On September 18, the City of Sausalito posted a short notice titled "Community Celebrates Completion of Dunphy Park Improvements." If you buy produce on a Sunday morning in the lot at 1600 Bridgeway, you're standing at one end of a park that took more than half a century to finish. The last piece was the shoreline, and it came last for a reason. That strip at the water's edge was the hardest part of the old town dump to clean up.
That history explains the park you'll find this fall. The northern half you know well, with its bocce, volleyball and parking lot, was ready years ago. The southern half had to be dug up, hauled away and rebuilt against the bay before anyone could put a bench on it.
A park built on what the town threw away
The site between Napa and Locust streets on Richardson Bay was a landfill until the 1970s, according to the Marin Independent Journal. In a 2018 report, the paper described it as an informal city dump from about 1945 to 1970.
Residents built the first park there by hand. The Sausalito Historical Society tells how a group calling itself the Community Park Volunteers, led by Barry Hibben, formally asked permission in September 1971 to make "a simple but pleasant park" from volunteer labor and donated materials. Civic groups and individuals gave money, services and supplies, and the park was complete by December 1974.
It was named for Earl Dunphy, who worked for the NWP Railroad and held blue-collar jobs while serving as postmaster, town trustee, councilman, planning commissioner and multi-term mayor. He also coordinated civilian defense during World War II. The Historical Society quotes what he told the Sausalito News in 1966, after 44 years in local government:
"An interest in politics is something you just have inside you; you receive nothing, but you feel you are accomplishing something."
What lay under that fill, especially along the shoreline, set the pace for everything that came after.
Why the southern half waited
The modern plan came from residents too. In 2015, Friends of Dunphy Park, led by Sausalito architects Jacques Ullman and Paul Leffingwell, drew up a master plan for the whole parcel. The City says environmental remediation and budget limits forced construction into two phases. Here's how it played out:
- 2003. The City buys parcels next to the park, mostly with a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy.
- Phase 1. The northern half is restored with the parking lot, restrooms, a volleyball court and several bocce courts. Crews find soil with high lead levels and remove it. Accounts of the finish date differ. The Marin IJ says the phase ended in 2021, the City says it was completed before 2021, and the contractor's page gives 2017.
- 2024 into 2025. Planning for Phase 2 resumes. Public works project manager Sara Khorshidifard told the council that county officials were concerned about more contaminated soil and debris along the shoreline.
- October 2025. The City Council votes unanimously to award a $1.4 million contract to Hanford Applied Restoration and Conservation. Other costs bring the total to $1.7 million.
- Early 2026. Construction begins. The contractor lists a January start, and the state's EcoAtlas project record gives March 1, 2026.
- April 7, 2026. The council approves another $73,915 for "additional archaeological and design-related costs."
- September 18, 2026. The City announces the work is complete.
At the October 2025 meeting, Councilmember Jill Hoffman asked why toxic soil was still there after the first phase. Mayor Joan Cox asked whether the winning bid was unrealistically low, and staff said it was not. The Marin IJ reported that Ullman thanked the City for following the Friends' vision and said:
"We're finally going to get this thing done that's been going on for years and years."
What was built at the water's edge
The contractor's project summary lists contaminated soil management and disposal, invasive species removal and on-site material processing ahead of any paths or plantings.
The shoreline itself is now what the contractor calls a living shoreline system. It combines a rock toe, a granite block terrace, and erosion control fabric planted with salt-tolerant species. The goal is a bank that holds up over time and also works as habitat. The City's project page describes the same aim: protect the shoreline and create room for wildlife and native plants.
Above that edge, the visible changes are:
- Accessible paths surfaced in Granitecrete and built to ADA standards
- Native and climate-adaptive landscaping on a new irrigation system
- Benches, picnic tables and trash receptacles
- New grading for drainage
RHAA was the landscape architecture consultant.
The change you'll feel most is the route. Before construction, Khorshidifard told the council the shoreline path would be restored and extended south, following the curve of a small inlet to a parking lot on Humboldt Avenue. The Marin IJ reported the project would double the park's usable space. What used to be a stop at the market lot now opens onto a continuous bayfront walk.
One detail to look for on your next walk
During the contract discussion, Councilmember Melissa Blaustein asked why Phase 2 didn't include signage recognizing the site's importance to Native Americans. Staff said acknowledgment could come up once work turned to landscaping, and Vice Mayor Steven Woodside said the City should work with tribal representatives. The April appropriation for archaeological costs shows the ground itself got careful attention during construction. If you'd like to know how the acknowledgment question was settled, the City lists Khorshidifard as the project contact.
The park and its neighbors through the week
With the southern half open, the park links several Sausalito institutions that sit only blocks apart. Their schedules barely overlap, though, so it helps to know what's open when.
| Place | Where | When | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sausalito Farmers Market | Dunphy Park lot, 1600 Bridgeway | Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., year-round | Lot closed to cars 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the City suggests walking, biking or carpooling |
| Bocce and sand volleyball | Bridgeway and Napa Street | Park hours | Three bocce courts on the north side |
| Bay Model Visitor Center | 2100 Bridgeway | Tue to Fri 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Closed Sundays, Mondays and federal holidays |
| Galilee Harbor | 300 Napa Street | Maritime Day held August 1 this year | Live-aboard, artist and maritime-worker cooperative |
| Sausalito Cruising Club | Foot of Napa Street | Members | A private sailing club next to the bocce courts |
The Bay Model is closed on market day, so a combined visit means a Saturday. The next chance is Saturday, November 7, when rangers lead the free "Trekkin' the Model" program at 2100 Bridgeway with no reservation needed. A morning looking at the working hydraulic model of the Bay-Delta pairs well with an afternoon on the real shoreline a few blocks south.
The City's parks and facilities page says dogs must be leashed at all times in City parks. Paddlers can launch kayaks from Dunphy Park. The City's official public boat launch is on Turney Street.
Later in the month, the City's Art & Harbor Days returns on Saturday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Tracy Way, Ferry Landing Plaza and Gabrielson Park, with live music and local makers. That's at the other end of Bridgeway. On a clear day you could walk from one waterfront park to the other.
If Dunphy Park is part of your week, our Sausalito neighborhood guide covers how the town's waterfront fits together, and if you're wondering what your own place near the bay is worth now, the team at Brannan Palmer Group would be glad to put together a complimentary home valuation for you.
