Sausalito is a waterfront community in Marin County southeast of Sausalito and four miles from San Francisco, where hillside homes overlook sparkling blue water. The city is noted for its natural beauty, history, ocean-side culture and arts scene.
History of the “Willow Grove”
The city’s name is derived from the Spanish word “sauzalito,” which means small willow grove. There is some debate whether the city was named by the bandit Joaquin Murrieta or settler William Richardson. Joaquin Murrieta was born in Mexico, but immigrated to California. Banned from his original home in San Francisco, he settled in Sausalito. Historians argue he could not have named Sausalito since he arrived after the 1849 Gold Rush when Richardson had already been granted by the Mexican government the some 19,000 acre Rancho Sausalito, from which the city presumably took its name.
After the Gold Rush, Sausalito’s location made it an attractive place for fishermen, yachting aficionados and families eager to escape the growing population in San Francisco. Ocean accessibility made it a favorite stopping point for bootleggers during Prohibition and a major shipyard for the U.S. Navy during World War II. The shipyards were abandoned after the war and were taken over by a burgeoning community of house boat residents and property developers.
Sausalito Floats Some Boats
Today, the Floating Homes Association offers private tours of community homes floating on Richardson Bay. More than 400 houseboats of all shapes and sizes are docked along the shoreline. Anyone can go on a walking tour of the community to see unique architect-designed houseboats and work boats that have been converted to floating homes.
Whether you live in a houseboat or a regular home, heating, cooling and plumbing aren’t something you can do without.
Always Something to Do in Sausalito
In Sausalito, there’s almost always something going on or something to see. Here are just a few of those things:
Eating Out
Not surprisingly for a city near the ocean, Sausalito offers a number of quality seafood restaurants. These include Scoma’s of Sausalito and Salito’s Crab House & Prime Rib. Yes, Sausalito restaurants also offer land-based cuisine due to their proximity to local farms. Japanese-style Sushi Ran was recently named one of the top places to eat in Sausalito.
Jumbo and PeeWee
These two elephant statues greet visitors at the Viña Del Mar (Park) Plaza. Originally part of a set of twelve that were erected for an exhibition at the Court of the Universe for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the building architect, William Faville, arranged to ship Jumbo and PeeWee to his hometown of Sausalito at the end of the fair. The statues were restored in 2003 and today Jumbo and PeeWee serve as ambassadors for Sausalito, according to the city Chamber of Commerce.
Discover the Bay Area
The Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) features exhibitions and programs for children six months to 10 years of age. There’s also an onsite preschool. The museum’s mission is to “transform research into early learning experiences that inspire creative problem solving.” Our mission at Ongaro and Sons is “To be recognized and trusted in our community as a company of integrity that values the opportunity to be of service to others. Our dedication to quality is a reflection of our commitment to customer satisfaction and our aspirations to build long-term trustworthy relationships with our employees and our customers.”
Where to Park Yourself
Sausalito has a number of parks, beaches and fishing piers. Cloud View Park overlooks the Bay and has play equipment for children. Enjoy Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Dog Park with your favorite furry friends. Schoonmaker and Tiffany Beach are both public beaches and the municipal fishing pier offers excellent fishing.
Arts and Music
The annual Sausalito Art Festival is touted as one of the country’s most prestigious open air waterfront fine art, music and wine festivals. Held over Labor Day weekend, it typically features more than 260 artists from around the country, as well as entertainment and food and drink. Proceeds from the festival support the local arts community.
Pleasant Climate
June, July and September are the most pleasant months in Sausalito; January and December the least comfortable. Best Places rates Sausalito with a comfort index 8.4 out of 10, noting that it is one of the more pleasant climates in California. Residences and businesses still need effective cooling and heating systems to stay comfortable. Which is why our customers in Sausalito trust Ongaro and Sons to provide no-risk, guaranteed service.
The city of Sausalito adopted a climate action plan in 2015 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ongaro and Sons offers a variety of best energy practices both to prepare for winter heating and summer air conditioning.
Sausalito Air Quality
California has experienced a tremendous increase in wildfires, the smoke from which further contributes to both poor air quality and threats to resident health. The city of Sausalito describes the situation as follows:
“The smoke drifting over Sausalito from the wildfires to the north of us is an unpleasant reminder that fire season has begun. With hundreds of acres of undeveloped land in the Marin Headlands between Sausalito and the ocean, our community faces a significant risk from a rapidly spreading wildland fire.”
In addition to the danger to property and lives, wildfire smoke irritates the eyes and lungs and can cause serious problems for those with poor health conditions. When outside air is potentially dangerous, Ongaro and Sons can offer products you need to breathe easier indoors.
Of course, seasonal allergies are a constant, if less dangerous, irritant. For most of us, it’s annoying to endure a runny nose or headache caused by allergies. For some, however, allergies can pose significant health risk.
Ongaro and Sons offers a set of tips to help relieve your allergy suffering. Regular maintenance of your heating and cooling system, such as periodically changing air filters, can make breathing at home more comfortable.
Ongaro & Sons Services Sausalito
Ongaro and Sons provides a full range of plumbing and heating and cooling services to Sausalito. When Sausalito residents call us, they know they’ll receive quality workmanship and incomparable service.
Plumbing
For any and all plumbing jobs related to your home, Ongaro and Sons provides a variety of residential services including inspection, installation and repair. Our technicians are experienced with drain cleaning and maintenance and repair, including installation and repair of garbage disposals. Experienced certified plumbers carefully and thoroughly explore your plumbing, using drain line cameras when necessary, so that we can identify the problems and fix exactly what is wrong.
HVAC
Ongaro and Sons designs a Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) system using a diagnostics approach to provide the highest levels of efficiency and comfort. Ongaro and Sons technicians are trained for all residential makes and models of forced air and air conditioning repair. Our fully stocked trucks have replacement parts on hand for most required repairs, and if we don’t have the part on hand we can get the part quickly so that you’ll be up and running in a very short time.
Boiler Repair
Ongaro and Sons technicians make use of the latest diagnostic equipment and years of experience to determine a problem quickly and get you back up and running as soon as possible. They are highly trained in boiler repair and regularly attend boiler manufacturers training courses. We work on most all major manufacturer models. Regular boiler system maintenance and annual tune-up ensure longer lasting equipment and lower utility bills. Should your boiler need replacement, we carry most major brands.
Duct Cleaning, Repair and Replacement
Central air conditioning and heating are the top energy consumers in most California homes, so ensuring the efficiency of your entire HVAC system can yield big improvements in energy efficiency. When we think about saving energy, we usually focus on the furnace and air conditioner units, but a leaky duct system can reduce your climate control system’s efficiency 20 to 30 percent. These leaks also bring unwanted dust, unconditioned outdoor air and humidity into your living space and take money straight out of your wallet.
If your home is over seven years old, have your ducts professionally tested by one of our certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) technicians via an energy audit. If needed, we can do a thorough and effective cleaning, repair or even replace leaky ductwork.
Indoor Air Quality
Ongaro and Sons puts the “V” back into the HVAC. Ventilation is the process of bringing fresh air into your home to replace stale air filled with indoor pollutants such as cooking smells, pet odors and/or tobacco. Proper ventilation is not only key to the efficiency of your home heating and cooling system, but to your indoor air quality and you and your family’s health. While air filters and air fresheners remove particles from circulating, they don’t bring in fresh air. One simple way to correct this is to open doors and windows, but this is not always practical. It also allows outside allergens and pollutants into the house.
Ongaro and Sons offers a number of solutions to increase the quality of your indoor air, including everything from a filtration system to a complete home purification system and fresh air exchanger system. We’re a family-owned business. No one knows better than us the importance of protecting the health of you and your family.
Contact Us
Sausalito is about enjoying all life has to offer, but residents still experience everyday headaches when it comes to maintaining their properties and fixing problems. Ongaro and Sons is here for Sausalito residents as well as commercial businesses to provide full-service heating and pooling, plumbing and boiler installation, maintenance and repair. Contact us with any questions or discuss your needs, and experience 100 percent customer satisfaction.