The small, triangle-shaped park in the heart of downtown Sausalito is called Plaza Vina del Mar. named for Vina del Mar, Chile, one of Sausalito's Sister Cities. The park is famous for three features, all of them designed for the Court of the Universe at the 1915 Panama Pacific Fair and Exposition in San Francisco. The Fair was ostensibly held to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, but the political purpose was to show the world that the City had recovered from the 1906 Earthquake and Fire and was “open for businessIn. At at the conclusion of the exposition, William B. Faville ferried his favorite two full size African Gray elephants and one beautiful paper mache fountain across the San Francisco Bay to his Sausalito home. Local children named them Jumbo and Pee-Wee.
