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.

History

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.

Remnants of the original length of the Berkeley Pier

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, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific railroad 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.^[1] between the Berkeley Pier and the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco, a pier shared with the Sausalito ferry.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.

Since about the late 1920s the city municipal dump was located here, and the accumulated garbage and construction debris accounts for most of the dry land of the Berkeley Marina. In the early 1990s much of the former dump was landscaped and converted into a park, originally named "North Waterfront Park". The park was renamed Cesar Chavez Park in 1996 to commemorate the late California labor leader.^[4]

The actual Berkeley Marina, used by many people who sail on the Bay, was constructed as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in the late 1930s by the Works Progress Administration in conjunction with its nearby work developing Aquatic Park.

Berkeley heliport

From October 1961 until April 1974 a heliport was operated by San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines (known as SFO Helicopter Airlines) on the north side of University Avenue west of I-80 near the marina. This helicopter airline transported passengers to the San Francisco (SFO) and Oakland (OAK) international airports.^[5] and also at one point to downtown San Francisco.^[6] SFO Helicopter operated jet turbine powered Sikorsky S-61 and Sikorsky S-62 helicopters into the heliport which is no longer in existence.

See also

An AC Transit bus at its terminus of old route 9 at the Marina

• Berkeley Pier
• César Chávez Park
• OCSC Sailing

References

• Berkeley, California: the story of the evolution of a hamlet into a city of culture and commerce by William Warren Ferrier, Imprint Berkeley, Calif. (1933); pp. 375–6
• Berkeley: The Town and the Gown of It, by George Pettitt, Howell-North Books, Berkeley (1973)
• Berkeley: The First Seventy-Five Years, Federal Writers Project (1941), p. 140

External links

• City of Berkeley Marina

San Francisco Bay watershed
Outline	Hydrography Ecology List of tributaries List of lakes
Subdivisions	Major San Francisco Bay Suisun Bay San Pablo Bay Minor Golden Gate Grizzly Bay Richardson Bay San Rafael Bay Richmond Inner Harbor San Leandro Bay Former Yerba Buena Cove Mission Bay
Waterways	Rivers San Joaquin Sacramento Napa Guadalupe Petaluma Creeks (discharging into the Bay) Alameda Baxter Cerrito Codornices Coyote (Santa Clara) Coyote (Marin) San Leandro San Lorenzo Schoolhouse Temescal Sausal Redwood San Mateo Sonoma Corte Madera Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio San Rafael Miller Novato Tolay San Francisquito Pacheco Alhambra Adobe Rodeo Refugio Pinole Garrity Rheem Karlson San Pablo Castro Wildcat Fluvius Innominatus Marin (Alameda County) Strawberry Easton Mission Creek Reservoirs Calaveras Reservoir Straits and estuaries Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta Carquinez Strait Oakland Estuary Raccoon Strait
Parks and protected areas	Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge Eden Landing Ecological Reserve Hayward Regional Shoreline Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center Crown Memorial State Beach Eastshore State Park Emeryville Crescent State Marine Reserve Point Isabel Regional Shoreline César Chávez Park Brooks Island Regional Shoreline Point Pinole Regional Shoreline Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge Coyote Point Park Middle Harbor Shoreline Park National Estuarine Research Reserve China Camp State Park San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park SF Bay Trail Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline Big Break Regional Shoreline
Islands and peninsulas	Major islands Alameda Alcatraz Angel Treasure Island Yerba Buena Minor Brooks Bair Bay Farm Belvedere Brother Castro Rocks Coast Guard Mare Red Rock The Sisters Marin Islands Roe Ryer Seal Islands Peninsulas/infill Albany Bulb Point Isabel Foster City Fleming Point Hunters Point Steamboat Point Potrero Point
Wetlands	Chelsea Cordelia Crissy Field Hoffman Meeker Mowry Napa Sonoma Point Molate Seal Stege Suisun Westpoint
Bridges and tubes	Bridges San Francisco–Oakland Eastern span replacement Richmond–San Rafael San Mateo–Hayward Dumbarton Golden Gate Benicia–Martinez Antioch Carquinez Leimert Fruitvale Tubes Posey/Webster Street Transbay
Ports and marinas	Port of San Francisco Port of Oakland Port of Richmond San Francisco Naval Shipyard Mare Island Naval Shipyard Port of Redwood City Berkeley Marina Oyster Point Marina/Park Clipper Yacht Harbor Westpoint Harbor Foster City Marina (proposed)
Other	Discovery Site Humphrey the Whale Cosco Busan oil spill Delta and Dawn Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve California clapper rail Reber Plan San Leandro Oyster Beds Thicktail chub Delta smelt Richmond Shipyards U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bay Model Guadalupe Watershed Clifton Court Forebay Conservation and Development Commission The Watershed Project Save The Bay Harold Gilliam Marincello Citizens for East Shore Parks Friends of Five Creeks Urban Creeks Council Cargill salt infill Ferry service/SF Bay Ferry 1971 oil spill Greenbelt Alliance The Bay Institute San Francisco Baykeeper San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Water Trail Estuary Partnership Leslie Salt
Portal Category

Coordinates: 37°52′04″N 122°18′45″W / 37.86767°N 122.3125°W / 37.86767; -122.3125