Marina District | |
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Neighborhood of San Francisco | |
The Palace of Fine Arts, a replica of the one built for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, is a landmark of the Marina District.
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Nickname(s): The Marina | |
Location within Central San Francisco | |
Coordinates: 37°48′11″N 122°26′10″W / 37.803°N 122.436°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
City-county | San Francisco |
Government | |
• Board of Supervisors | Mark Farrell |
• State Assembly | Tom Ammiano (D) |
• State Senate | Mark Leno (D) |
• U.S. House | Nancy Pelosi (D) |
Area | |
• Total | 2.02 km2 (0.778 sq mi) |
• Land | 2.02 km2 (0.778 sq mi) |
Population (2008) | |
• Total | 12,071 |
• Density | 5,989/km2 (15,511/sq mi) |
ZIP Code | 94123 |
Area codes | 415/628 |
The Marina District is a neighborhood located in San Francisco, California. The neighborhood sits on the site of the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to celebrate the reemergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of Fine Arts (POFA), all other buildings were demolished to make the current neighborhood.
The area is bounded to the east by Van Ness Avenue and Fort Mason; on the west by Lyon Street and the Presidio National Park; on the south by Cow Hollow and Lombard St, which bisects the southern edge of the Marina District. The northern half of the Marina is a shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, and features the Marina Green, a picturesque park adjacent to the municipal boat marina from which the neighborhood takes its name.
Much of the Marina is built on former landfill, and is susceptible to soil liquefaction during strong earthquakes. This phenomenon caused extensive damage to the entire neighborhood during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
The area in the 19th century prior to the 1906 earthquake consisted of bay shallows, tidal pools, sand dunes, and marshland similar to nearby Crissy Field. Human habitation and development came in the mid to late 19th century in the form of a sandwall and of a road from the nearby Presidio to Fort Mason. Most of the sand dunes were leveled out and a hodgepodge of wharves and industrial plants was built extending from what is now Laguna Street to Steiner Street. However, all of this was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.