San Rafael, California

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Saint Raphael Church, one of the city's most recognizable landmarks
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Saint Raphael Church, one of the city's most recognizable landmarks

San Rafael (IPA: [sæn rəˈfɛl]; originally IPA: [sɑn rɑfeˈɛl], [citation needed]) is the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2002 census, the city had a population of 55,550.

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in what is now downtown San Rafael as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial Mexican province of Alta California by four priests, Father Narciso Duran from San Jose, Father Abella from San Francisco, Father Gil y Taboada and Father Junipero Serra, the President of the Missions, on Dec. 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain.

The mission and city are named for the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing. The mission was originally planned as a hospital site for Central Valley American Indians who had become ill at the cold San Francisco Mission Dolores. Father Luis Gil, who spoke several native American languages, was put in charge of the facility. In part because of its ideal weather San Rafael was later upgraded to full mission status in 1822. The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828. The Mexican government took over the California missions in 1834, and Mission San Rafael was abandoned in 1844, eventually falling into ruin. The current mission was built in the style of the original in 1949, but faces at right angles to the alignment of the original.

The term 420 when used in reference to Cannabis consumption is believed to have originated in San Rafael, specifically, at San Rafael High School. The most commonly held belief is that a group of students in the early 1970's used to meet behind the Louis Pasteur statue after school at 4:20 P.M. to smoke marijuana. Since then, use of "420" has spread throughout the rest of the United States, and much of the rest of the world, in reference to Cannabis consumption. [1]

Notable landmarks include: the Mission San Rafael Arcángel, around which the city developed; the Marin County Civic Center building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch; and the Rafael Film Center. San Rafael is served by the privately-operated San Rafael Airport.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Location of San Rafael, California

San Rafael is located at 37°58′60″N, 122°31′25″W (37.983256, -122.523694)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 58.1 km² (22.4 mi²). 43.0 km² (16.6 mi²) of it is land and 15.1 km² (5.8 mi²) of it (26.04%) is water.

[edit] Environmental features

The San Rafael shoreline has been historically filled to a considerable extent to accommodate land development, with underlying bay mud (saturated clayed silt) of up to 90 feet in thickness. At certain locations such as Murphys Point, the sandstone or shale rock outcrops through the mud.

San Rafael has a wide diversity of natural habitats from forests at the higher elevations to marshland and estuarine settings. Its marshes are home to the endangered species Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. There are also riparian areas including the San Rafael Creek and Miller Creek corridors.

Using one of the city's guidelines for environmental noise of 55 CNEL, there are approximately 3500 residents exposed to sound levels greater than desirable.

[edit] Climate

San Rafael has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winter lows rarely reaching the freezing mark. Average highs are between 11-15 C° (mid 50s F°) and lows between 5-10 C° (mid 40s F°). In the summer highs are between 25-34 C° (low 80s F°). Summer lows are around 13 C° (mid 50s F°). The National Weather Service reports that August is usually the warmest month with a high of 81.2° and a low of 54.8°. This makes it possible to live in this area without air conditioning. January, the coldest month, has an average high of 56.2° and an average low of 41.3°. The highest temperature on record was 110°, last recorded on July 15, 1961. The record lowest temperature was 20° on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 19.5 days annually with a high of 90° or more and 2.1 days with a high of 100° or more. Freezing temperatures (32° or below) occur on an average of 4.2 days.

Total annual precipitation averages 34.29 inches. There are normally 68.5 days with measurable rain. The rainy season is from November to March. Rain is rare outside of this period and it is normal to receive no rain in June, July, August, and September. The most rain in one month was 24.11 inches in January 1995. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall was 8.74 inches on December 11, 1995. A trace of snow was recorded on February 5, 1976.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 56,063 people, 22,371 households, and 12,773 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,304.8/km² (3,378.9/mi²). There were 22,948 housing units at an average density of 534.1/km² (1,383.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.76% White, 2.24% African American, 0.56% Native American, 5.59% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 11.16% from other races, and 4.53% from two or more races. 27.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 22,371 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18, 44.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% have someone living alone who is 65 or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99. The age distribution is as follows: 19.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,994, and the median income for a family was $74,398. Males had a median income of $50,650 versus $39,912 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,762. About 5.6% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Entertainment Industry

After the arrival of George Lucas in San Rafael in 1970 to film the movie THX 1138, the city became a center for the entertainment industry, particularly the high-tech elements of the business. Lucasfilm was founded by George Lucas in 1971, and is best known for the global hit movie series Star Wars and also for Indiana Jones. Some of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. Portions of the Universal movie production American Graffiti were filmed in downtown San Rafael under George Lucas's direction, and portions of THX 1138 were shot at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. Much of the movie Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke, was also shot in the Marin County Civic Center. Industrial Light & Magic was founded in 1975 by Lucas to do special effects for his films and those of other filmmakers.

Largely because of the presence of LucasFilm, San Rafael started to attract video game developers, with several major studios located in the city. However, because of poor city leadership and ineffective zoning laws in the Canal neighborhood, most of the companies, including Lucas Arts, have left San Rafael:

  • Totally Games — Founded by former LucasArts programmer Larry Holland in 1994. Best known for a series of Star Wars flight sim games.
  • Factor 5 — Founded in Germany in 1987 by Julian Eggenbrecht, moved to San Rafael in 1996 to be close to publisher LucasArts. Best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones games, the company now is working with Sony.

[edit] Parks

San Rafael contains a number of well conceived parks:

  • There are two regional parks which serve statewide users: China Camp State Park and McNears Beach State Park.
  • Community parks are Albert Park, Pickleweed Park and the Terra Linda Recreational Center.
  • There are a number of neighborhood parks and mini-parks such as Boyd Park, Sun Valley Park, Oleander Park, Victor Jones Park, Peacock Gap Park and Gerstle Park. Gerstle Park is a historic and walkable neighborhood south of First Street in close proximity to central Downtown.

[edit] Educational institutions

San Rafael has one university, Dominican University, and five high schools.

  • San Rafael High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located at 185 Mission Avenue, San Rafael, 94901. Founded in 1888, and established at its current location since 1924, it is part of the San Rafael High School District. The school principal is Judith B. Colton. In 2006, the school scored 680 on the Academic Performance Index (API), the California Department of Education’s program for measuring school accountability. It also passed all Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP) criteria required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The school colors are red and white and the school mascot is the bulldog.
  • Terra Linda High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located at 320 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael, 94903. Established in 1960, it is part of the San Rafael High School District. The school principal is Carole Ramsey. In 2006, the school scored 774 on the Academic Performance Index (API), the California Department of Education’s program for measuring school accountability. It also passed all Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP) criteria required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The school colors are blue and gold and the school mascot is the trojan. For more information, visit the school web site listed below.
  • Madrone Continuation High School is a public secondary school located on the San Rafael High School campus. Established in 1965, it is part of the San Rafael High School District. The school principal is Susan Gatlin. Madrone Continuation High School provides alternative education for students in grades ten through twelve, emphasizing individual attention for students with special needs. In 2006, the school scored 575 on the Academic Performance Index (API), the California Department of Education’s program for measuring school accountability. It also passed all Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP) criteria required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. Students in the San Rafael High School District may enter Madrone with a recommendation from the district referral committee. For more information, visit the school web site listed below.
  • Phoenix Academy is a California Charter school where chemically dependent students can develop a drug and alcohol-free lifestyle, make academic progress, address emotional issues, and make sound career and vocational decisions. The school provides a highly structured and supervised program. The school is located at 160 B North San Pedro Road.

San Rafael runs three school districts: San Rafael Elementary School District, Dixie Elementary School District, and San Rafael High School District.

[edit] Notable Citizens

[edit] Neighborhoods

Although not every location in San Rafael is part of a neighborhood that has a widely-accepted and widely-recognized name, there are some neighborhoods that have names that are accepted and recognized by most locals. The City of San Rafael 2020 General Plan recognizes 30 distinct neighborhoods in San Rafael:

  • Bay Islands
  • Bayside Acres
  • Bret Harte
  • California Park
  • Canal
  • Canal Waterfront
  • China Camp
  • Civic Center
  • Country Club
  • Dominican/Black Canyon
  • Downtown
  • Fair Hills
  • Francisco Boulevard West
  • Gerstle Park
  • Glenwood
  • Lincoln/San Rafael Hill
  • Loch Lomond
  • Lucas Valley
  • Marinwood
  • Mont Marin/San Rafael Park
  • Montecito/Happy Valley
  • North San Rafael Commercial Center
  • Peacock Gap
  • Picnic Valley
  • Rafael Meadows/Los Ranchitos
  • Santa Venetia
  • Smith Ranch
  • Sun Valley
  • Terra Linda
  • West End

[edit] Bibliography

  • San Rafael Recreation Element of the General Plan, June, 1984

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Marin County, California

Incorporated places
Population over 10,000:    San Rafael (County seat) • Larkspur • Mill Valley • Novato • San Anselmo
Population under 10,000:    Belvedere • Corte Madera • Fairfax • Ross • Sausalito • Tiburon

Census-designated places
Black Point-Green Point, California • Bolinas • Dillon Beach • Inverness • Kentfield • Lagunitas-Forest Knolls • Lucas Valley-Marinwood • Muir Beach • Point Reyes Station • San Geronimo • Santa Venetia • Stinson Beach • Strawberry • Tamalpais-Homestead Valley • Tomales • Woodacre

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