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San Rafael, California
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HistoryWhat is now San Rafael was once the site of several Coast Miwok villages; Awani-wi, near downtown San Rafael, Ewu, near Terra Linda, and Shotomko-cha, in Marinwood.
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 Durán from Mission San José, Father Abella from Mission San Francisco de Asís, Father Luis Gíl y Taboada from La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles and Father Junípero Serra, Father Presidente 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.
GeographySan Rafael is located at (37.983256, -122.523694). 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.
Notable landmarks include: the Mission San Rafael Arcángel, around which the city developed; the Marin County Civic Center building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; the Rafael Film Center; China Camp State Park; and the George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. San Rafael is served by the privately operated San Rafael Airport.
Environmental featuresThe 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 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.
ClimateSan Rafael has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winter lows seldom reaching the freezing mark. Average highs are in the mid 50s F° (11-15 C°) and lows are in mid 40s F°(5-10 C°). In the summer highs are around the low 80s F°. Summer lows are around the mid 50s F°(13 C°). The National Weather Service reports that August is usually the warmest month with a high of 81.3° 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 is 110°, recorded in June of 1961. The highest temperature in recent years, 108°, occurred on July 23, 2006. 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 early April. 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 January 30th, 1976.
DemographicsAs of the census 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 75.8% 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. 23.3% 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 reported median income for a household in the city was $60,994; the median reported income for a family was $74,398. Males reported a median income of $50,650 versus $39,912 for females. The reported per capita income for the city was $35,762. About 5.6% of families and 10.2% of the population reported incomes below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Entertainment IndustryAfter 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. The new age music program Hearts of Space is headquartered here.
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:
- Visual Concepts — Founded by Greg Thomas in 1988, the company was bought by Sega in 1999, then sold to Take Two Interactive in 2004. Best known for creating many EA Sports titles, and recently for Sega Sports and its 2K line of sports games.
- 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 Eggebrecht, 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 Nintendo.
ParksSan Rafael contains a number of well conceived parks:
- There are two regional parks that serve statewide users: China Camp State Park and McNears Beach State Park.
- Community parks are Albert Park, Boyd 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 also a historic and walkable neighborhood south of First Street in close proximity to central Downtown.
Educational institutionsSan Rafael has one university, Dominican University.
Most public schools in San Rafael are operated by the San Rafael City Schools district. Dixie School District operates some public elementary and middle schools in San Rafael. All comprehensive public high schools are governed by San Rafael City Schools.
The district operates two comprehensive public high schools: San Rafael High School and Terra Linda High School.
Public schools not operated by the district include:
- 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.
Private schools:
- Marin Academy is a private high school in San Rafael.
- is a K-8 school with a history linked to the Mission San Raphael.
- , is a K-8 non-sectarian school located in Terra Linda.
TriviaThe term "420" when used in reference to Cannabis consumption is believed to have originated in San Rafael, specifically, at San Rafael High School. 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.
Notable residents
NeighborhoodsAlthough 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 recognizes 30 distinct neighborhoods in San Rafael:
- Bay Islands
- Bayside Acres
- Bret Harte
- California Park
- Canal
- Canal Waterfront
- Central San Rafael
- China Camp
- Civic Center
- Country Club
- Dominican/Black Canyon
| Fair HillsFrancisco Boulevard WestLincoln/San Rafael HillLoch LomondLucas ValleyMarinwoodMont Marin/San Rafael Park | Montecito/Happy ValleyNorth San Rafael Commercial CenterPeacock GapPicnic ValleyRafael Meadows/Los RanchitosSanta VenetiaSmith RanchSun ValleyTerra LindaWest End |
Bibliography- San Rafael Recreation Element of the General Plan, June, 1984
- U.S. Geological Survey, Topographical Map, San Quentin 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, revised 1980
External links
- Marin Local Music , Music listings for Marin's restaurants & venues which host live music.
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