San Rafael, California
San Rafael | ||
---|---|---|
Clockwise: aerial view, St. Vincent's School, Dominican University of California, downtown San Rafael, Mission San Rafael Arcángel | ||
City Manager Cristine Alilovich[3] | | |
• Supervisor | District 1: Mary Sackett
District 2: Katie Rice District 4: Dennis Rodoni | |
• FIPS code | 06-68364 | |
GNIS feature IDs | 1659589, 2411804 | |
Website | www |
San Rafael (/ˌsæn rəˈfɛl/ SAN rə-FEL; Spanish for "St. Raphael", Spanish pronunciation: [san rafaˈel]) 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,[9] up from 57,713 in 2010.
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
Spanish period
The mission was originally planned as a hospital site for
Mexican period
The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828.[11]
Following the
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.[12]
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.[6] 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
Climate
San Rafael has a
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 Civic Center (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1895–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) |
83 (28) |
88 (31) |
92 (33) |
100 (38) |
110 (43) |
109 (43) |
105 (41) |
110 (43) |
106 (41) |
88 (31) |
79 (26) |
110 (43) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 65.1 (18.4) |
71.5 (21.9) |
77.1 (25.1) |
84.0 (28.9) |
88.4 (31.3) |
96.6 (35.9) |
96.8 (36.0) |
95.6 (35.3) |
94.6 (34.8) |
88.3 (31.3) |
75.1 (23.9) |
65.7 (18.7) |
100.6 (38.1) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.9 (13.8) |
61.1 (16.2) |
64.8 (18.2) |
67.8 (19.9) |
72.0 (22.2) |
77.9 (25.5) |
80.9 (27.2) |
81.3 (27.4) |
80.7 (27.1) |
74.9 (23.8) |
64.6 (18.1) |
57.1 (13.9) |
70.0 (21.1) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 49.8 (9.9) |
52.5 (11.4) |
55.2 (12.9) |
57.7 (14.3) |
61.3 (16.3) |
65.7 (18.7) |
67.9 (19.9) |
68.4 (20.2) |
67.6 (19.8) |
63.2 (17.3) |
55.3 (12.9) |
49.6 (9.8) |
59.5 (15.3) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 42.6 (5.9) |
44.0 (6.7) |
45.5 (7.5) |
47.5 (8.6) |
50.6 (10.3) |
53.5 (11.9) |
54.9 (12.7) |
55.5 (13.1) |
54.4 (12.4) |
51.4 (10.8) |
46.0 (7.8) |
42.1 (5.6) |
49.0 (9.4) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 33.8 (1.0) |
34.6 (1.4) |
37.2 (2.9) |
39.8 (4.3) |
44.1 (6.7) |
47.0 (8.3) |
50.4 (10.2) |
50.1 (10.1) |
47.9 (8.8) |
44.3 (6.8) |
37.4 (3.0) |
33.1 (0.6) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
Record low °F (°C) | 23 (−5) |
21 (−6) |
24 (−4) |
29 (−2) |
27 (−3) |
31 (−1) |
34 (1) |
41 (5) |
36 (2) |
34 (1) |
30 (−1) |
20 (−7) |
20 (−7) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 7.13 (181) |
6.94 (176) |
4.42 (112) |
1.99 (51) |
0.94 (24) |
0.15 (3.8) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.05 (1.3) |
0.07 (1.8) |
1.46 (37) |
3.49 (89) |
7.81 (198) |
34.45 (875) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 12.5 | 11.1 | 10.2 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 7.4 | 11.8 | 68.5 |
Source: NOAA[14][15] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 841 | — | |
1880 | 2,276 | 170.6% | |
1890 | 3,290 | 44.6% | |
1900 | 3,879 | 17.9% | |
1910 | 5,934 | 53.0% | |
1920 | 5,512 | −7.1% | |
1930 | 8,022 | 45.5% | |
1940 | 8,573 | 6.9% | |
1950 | 13,848 | 61.5% | |
1960 | 20,460 | 47.7% | |
1970 | 38,977 | 90.5% | |
1980 | 44,700 | 14.7% | |
1990 | 48,404 | 8.3% | |
2000 | 56,063 | 15.8% | |
2010 | 57,713 | 2.9% | |
2020 | 61,271 | 6.2% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[16] |
2010
The
The following statistics refer to the incorporated limits of San Rafael only. The population density was 2,573.9 inhabitants per square mile (993.8/km2). The racial makeup of San Rafael was 40,734 (70.6%)
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
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
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
Economy
Housing
San Rafael, a small city situated in Marin County, is known for its affluent suburban/urban environment. Despite the median income for a family in San Rafael reaching an estimated amount of $97,009[17] according to the 2016-2020 US Census report, different regions of San Rafael remain below the poverty line of 11.4%.
Top employers
According to San Rafael's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[22] 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
After the arrival of
Largely because of the presence of LucasFilm, San Rafael started to attract video game developers, with several major studios located in the city:
- Broderbund — Founded by Doug Carlston and Gary Carlston in 1980, the company was sold to Mindscape in 1998 and moved to Novato. Best known for the hit titles Choplifter, Lode Runner, The Print Shop, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Myst, and for being the early distributor of SimCity. After several subsequent acquisitions by various companies, in 2001 the remaining Broderbund offices were moved to San Francisco.
- LucasArts — Founded by George Lucas in (1984) as LucasFilm Games; relocated to San Francisco in 2005. Best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones games and innovative titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Full Throttle.
- Neverwinter Nights.
- Sega Sportsand 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.
- Lucasfilm Ltd., founded by Tomlinson Holmanat George Lucas's company.
- 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. In May 2009, the company's San Rafael studio closed.[23]
- LucasArts employees. Best known for its video game adaptation of The Walking Dead and Sam & Max adventure games. The company filed for bankruptcy on November 14, 2018.[24]
- Mind Control Software — Founded in 1994 by Andrew Leker, Best known for its Independent Games Festival–winning game, Oasis.
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.[25]
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:[2]
- 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 California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.[26]
From 2008 to 2012, Huffman represented Marin County in the California State Assembly.
In the California State Legislature, San Rafael is in:
- the 12th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Damon Connolly[27]
- the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Mike McGuire
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. In 2006, the San Rafael City Schools district removed The Bronze Bow from their social studies curriculum, after allegations of the book showing Jews in a bad light compared to Christians.[28]
Notable private schools include Marin Academy, Saint Raphael School, Brandeis Marin, and The Marin School.
Transportation
The major north–south freeway through San Rafael is
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.[29] 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 to Santa Rosa and its Airport opened in 2017 bringing passenger rail to San Rafael for the first time since 1958. Until 1958, San Rafael was served by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The line from San Rafael was extended to Larkspur to make Larkspur Landing ferry connection in December 2019.[30]
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.[31]
Shel Silverstein's poem "The Smoke-Off" is about a girl named Pearly Sweetcakes who came from San Rafael.[32]
The TV show 13 Reasons Why is based in San Rafael, and many scenes from the first season were filmed downtown.
Notable people
- Isabel Allende, author[33]
- Dave Archer, artist
- Stacey Bailey, former American football wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
- Elizabeth Charleston, painter[34]
- Philip K. Dick, novelist[35]
- George Duke, keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer
- William English, contributed to the development of the computer mouse[36]
- Justine Frischmann, lead singer of Elastica and visual artist[37]
- Brad Gilbert, professional tennis player and coach[38]
- Jared Goff, quarterback for the Detroit Lions
- United Flight 93[39]
- Marc Diraison, voice actor
- Cynthia Harvey (born 1957), ballet dancer and educator[40]
- Llewellyn F. Haskell (1842–1929), United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War[41]
- James Hetfield, musician, lead singer of Metallica[42]
- Michael Johnson, sprinter, 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalist, resides in the hills above San Rafael[43]
- Rick Kranitz former minor league pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers and now the pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves
- Christian Mortensen (1882–1998), supercentenarian, the one-time oldest living human male, aged 115 years and 252 days at his death[44]
- Gladys Kathleen Parkin, wireless radio operator[45]
- Charles Dormon Robinson, painter[46]
- Dana Sabraw, U.S. District Judge
- Marin Sais, actress
- Carlos Santana, musician[47]
- radio host, author, activist, nutritionist, conservative political commentator, host of The Savage Nation
- Scott Thunes, musician
- Natu Tuatagaloa, former professional football player in the NFL
- Will Venable, former professional Major League Baseball player
- Winston Venable, former NFL and CFL linebacker.
Sister cities
- San Rafael del Norte, Nicaragua[48]
- Lonate Pozzolo, Province of Varese, Italy
- Falkirk, Scotland
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
References
- ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ a b "Mayor & City Council". City of San Rafael. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ "City Manager's Office". City of San Rafael. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "California's 2nd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.
- ^ "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ a b "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ "San Rafael". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b "P1. Race – San Rafael city, California: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ISBN 0-912908-04-1
- JSTOR 27825191.
- ^ "U.S. Naval Activities World War II by State". Patrick Clancey. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
- ^ http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/heat.php Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine wrh.noaa.gov
- ^ a b "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ a b "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - San Rafael city". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ US Census Bureau. 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates[permanent dead link]
- ^ GIS Data Resources, Inc. Archived September 15, 2002, at the Library of Congress Web Archives
- ^ Harris, David (August 19, 2022). "Autodesk Shifts Headquarters To San Francisco". CRN. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
- ^ City of San Rafael CAFR
- ^ Bailey, Kat. (2009-05-14) San Rafael Factor 5 Studio Officially Shut Down: News from. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie. (2018-11-14)"Telltale Games Is Closing, Bankruptcy Proceedings Beginning". GameSpot. Retrieved on 2018-11-20.
- ^ "CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019" (PDF). ca.gov. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ "California's 2nd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "Members | Assembly Internet". www.assembly.ca.gov.
- ^ Eskenazi, Joe (December 22, 2006). "Proselytizing book likely to be pulled from San Rafael classrooms". The Jewish News of Northern California.
- ^ "Sonoma County Airport Express Inc". Sonoma County Airport Express.
- ^ Prado, Mark (March 4, 2016). "Commuter train rolls into San Rafael for the first time in 50 years". Marin Independent Journal. MediaNews Group. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- Snopes Media Group Inc.Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Silverstein, Shel. "The Smoke Off". All Poetry.
- ISBN 0553061003
- ^ "San Francisco Chronicle Obituary for Elizabeth Charleston". Retrieved September 17, 2008.
- ^ Sutin, Lawrence (2006). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, p. 181.
- ^ Metz, Cade (August 2, 2020). "William English, who helped build computer mouse, dies in San Rafael". The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Marin Independent Journal.
- ^ "Justine Frischmann | In The Make | Studio visits with West Coast artists". inthemake.com. May 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- ^ "Brad Gilbert | Overview | ATP World Tour | Tennis". ATP World Tour. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-0199563449.
- OCLC 1141571.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Helena de Bertodano (July 9, 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. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ^ "Christian Mortensen, 115, Among Oldest". The New York Times. May 3, 1998.
- ^ Ehat, Carla; Parkin, Kathleen (1977). Oral History: Kathleen Parkin. Anne T. Kent California Room Oral History Project.
- ISBN 978-0-944220-14-6. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
- ^ San Rafael - Marin Magazine - November 2009 - Marin County, California. Marin Magazine. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
- ^ "Sister Cities". San Rafael.
- Bibliography
- San Rafael Recreation Element of the General Plan, June, 1984
- San Quentin7.5 Minute Quadrangle, revised 1980