The Madden and Lewis Company owned the Sausalito side of the Golden Gate Ferry Company that ran before the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, the ferry was run by the North Pacific Coast Railroad.
It was built out from the foot of University Avenue, extending about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) into the Bay (measured from the original shoreline).
Between 1926 and 1937, the Pier served as an integral part of the Lincoln Highway (the first road across America), and then subsequently U.S. Route 40.
The ferry line shut down on October 16, 1937,[15] 11 months after the Bay Bridge opened to auto traffic.
[17] The Golden Bear was damaged off the coast of Oregon while being towed to Washington state in 1937 and subsequently salvaged for parts.