, and drowned.
With the construction of the Steel Bridge
Steel Bridge
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
in 1888, the ferry was no longer needed; after several idle years, it was transported to the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, renamed the Vallejo, and converted to use coal and then oil for fuel. A bill of sale dated 1923 reflects a purchase by Robert Rauhauge of the Mare Island Line. It was put into service transporting workers and visitors between the city of Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
and Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
. Ferry service was discontinued after the end of World War II, and with the construction of a causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
connecting Mare Island and Vallejo; the Vallejo was the last ferry to be retired. She was sold for scrap in 1947, and delivered to Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
to be broken up.
Artist Jean Varda
Jean Varda
Jean Varda was an artist. He was of mixed Greek and French descent...
noticed the boat while its demolition was pending. He, surrealist Gordon Onslow Ford
Gordon Onslow Ford
Gordon Onslow Ford was one of the last surviving members of the 1930s Paris surrealist group surrounding André Breton....
, and architect Forest Wright purchased it; Wright soon sold his third to Ford. They made extensive, improvised alterations, using scraps in the area, and turning the boat into an art studio and houseboat
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
. Ford described it as "a place where artists blossomed, flowered", adding that "Varda set the tone" with his interest in entertaining.
Zen Buddhist Alan Watts
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
bought Ford's share of the houseboat in 1961. Varda's parties and salons continued. The most famous party, thrown in 1967, was known as the "Houseboat Summit", and featured Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
, Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
and Watts discussing LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
; it was featured in the counterculture magazine the San Francisco Oracle
San Francisco Oracle
The Oracle of the City of San Francisco, also known as the San Francisco Oracle, was an underground newspaper published in 12 issues from September 20, 1966, to February 1968 in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of that city...
. The Vallejo deteriorated heavily during the 1960s. Varda died suddenly in 1971, as did Watts in 1973.
Marian Saltman, who had begun living on the Vallejo in 1971, arranged for its purchase in 1981, and began to restore the boat. She said, "I hope she will continue to be the home of remarkable people and ideas, and I wish her to serve the creative and artistic needs of Sausalito and the Bay Area."
The Vallejo was transferred across the San Francisco Bay to an Alameda
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
shipyard for repairs in 2000, and then returned to her dock in Sausalito.
A new fiberglass outer hull is currently being built and will be installed sometime in 2012. Please note that the Vallejo is a private residence and may not be visited.