Berkeley Marina

Berkeley Marina
Neighborhood of Berkeley
The Berkeley Marina during sunset
Berkeley Marina Location within Berkeley and the East Bay
Coordinates: 37°52′04″N 122°18′45″W / 37.86767°N 122.3125°W / 37.86767; -122.3125
Country	United States
State	California
County	Alameda
City	Berkeley

The Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80 and 580) at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay. Narrowly speaking, "Berkeley Marina" refers only to the city marina, but in common usage, it applies more generally to the surrounding area.

There are several restaurants, a hotel and a yacht club in the Berkeley Marina. There are also several walking and bicycle paths. The area is accessible from the rest of Berkeley by foot or bike over the Berkeley I-80 Bridge at the foot of Addison Street (one block south of University Avenue), and is traversed near Interstate 80 by a segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail. In addition, it is the western terminus of AC Transit Route 51B (University Avenue-Rockridge BART) on select trips only.

The easternmost portion of the Marina, running parallel to I-80/580, is now a part of the Eastshore State Park.

The Berkeley Marina was originally part of the open waters of San Francisco Bay. The original shoreline ran a few yards west of the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) tracks on 3rd Street. The area was gradually filled in over the years.

In 1909 the City built a municipal wharf at the foot of University Avenue which was used primarily for freight. Starting in 1926 the Golden Gate Ferry Company began construction of the Berkeley Pier. It was built out from the foot of University Avenue about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) into the Bay (measured from the original shoreline). On June 16, 1927 auto ferry service began. between the Berkeley Pier and the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco, a pier shared with the Sausalito ferry. During this period U.S. Route 40 ran from San Pablo Avenue down University Avenue to the Berkeley Pier. The ferry service lasted until about 1937, after the 1936 opening of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. Thereafter it became a fishing pier. US 40 was shifted to the new Eastshore Highway and the Bay Bridge. Storms damaged the end of the pier over the years and it was closed. After World War II ended, it was repaired and re-opened in 1946 for fishing. In the 1970s, the city again repaired and upgraded the least damaged length of the Berkeley Pier, and it is still in use today for fishing and viewing.