Martian Civic Center and other San Rafael, CA Things to Do Tips

It's actually called the Marin Civic Center, but I've always thought that it more closely resembles a Martian city. George Lucas must have thought so, too, because it supposedly was his inspiration for the Planet Naboo in his Star Wars series. In the 1970s it was notorious as the site of a courtroom shootout and subsequent murder of a judge.

The Marin Civic Center is the last work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the only public building that he designed. It houses administrative offices, the main county library, and the Hall of Justice. I've read that Wright, who died before the Civic Center was completed, had intended for it to be painted in the colors of the surrounding landscape -- gold, brown, and green. Somehow it ended up being pink and blue, like a baby's nursery.

If you think that it looks like a Martian city from the outside, you should see it from the inside. It's designed in six concentric oblongs: L, C, and floors 1-4. Think of a racetrack that shrinks a little as you ascend to the next level. But the oblongs are not the same size and are not stacked exactly on top of each other, so the 4th floor is skewed 'way over to the right. It's a challenge to find your way around.

There are lozenge-shaped cutouts on each floor, so you can look over the wall and down to the other levels, and large trees grow up between the levels. The domed roof stretches over it all, with large skylights you can't see from the street. On the 4th floor, the air is tropical, and the halls are so narrow that only two people can walk abreast.

A hidden gem: the main County library contains oral histories from old-time Marin County residents, and it's amazing to read them.

There is a Frank Lloyd Wright gift shop in Room 233, and a cafe that is open to the public. There are tours of the Civic Center every Wednesday at 10:30 am. Cost is $5 per person, and tours take 1 to 1.5 hours. No reservations are necessary -- meet at the gift shop. Groups of 10 people or more should phone ahead for an appointment: 415-499-7009.

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Directions: Off Highway 101, north of Central San Rafael and south of Terra Linda. Take the North San Pedro Road exit from 101.

The Marin County Fair is held every year in San Rafael over the Fourth of July weekend, and it's fun for the whole family. There's an amusement park with all kinds of rides, many of them suitable for small children; photography, arts & crafts, and magic shows; animal exhibits and demonstrations, e.g. mule driving, cow milking, llamas, potbellied pigs.

There are concerts with well-known names -- the 2006 lineup included The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Rick Springfield, The Nelsons, Eddie Money, and Joan Jett. And of course, there are all kinds of food concessions stands. The fair always closes with fireworks over the lagoon.

It's a great deal, as the ticket for admission to the fair ($13 in 2006) also admits you to the concerts.

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Website: http://marinfair.org/

During the warm months, San Rafael hosts a weekly event that it calls a Farmers Market, but I have yet to see any fresh produce there.

It would be more accurately called a Street Fair, with live music and booths selling handicrafts, clothing, and snacks. There's a big inflatable jumping house for children, and it's fun just to walk around and people-watch.

Every Thursday evening beginning at 5:00 p.m. There are no dogs allowed at the fair.

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Address: Fourth Street

The city of San Rafael had its beginnings as a Spanish mission. In 1817 Spanish missionaries built a sanitarium for ailing Indians, an asistencia of San Francisco's Mission Dolores, and named it after the Archangel Raphael, the angel of healing. In 1822 it became an independent mission, Mission San Rafael Arcangel, but it was short-lived. When Mexico won its independence from Spain and decided to end the mission system in 1834, Mission San Rafael was the first to be secularized.

Today nothing remains of the original mission. The chapel (reconstructed in 1949 from what is now known to be a historically inaccurate drawing) is flanked by the large parish church, St. Raphael's, and the Catholic school of the same name, which dates from 1889.

Although the tiny chapel bears no resemblance to the original two-story adobe mission, it is serene and charming and worth visiting. You can sit in a pew and imagine the building filled with brown-robed Franciscan priests and Indian neophytes in the early 19th century.

The Mission gift shop next door sells postcards and religious items.

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Phone: 415-456-3016
Address: 1104 5th Avenue, at A Street

If you have time, take in a film at the Rafael Film Center, which has undergone an elegant remodel.

The Center -- which I remember as an old-fashioned art deco theater in its previous incarnation as the Rafael Theater -- now has three screens and specializes in independent, classic, and foreign films. It hosts the Latino Film Festival each year.

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Phone: 415-454-1222
Address: 1118 4th Street, near A St.
Directions: Down the hill and around the corner from the Mission

This annual weekend art festival, sponsored by the non-profit Youth in Arts, features huge chalk "paintings" that are done directly on the street, an art form imported from Italy. The festival showcases the work of talented Madonnari (street painters), and some of the art is amazing. It's hard to accept that none of it is permanent.

There is also live music, food, and wine. Usually held in early June. Proceeds benefit Youth in Arts programs.

For more photos of the festival, see my Italian Street Painting travelogue.

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Address: Downtown San Rafael
Directions: Fifth Avenue and A Street, in front of Mission San Rafael. Parking in the area is almost impossible during the festival, but if you park several blocks away, toward the freeway, you can find a spot on the street and walk in.
Website: http://www.youthinarts.org/pages/italian.htm