Sausalito nonprofit leads effort to restore sea lion statue
The iconic Sausalito sea lion statue is undergoing the most extensive refurbishment of its long history on the waterfront.
Since it fell into the bay during a storm on Jan. 8, the statue has been held in a warehouse in the Marinship area, awaiting a repair effort that stakeholders hope will help it endure for the foreseeable future.
The Sausalito Foundation, which is leading the refurbishment effort, has begun to collect donations. It is seeking $35,000 and is about one-third toward the goal.
“We’re really approaching this to make it last,” said Felicity Kirsch, a foundation board member. “We want to show the depths of what we’re going through to do this the right way.”
The statue’s platform is near 400 Bridgeway between Princess and Richardson streets. The statue, designed by sculptor Al Sybrian in the 1950s, was cast in bronze in 1966.
The refurbishment plan will include patching cracks and affixing a new bronze base to secure the piece to its concrete pad. The foundation hopes to complete the project by late spring or early summer.
“In many ways, the sea lion sculpture is Sausalito itself: elegant, resilient, and enduring,” said Mayor Melissa Blaustein. “While we continue to collaborate with the Sausalito Foundation to restore the iconic statue, we are extremely grateful to everyone in the community who is supporting the cause with their generous donations.”
Reason Bradley of Universal Sonar Mount, an engineering and underwater sonar group in Sausalito, is coordinating the effort to fix the sea lion.
“We hope to make it go at least 100 years,” he said. That way, he added, even “the sea lion is happy.”
Bradley estimated the weight at about 1,100 to 1,200 pounds. A crane was required to remove the statue from the water and later to lift it to evaluate the hollow interior.
During the evaluation, Bradley and his restoration team found that the bolts had been extensively corroded. After a sandblast, the exterior of the sculpture was found to be riddled and pockmarked with imperfections from years of erosion. Bradley has calculated the surface area as 7,044 square inches.
The restorers plan to attach zinc or aluminum anodes to protect the statue from corrosion. The anodes will likely be located on the outside and the inside of the statue.
The statue will also be set up on a new bronze base plate. When the plate is complete, it will be set on the refurbished concrete pad on the waterfront. This time around, there will likely be eight bolts, not four.
The original sculpture was made in 1957 out of concrete. The Sausalito Foundation spearheaded the recasting of the piece in bronze in 1966 at Foundry 3 in San Francisco.
The sculpture fell from its base about 19 years ago, also during a winter storm, and underwent a restoration.
Donors can contribute online at thesausalitofoundation.com or mail checks to the Sausalito Foundation, P.O. Box 567, Sausalito, CA 94966.
Donations are tax deductible. The first 75 donors to contribute $250 or more will receive a handmade sea lion miniature from Heath Ceramics.