San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 61,271, 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 Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

declared independence from Spain as part of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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.

Spanish period

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial province of ''

'' 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 December 14, 1817, four years before

gained independence from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The mission from which the downtown grew and the city being named after the Archangel

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, 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 San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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

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

San Rafael has been the seat of Marin County since April 25, 1851. 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

operated a San Pablo Bay degaussing range from San Rafael through

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (26.42%) is water.

is 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 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 An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

salt marsh harvest mouse. There are also riparian areas including the San Rafael Creek and Miller Creek corridors.

Climate

China Camp 247 N San Pedro Rd San Rafael CA 3-21-2010 4-39-54 PM

San Rafael has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''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 and a low of . December, the coldest month, has an average high of and an average low of . The highest temperature on record is , recorded in June 1961. The highest temperature in recent years, , occurred on July 23, 2006, and again on September 6, 2020. The record lowest temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 17.9 afternoons annually with a high of or more and 1.2 afternoons with a high of or more. Freezing temperatures ( or below) occur on an average of 3.6 mornings. Total annual precipitation averages , 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 and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with . The most rain in one month was in January 1995, and the heaviest 24-hour rainfall was on December 11, 1995. A trace of snow was recorded on January 30, 1976.

Demographics

San Rafael first appeared as a city in the 1870 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that San Rafael had a population of 61,271. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Rafael was 54.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.7% Native American, 6.6% Asian, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 20.8% from other races, and 12.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.3% of the population. The census reported that 97.1% of the population lived in households, 1.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized. There were 23,339 households, out of which 30.2% included children under the age of 18, 45.4% were married-couple households, 7.5% were cohabiting couple households, 28.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 30.3% of households were one person, and 15.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55. There were 14,209 families (60.9% of all households). The age distribution was 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% aged 18 to 24, 26.3% aged 25 to 44, 25.3% aged 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 41.3years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. There were 24,502 housing units at an average density of , of which 23,339 (95.3%) were occupied. Of these, 50.8% were owner-occupied, and 49.2% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $109,317, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $67,609. About 5.5% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States census 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 . The racial makeup of San Rafael was 40,734 (70.6%)

, 1,154 (2.0%)

, 709 (1.2%) Native American, 3,513 (6.1%) Asian, 126 (0.2%)

, 8,513 (14.8%) from other races, and 2,964 (5.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 , 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.

Economy

BioMarin,

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquarte ...

, In Defense of Animals, Westamerica Bank, and GIS Data Resources are among the companies headquartered in San Rafael. In May 2022, Autodesk announced its intention to move its headquarters to San Francisco, along with its 578 employees, and close the San Rafael office by October of that year.

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 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 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

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 ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' and also for ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

''. Some of the company's operations were moved to

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 Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

, 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 A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

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 ''Myst'' is a 1993 adventure video game developed by Cyan and published by Broderbund for Mac OS. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. The player interacts with objects and traverses the ...

'', 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 Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...

— Founded by George Lucas in (1984) as ''LucasFilm Games''; relocated to San Francisco in 2005. Best known for ''

'' and ''

'' games and innovative titles such as '' The Secret of Monkey Island'', '' Grim Fandango'' and '' Full Throttle''. *

Stormfront Studios Stormfront Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools, and technology. As of the end of 2007, ...

— Founded by San Rafael native Don Daglow in 1988. Best known for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', many

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

titles including '' NASCAR Racing'', '' Gold Box''

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

s and the first graphical MMORPG, '' Neverwinter Nights''. * Visual Concepts — Founded by Greg Thomas in 1988, the company was bought by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

in 1999, then sold to Take Two Interactive in 2004. Best known for creating many

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. * THX — the high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard which started as a spin-off from Lucasfilm Ltd., founded by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas's company. *

Factor 5 Factor 5 GmbH was a German-American Independent business, independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the st ...

— Founded in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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. * Telltale Games — Founded in 2004 by former

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. * Mind Control Software — Founded in 1994 by Andrew Leker, Best known for its Independent Games Festival–winning game, ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentAlbert 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 The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...

, 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. 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: * 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 The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, San Rafael is in . From 2008 to 2012, Huffman represented Marin County in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, 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 Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

. 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 Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in a bad light compared to

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. Notable private schools include Marin Academy, Saint Raphael School, and Brandeis Marin. The Marin School was a private nonsectarian school that closed in 2023.

Transportation

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

to the south. Interstate 580 heads across the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge to the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

. 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. Local bus service is provided primarily by Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit.

Commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

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 An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

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.

In popular culture

The term " 420", as used in reference to

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

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

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' (also stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is an American teen drama television series based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and with Selena Gomez ser ...

'' is based in San Rafael, and many scenes from the first season were filmed downtown.

Notable people

* Isabel Allende, author * Dave Archer, artist * Stacey Bailey, former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

* Elizabeth Charleston, painter * Philip K. Dick, novelist *

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

, keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer * William English, contributed to the development of the

computer mouse A computer mouse (plural mice; also mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of the Cursor (user interface)#Po ...

* Justine Frischmann, lead singer of

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave musi ...

and visual artist * Brad Gilbert, professional tennis player and coach * Jared Goff, quarterback for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

* Lauren Grandcolas, a 9/11 victim on United Flight 93 *

Marc Diraison Marc Diraison is an American voice actor, ADR director and script writer who has worked for Bang Zoom! Entertainment, NYAV Post, 4Kids Entertainment and DuArt Film and Video. He is best known as the English voice of Guts in ''Berserk'' an ...

, voice actor * Cynthia Harvey (born 1957), ballet dancer and educator * Llewellyn F. Haskell (1842–1929),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer and a Union

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

* James Hetfield, musician, lead singer of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

* Jared Huffman, U.S. representative and California assemblyman * Michael Johnson, sprinter, 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalist, resides in the hills above San Rafael * Rick Kranitz, former minor league pitcher for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and now the pitching coach for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

* Christian Mortensen (1882–1998),

supercentenarian A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...

, the one-time oldest living human male, aged 115 years and 252 days at his death * Gladys Kathleen Parkin, wireless radio operator * Charles Dormon Robinson, painter * Dana Sabraw, U.S. District Judge * Marin Sais, actress *

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, musician * Michael Savage, 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 * Lonate Pozzolo, province of Varese, Italy *

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, Scotland *

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

, Thailand

References

;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

*
San Rafael Chamber of CommerceMarin History Museum
{{Authority control 1874 establishments in California Cities in Marin County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area County seats in California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1874 Spanish mission settlements in North America Populated coastal places in California