San Rafael, California

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Template:Infobox settlement San Rafael (/ˌsæn rəˈfɛl/ SAN-_--fel; Spanish for "St. Raphael", Template:IPA-es) is a city and 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 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 61,271,[1] up from 57,713 in 2010. Neighboring communities include Santa Venetia (to the north), San Anselmo (to the west) and Greenbrae (to the south).

San Rafael was founded by the Spanish in 1817, when Vicente Francisco de Sarría established Mission San Rafael Arcángel, initially as an asistencia (sub-mission). San Rafael Arcángel was upgraded to full mission status in 1822, a month before Alta California declared independence from Spain as part of Mexico. Following the American Conquest of California, the community of San Rafael incorporated as a city in 1874.

History

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.[2]

Spanish period

File:Mission San Rafael (Oriana Day).jpg
San Rafael was founded in 1817, when Mission San Rafael Arcángel was established by Vicente Sarría.

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial province of Alta California by three 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—on Dec. 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain. The mission from which the downtown grew and the city are named after 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.

Mexican period

File:View of San Rafael (late 19th century).png
San Rafael in the late 19th century

The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828.[3]

Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the Mexican government took over the California missions in 1834, and Mission San Rafael was abandoned in 1844, eventually falling into ruin.

American period

The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached San Rafael in 1879 and was linked to the national rail network in 1888. The United States Navy operated a San Pablo Bay degaussing range from San Rafael through World War II.[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 square miles (58 km2). 16.6 square miles (43 km2) of it is land and 6.0 square miles (16 km2) of it (26.42%) is water.[5] San Francisco is 16 miles (26 km) to the south.

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 (27 m) 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.

Climate

San Rafael has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), with mild winter lows seldom reaching the freezing mark. The National Weather Service reports that August is usually the warmest month with a high of Template:Convert/°F and a low of Template:Convert/°F. December, the coldest month, has an average high of Template:Convert/°F and an average low of Template:Convert/°F. The highest temperature on record is Template:Convert/°F, recorded in June 1961. The highest temperature in recent years, Template:Convert/°F, occurred on July 23, 2006,[6] and Template:Convert/°F again on September 6, 2020. The record lowest temperature was Template:Convert/°F on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 17.9 afternoons annually with a high of Template:Convert/°F or more and 1.2 afternoons with a high of Template:Convert/°F or more. Freezing temperatures (Template:Convert/°F or below) occur on an average of 3.6 mornings.[7]

Total annual precipitation averages 32.16 inches (816.9 mm), with an average of 64.3 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 wettest “rain year” was from July 1994 to June 1995 with 61.45 inches (1,560.8 mm) and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with 13.62 inches (345.9 mm). The most rain in one month was 24.11 inches (612.4 mm) in January 1995, and the heaviest 24-hour rainfall was 8.74 inches (222.0 mm) on December 11, 1995. A trace of snow was recorded on January 30, 1976.

Climate data for San Rafael, California (1981–2010 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) Template:Weather box/CtoF
(26)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(29)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(33)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(36)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(39)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(40)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(44)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(41)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(42)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(38)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(32)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(26)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(44)
Average high °F (°C) Template:Weather box/CtoF
(13)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(20)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(18)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(19)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(22)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(25)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(30)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(30)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(26)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(23)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(18)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(13)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(21)
Average low °F (°C) Template:Weather box/CtoF
(6)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(7)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(7)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(8)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(10)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(12)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(13)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(13)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(12)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(11)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(8)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(5)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(9)
Record low °F (°C) Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−8)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−6)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−4)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−2)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−5)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(3)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(0)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(3)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(1)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(0)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−4)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−8)
Template:Weather box/CtoF
(−8)
Precipitation inches (mm) style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(174)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(199.6)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(105.7)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(44.2)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(24.4)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(3.6)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(0)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(1.3)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(3.3)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(32.8)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(76.7)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(151.6)
style="Template:Weather box/colgreen border-left-width:medium"|Template:Weather box/inchtometric
(816.9)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)</span> 12.2 10.9 9.7 5.7 3.4 1.1 0 0.1 1.0 3.4 6.4 10.4 64.3
Source #1: NOAA [7]
Source #2: Weather.com[8]

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2010

The 2010 United States Census[9] reported that the city of San Rafael had a population of 57,713. This figure does not, however, include portions of the Santa Venetia and Lucas Valley-Marinwood CDPs, nor various other unincorporated areas, all of which have San Rafael postal addresses; in total, according to the 2010 Census, there were 70,197 residents of San Rafael postal addresses (ZIP codes 94901 and 94903).

The following statistics refer to the incorporated limits of San Rafael only. The population density was 2,573.9 people per square mile (993.8/km2). The racial makeup of San Rafael was 40,734 (70.6%) White, 1,154 (2.0%) African American, 709 (1.2%) Native American, 3,513 (6.1%) Asian, 126 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 8,513 (14.8%) from other races, and 2,964 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17,302 persons (30.0%).

The Census reported that 55,594 people (96.3% of the population) lived in households, 1,314 (2.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 805 (1.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 22,764 households, out of which 6,358 (27.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,845 (43.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,004 (8.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,133 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,450 (6.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 301 (1.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,434 households (32.7%) were made up of individuals, and 2,954 (13.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44. There were 12,982 families (57.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.02.

The population was spread out, with 11,132 people (19.3%) under the age of 18, 4,956 people (8.6%) aged 18 to 24, 16,915 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 15,574 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,136 people (15.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

There were 24,011 housing units at an average density of 1,070.9 per square mile (413.5/km2), of which 11,909 (52.3%) were owner-occupied, and 10,855 (47.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. 27,554 people (47.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 28,040 people (48.6%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 56,063 people, 22,371 households, and 12,773 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,378.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,304.8/km2). There were 22,948 housing units at an average density of 1,383.1 per square mile (534.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 59.0% non-Hispanic White, 1.8% non-Hispanic African American, 0.2% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 30.0% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99. The age distribution was 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 (these figures had risen to $67,789 and $85,459 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[11]). 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.

Economy

BioMarin, Autodesk, In Defense of Animals, Westamerica Bank, and GIS Data Resources[12] are among the companies headquartered in San Rafael.

Top employers

According to San Rafael's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[13] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 BioMarin 2,518
2 Kaiser Permanente 1,330
3 Autodesk 928
4 Comcast 619
5 City of San Rafael 592
6 Safeway 452
7 Macy's 450
8 MHN 350
9 Bradley Real Estate 350
10 Dominican University of California 336
11 Guide Dogs for the Blind 280

Entertainment industry

File:Rafael Film Center.JPG
Rafael Theater, famously seen in American Graffiti

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. The new-age music program Hearts of Space has been headquartered in San Rafael since 2004.

Largely because of the presence of LucasFilm, San Rafael started to attract video game developers, with several major studios located in the city:

Parks

Community in San Rafael include Albert Park, Boyd Park, Gerstle Park, Pickleweed Park and the Terra Linda Recreational Center.

Notable large parks include China Camp State Park and McNear's Beach Park.

There are a number of neighborhood parks and mini-parks such as Bret Harte Park, 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.

Government

San Rafael is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, San Rafael has 31,288 registered voters. Of those, 17,566 (56.1%) are registered Democrats, 4,292 (13.7%) are registered Republicans, and 8,121 (26%) have declined to state a political party.[16]

San Rafael is governed by a city council with five members, four of which are elected by geographic district for four-year terms. Each Councilmember is required to live in the district they represent and are elected only by the registered voters of that district. The Mayor is elected at-large. The current members are:[17]

  • Mayor Kate Colin
  • District 1 Councilmember: Maika Llorens Gulati
  • District 2 Councilmember: Eli Hill
  • District 3 Councilmember: Maribeth Bushey
  • District 4 Councilmember: Rachel Kertz

Federal and state

In the United States House of Representatives, San Rafael is in Template:Representative.[18]

From 2008 to 2012, Huffman represented Marin County in the California State Assembly.

In the California State Legislature, San Rafael is in:

Education

San Rafael has one university, Dominican University of California.

The Ali Akbar College of Music, was founded in San Rafael by Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan to teach Indian classical music. San Rafael is also the home to one of the two campuses of Guide Dogs for the Blind, a guide dog training school.

Most public schools in San Rafael are operated by the San Rafael City Schools district. Miller Creek Elementary School District operates some public elementary and middle schools north of San Rafael proper. All comprehensive public high schools are governed by San Rafael City Schools. The district operates two comprehensive public high schools: San Rafael High School, Terra Linda High School and one alternative high school, Madrone.

Notable private schools include Marin Academy, Saint Raphael School, Brandeis Marin, and The Marin School.

Transportation

File:San Rafael Transit Center.jpeg
San Rafael Transit Center

The major north–south freeway through San Rafael is U.S. Route 101, connecting the North Coast (California) and the Redwood Empire to the north, and San Francisco to the south. Interstate 580 heads across the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge to the East Bay.

The San Rafael Transit Center, located at the corner of 3rd and Hetherton Streets, is served by a number of bus agencies, including Golden Gate Transit, Marin Transit, Sonoma County Transit, Sonoma County Airport Express, and Greyhound.[20] Local bus service is provided primarily by Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit.

Commuter rail by Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) serves the city at two stations: a converted San Rafael Transit Center and a station at Marin Civic Center. The line opened to the Santa Rosa Airport in 2017 and was extended to Larkspur to make Larkspur Landing ferry connection in December 2019.[21]

In popular culture

The term "420", as used in reference to cannabis consumption, originated in San Rafael. A group of students of the San Rafael High School class of 1975 known as the Waldos used "420" as a code for smoking marijuana at 4:20 p.m., after school.[22]

Shel Silverstein's poem "The Smoke-Off" is about a girl named Pearly Sweetcakes who came from San Rafael.[23]

The TV show 13 Reasons Why is based in San Rafael, and many scenes from the first season were filmed downtown.

Notable people

Sister cities

References

  1. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Census_2020
  2. Peterson, Bonnie J. (1976). Dawn of the World: Coast Miwok Myths. ISBN 0-912908-04-1
  3. JACKSON, ROBERT H. (1984). "Gentile Recruitment and Population Movements in the San Francisco Bay Area Missions". Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 6 (2): 225–239. ISSN 0191-3557. JSTOR 27825191. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27825191. 
  4. "U.S. Naval Activities World War II by State". Patrick Clancey. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/USN-Act/CA.html. 
  5. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CenPopGazetteer2021
  6. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/heat.php 12, 2007/https://web.archive.org/web/20070312053236/http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/heat.php Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. wrh.noaa.gov
  7. 7.0 7.1 "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mtr. 
  8. https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/2a92a00c7ea410951f92bdcc8960b01f76a7113b635ee5f28d7508eb93b86d29 Template:Bare URL inline
  9. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - San Rafael city". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0668364. 
  10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  11. US Census Bureau. 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates[dead link]
  12. GIS Data Resources, Inc. 15, 2002/http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020915090810/http%3A//www.gdr.com/ Archived September 15, 2002, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. City of San Rafael CAFR
  14. Bailey, Kat. (2009-05-14) San Rafael Factor 5 Studio Officially Shut Down: News from. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  15. Makuch, Eddie. (2018-11-14)“Telltale Games Is Closing, Bankruptcy Proceedings Beginning”. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2018-11-20.
  16. "CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019". https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ror/ror-odd-year-2019/politicalsub.pdf. 
  17. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cc
  18. Template:Cite GovTrack
  19. "Members | Assembly Internet". https://www.assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers. 
  20. "Sonoma County Airport Express Inc.". http://airportexpress.com/. 
  21. Prado, Mark (4 March 2016). "Commuter train rolls into San Rafael for the first time in 50 years". Marin Independent Journal (MediaNews Group). http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20160304/commuter-train-rolls-into-san-rafael-for-the-first-time-in-50-years. 
  22. Snopes Staff (September 14, 2002). "The Origins of 420". Snopes Media Group Inc.. http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/420.htm. 
  23. Silverstein, Shel. "The Smoke Off". http://allpoetry.com/The-Smoke-Off. 
  24. Correas Zapata, Celia (1998). Isabel Allende: Vida y espíritus, p. 223. ISBN 0553061003
  25. "San Francisco Chronicle Obituary for Elizabeth Charleston". http://www.sfchroniclemarketplace.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1997/04/11/MN72240.DTL&hw=obituaries&sn=073&sc=655. 
  26. Sutin, Lawrence (2006). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, p. 181.
  27. Metz, Cade (2020-08-02). "William English, who helped build computer mouse, dies in San Rafael" (in en-US). The New York Times. https://www.marinij.com/2020/08/01/william-english-who-helped-build-computer-mouse-dies-in-san-rafael/. 
  28. "Justine Frischmann | In The Make | Studio visits with West Coast artists". May 2012. http://inthemake.com/Justine-Frischmann/. 
  29. "Brad Gilbert | Overview | ATP World Tour | Tennis" (in en). ATP World Tour. http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/brad-gilbert/g016/overview. 
  30. Wilgoren, Jodi; Wong, Edward (September 13, 2001). "AFTER THE ATTACKS: UNITED FLIGHT 93; On Doomed Flight, Passengers Vowed To Perish Fighting". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/us/after-attacks-united-flight-93-doomed-flight-passengers-vowed-perish-fighting.html?pagewanted=1. 
  31. Craine, Debra; Mackrell, Judith (19 August 2010). The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. p. 209. ISBN 978-0199563449. https://books.google.com/books?id=42g8Hp-xA48C. 
  32. Who's Who in America. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1908. p. 839. OCLC 1141571. https://books.google.com/books?id=eX0QOpl7iBQC&pg=PA839. 
  33. New trail to bypass Metallica star's land gets county environmental approval - Marin Independent Journal. Marinij.com (2010-07-19). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  34. Helena de Bertodano (9 July 2012). "Michael Johnson: 'For eight years I was a five-time gold medallist. Then it was four-time. It's not the same'". The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9378922/Michael-Johnson-For-eight-years-I-was-a-five-time-gold-medallist.-Then-it-was-four-time.-Its-not-the-same.html. 
  35. "Christian Mortensen, 115, Among Oldest". The New York Times. May 3, 1998. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/03/us/christian-mortensen-115-among-oldest.html. 
  36. Ehat, Carla; Parkin, Kathleen (1977). Oral History: Kathleen Parkin. Anne T. Kent California Room Oral History Project. https://books.google.com/books?id=agw9HAAACAAJ. 
  37. Lekisch, Barbara (September 2003). Embracing scenes about Lakes Tahoe & Donner: painters, illustrators & sketch artists 1855-1915. Peter Browning. pp. 152–. ISBN 978-0-944220-14-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=fzOs0pXNXJ4C&pg=PA152. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 
  38. San Rafael - Marin Magazine - November 2009 - Marin County, California. Marin Magazine. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  39. "Sister Cities". https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/sister-cities/. 
Bibliography

External links

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Template:Marin County, California Template:SF Bay Area Template:California county seats