Plaza Viña del Mar
Landmark · Bridgeway & Anchor Street, Sausalito, CA 94965
Verified September 2026
Photo by Daderot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A small plaza at the entrance to downtown Sausalito, guarded by two concrete elephants with an odd backstory — they started life as paper-mâché flagpole decorations at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It's a five-minute stop, but it's the town's unofficial front door.
What To Expect
The plaza itself started in 1902 as "Depot Park," built to fill in a stagnant pond that used to sit between the old ferry landings and the rail tracks. Its current look dates to 1915: Sausalito architect William B. Faville personally ferried his favorite elephant statues and a paper-mâché fountain across the bay after San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition closed, rather than see them scrapped. Local kids nicknamed the elephants Jumbo and Pee-Wee, and both were recast in concrete in the 1930s once the original material started to fail. The fountain between them still runs, and the plaza's benches and shade trees make it a natural place to sit before or after the ferry.
Getting There
Right where the ferry dock, downtown Bridgeway, and the main parking lots all meet — you'll walk through it whether you plan to or not if you arrive by ferry. Named for Sausalito's sister city, Viña del Mar, Chile, since 1960.
Good To Know
Always open, no admission. It sits right at the top of downtown parking lots #1 and #2 if you're driving in.