The ''Vallejo'' is a

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, United States. It was originally a passenger

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, known as ''O&CRR Ferry No. 2'', in the late 19th century. After falling into disuse in Portland, it was transported to the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

in California, where it was used as a ferry between Vallejo and

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was later purchased by a group led by artist Jean Varda, and repurposed as a houseboat, where a number of parties and salons were hosted. The vessel was sold to the Society for Comparative Philosophy ("SCP") which was created by Alan Watts and Elsa Gidlow to be a charitable and teaching organization in 1962. It hosted many seminars and musical events and attracted many of the leading figures in the San Francisco area counterculture scene of the 1960s, 70s and '80s. Jean Varda rented from the SCP until his death in the early 1970s. The Society continued, with Elsa Gidlow in a leadership role, until her death in 1986.

History

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 Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

. The 414 ton boat was put into service in 1879 by Henry Villard, to replace an aging ferry initially set up by Ben Holladay. In November 1878, a drunken passenger had stepped off the boat before it landed, and drowned; the resulting legal action was ultimately appealed to the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), 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.

. Differing accounts have Ferry No. 2 built on the East Coast and coming to Portland around

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. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, or else being built in Portland. With the construction of the Steel Bridge in 1888, the ferry was no longer needed; after several idle years, it was transported to the

, renamed ''Vallejo'' (no later than 1904), and converted to use coal and then oil for fuel. A

bill of sale A bill of sale is a document that transfers ownership of goods from one person to another. It is used in situations where the former owner transfers possession of the goods to a new owner. Bills of sale may be used in a wide variety of transaction ...

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

. Ferry service was discontinued after the end of World War II, and with the construction of a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

connecting Mare Island and Vallejo; ''Vallejo'' was the last ferry to be retired. She was sold for scrap in 1947, and delivered to Sausalito to be broken up.

Restoration

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 turned the boat into an art studio and

. Ford described it as "a place where artists blossomed, flowered", adding that "Varda set the tone" with his interest in entertaining. Under the auspices of The Society For Comparative Philosophy ( 1962–1984) poet Elsa Gidlow and philosopher

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...

bought Ford's share of the houseboat in 1961. The ferry was then used as home base for Alan and Jano Watts and meeting place for hundreds of Society functions. The Society's parties and salons continued until the 1980s when the vessel became too expensive to maintain and was sold.

Houseboat Summit

A gathering on the ''Vallejo'' was known as the "Houseboat Summit" featured

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

and Watts discussing LSD and life style issues; The famous discussion can be found in the counterculture magazine the '' San Francisco Oracle''.

Later life

''Vallejo'' deteriorated badly during the 1960s. Varda died suddenly in 1971, as did Watts in 1973. Talks, seminars, and musical events continued on the boat after Watts' death and into the 1980s, as the SCP remained a viable entity which charitably hosted such events as part of their mission statement. From the early 1970s. Lama Govinda and Li Gotami held talks there. Also, Elsa Gidlow and Margo St. James held the first meeting of Whores, Housewives and Others (WHO) here at this time. Tai chi master Al Huang held seminars with flute playing, dancing and meditation before and for several years after Watts died in 1973. In 1978 Alfred Sorensen, a mystic known as Sunyata held weekly meetings there where he would answer questions from visitors.

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

of the Grateful Dead gave a concert here. Marian Saltman, who had begun living on ''Vallejo'' in 1971, rented for years and arranged for its purchase in 1981, when she 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." In 1985, the San Francisco Zen Center took possession of the vessel when Saltman no longer wanted to continue her payments to the SCP. The SFZC soon gave up the dilapidated boat whose upkeep became unwieldy. Now in private hands, 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 Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

outer hull was constructed and installed. The houseboat operates as a private residence with no visitation permitted.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* ''Memoirs of Henry Villard, Vol. 2, Book 8'' contains relevant information about the projects which replaced the ferry at the terminus of the O&CRR line. Ferries of Oregon Steamboats of the Willamette River Ferries of California Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area Houseboats 1879 ships History of Marin County, California