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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. From South to North these are
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. From South to North these are


* [[Canal Area, San Rafael, California|the Canal Area]], which is southeast of Downtown, is notable for its mix of high-density apartments and upscale single-family homes. Illegal immigrants and wealthy professionals live in virtual harmony, except when Canal Area crime sprees erupt. Such instances include the rash of assaults on illegal immigrants by [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]] [[Gangs|gang members]] during May 2006, or when the illegal immigrant [[Jorge Alberto Ek-Luna]] raped and kidnapped a teenage girl from San Rafael High School during broad daylight when he threatened to slash her throat with a broken bottle if she didn't go with him to a hotel in the Canal.
* [[Canal Area, San Rafael, California|the Canal Area]], which is southeast of Downtown
* Gerstle Park, just south of Downtown
* Gerstle Park, just south of Downtown
* Downtown
* Downtown

Revision as of 02:25, 13 July 2006

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

San Rafael (pronounced "san ruh-FELL" in English; original Spanish pronunciation is "sahn rah-fai-EL") 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 total 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.

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.

Geography

Location of San Rafael, California
Location of San Rafael, California

San Rafael is located at 37°58′60″N 122°31′25″W / 37.98333°N 122.52361°W / 37.98333; -122.52361 Coordinates: latitude seconds >= 60
Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (37.983256, -122.523694)Template:GR. 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.

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.

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°). This makes it possible to live in this area without air conditioning. 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, Aug, and September. The hottest month of the year is September, when temperatures regularly reach the low 30s C° (low 90s F°).

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR 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.

Entertainment Industry

After the arrival of George Lucas in San Rafael in 1970 to film the movie THX1138, 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:

Parks

San Rafael contains a number of well conceived parks:

  • 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 Gerstle Park, Boyd Park, Sun Valley Park, Oleander Park, Victor Jones Park and Peacock Gap Park.

Educational institutions

San Rafael has one university, Dominican University (California), three high schools and two academies.

  • Terra Linda High School, opened in 1960, is a coeducational public secondary school located at 320 Nova Albion Way in Terra Linda, a northern area of San Rafael. It is a part of the San Rafael High School District. The school colors are blue and gold, and the school name is TL Trojans. Carole Ramsey is the principal. In the 2002–2003 school year, 84 percent of the students were enrolled in advanced mathematics courses, well above the state average of 55 percent. This is because 50% of the good students who would otherwise attend San Rafael High Scool are forced to go to Terra Linda because of gang violence and inferior student body at SRHS. The average combined SAT score at TL for 2002-2003 school year was 1126.
  • San Rafael High School is a coeducational public secondary school located at 185 Mission Avenue. Founded in 1888, with its current campus built in 1924, it is a part of the San Rafael High School District. It is a part of California's Class Size Reduction Program because 33% of its students are illegal immigrants, many of whom can't speak English. As a result, ninth-grade math and English classes are limited to 20 students per class, draining resources away from science curriculum and advanced mathematics. As of 2005, Judith B. Colton is the principal. San Rafael High School operates a 10-wattradio station, KSRH, broadcasting at 88.1 FM; reception covers San Rafael south of Terra Linda. The school mascot is the bulldog. San Rafael High School has been cited as the origin of the time and codeword 4:20 in marijuana culture.
  • Madrone Continuation High School is in the San Rafael High School District. It shares facilities with San Rafael High School, but is otherwise independent. Sue Gatlin is the head of the administration. There are about 50 students in grades 10 to 12. The average class size is 17. Madrone Continuation High School provides alternative secondary instruction, emphasizing individual attention for students with special needs. Students are on a pass/fail system of grading, and each student has an assigned school counselor. Students in the San Rafael High School District can enter Madrone with a recommendation from the District Referral Committee.
  • 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.

Notable Citizens

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. From South to North these are

  • the Canal Area, which is southeast of Downtown, is notable for its mix of high-density apartments and upscale single-family homes. Illegal immigrants and wealthy professionals live in virtual harmony, except when Canal Area crime sprees erupt. Such instances include the rash of assaults on illegal immigrants by East Bay gang members during May 2006, or when the illegal immigrant Jorge Alberto Ek-Luna raped and kidnapped a teenage girl from San Rafael High School during broad daylight when he threatened to slash her throat with a broken bottle if she didn't go with him to a hotel in the Canal.
  • Gerstle Park, just south of Downtown
  • Downtown
  • Dominican, the neighborhood surrounding Dominican University of California
  • West End and the Miracle Mile, located west of Downtown
  • Point San Pedro, northeast of the Canal Area; this area is divided further by locals into Country Club, Loch Lomond, Glenwood, and Peacock Gap
  • Santa Venetia, east of the Civic Center.
  • Terra Linda, north of Downtown, over a range of hills
  • Marinwood, north of Terra Linda

Bibliography

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

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