Belvedere, California

This article is about the city in Marin County, California. For the former community in Glenn County, California, see Belvedere, Glenn County, California. For the community east of Los Angeles, see East Los Angeles, California.

City of Belvedere
General law city
Belvedere around San Francisco Yacht Club
Location in Marin County and the state of California
City of Belvedere Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	California
County	Marin
Incorporated	December 24, 1896
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Body	City council • Bob McCaskill (mayor) • Claire McAuliffe • James Campbell • Sandra Donnell • Marty Winter
• County supervisor	District 3 Charles McGlashan
• State senator	Mike McGuire (D)
• Assemblymember	Marc Levine (D)
• U. S. rep.	Jared Huffman (D)
Area
• Total	2.406 sq mi (6.234 km2)
• Land	0.519 sq mi (1.345 km2)
• Water	1.887 sq mi (4.889 km2)  78.42%
Elevation	36 ft (11 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,068
• Density	860/sq mi (330/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	94920
Area codes	415/628
FIPS code	06-05164
GNIS feature IDs	1658031, 2409829
Website	www.cityofbelvedere.org

Belvedere is a small, affluent residential city in Marin County, California, United States, located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of Sausalito. Situated on two islands, it is immediately adjacent to the Tiburon Peninsula, accessible via a short bridge from the city of Tiburon. At the 2010 census, the population was 2,068 and the per-capita income in 2000 was $250,000, making it one of the highest income cities in California and the 8th highest income place in the United States (1st with a population over 1,000). Belvedere was once an island. Belvedere and Tiburon share a post office. Mail sent there can be addressed as "Belvedere Tiburon, CA".

Location

Belvedere

File:San Francisco Bay from the air in May 2010 04.jpg

Aerial view of Belvedere and the Tiburon Peninsula

Belvedere is located at , about 4 mi (6 km) north of San Francisco.

Situated on the Tiburon Peninsula at the southeastern base of Ring Mountain, between Richardson Bay and the Town of Tiburon, Belvedere consists of two "islands" and the lagoon (Belvedere Lagoon) between them. The larger of the two islands is Belvedere Island, and the smaller one is Corinthian Island, which is shared with Tiburon. The area of Ring Mountain is notable for its archaeological resources of extant Native American petroglyphs as well as considerable biodiversity of California native plants.

Belvedere Lagoon is owned and maintained by the Belvedere Lagoon Property Owners' Association. The lagoon is not accessible by boat from San Francisco Bay, and no public access is provided. Until somewhat late in the 20th century, houseboats were present in Belvedere Lagoon.

The city has a total area of 2.42 sq mi (6.3 km²), of which 0.54 sq mi (1.4 km²) is land and 1.89 sq mi (4.9 km²) (78%) is water.

History

The first settlers arrived in the late 19th century, then the railroad came and Tiburon was the last stop for passengers and cargo destined for San Francisco and beyond. Belvedere Lagoon was partially filled after World War II to provide building sites for tract houses and to improve access to Belvedere Island. It was also once the site of a 9-hole golf course.

Belvedere incorporated in 1896. The first post office opened in 1897.

The City Hall was formerly a Presbyterian Church. It was moved to its present location on San Rafael Avenue in 1949.

Actress Vivian Vance, who played Ethel on I Love Lucy, died in Belvedere in 1979 at the age of 70.

Built on a tradition of volunteerism and caring for the community, the Belvedere Community Foundation was founded in 1990 by a group of residents who avidly appreciated their good fortune in living in magnificent Belvedere. Giving back to the community and providing a catalyst to move it forward are goals of the Foundation’s grant program. As its endowment grows, the Foundation aspires to offer substantial assistance to projects which protect and enhance the quality of life in Belvedere.

Houses

Belvedere sits on the south side of the tip of Tiburon Peninsula, a small peninsula that extends into San Francisco Bay. Many Belvedere properties are renowned for their spectacular views of the Bay Area, Angel Island, San Francisco, Sausalito, the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Tamalpais. As a result, land values are extremely high. In 2000, 87.6% of the city's owner-occupied housing units cost more than $1,000,000, compared with 2.3% for California as a whole.

Many houses in Belvedere are in the Victorian style of architecture. Some Belvedere homes are listed on the National Register of Historic places like the Valentine Rey House designed by Willis Polk and built in 1893. Other notable architects include; Albert Farr who designed the Belevdere Land Company Building and cottages, Henry Gutterson, and Charles Callister. With a recent flood of attention and demand for housing in Belvedere, housing and building has become a contentious issue as older members of the community have increasingly become frustrated with the large construction projects being developed.

San Francisco Yacht Club House c 1894

No restaurants or stores are allowed in Belvedere, and the city enforces strict rules regarding house design and setbacks in order to preserve trees, views and the town's spacious, wooded character. The adjacent town of Tiburon, however, is home to a wide range of services, shops and eateries.

Originally a fishing-based community, Belvedere has grown into a sailing community where the San Francisco Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club are located. Belvedere Park is also located in Belvedere.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	434		—
1910	481		10.8%
1920	616		28.1%
1930	500		−18.8%
1940	457		−8.6%
1950	800		75.1%
1960	2,148		168.5%
1970	2,599		21.0%
1980	2,401		−7.6%
1990	2,147		−10.6%
2000	2,125		−1.0%
2010	2,068		−2.7%
Est. 2014	2,129		2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Belvedere had a population of 2,068. The population density was 859.2 people per square mile (331.7/km²). The racial makeup of Belvedere was 1,940 (93.8%) White, 3 (0.1%) African American, 58 (2.8%) Asian, 7 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 18 (0.9%) from other races, and 42 (2.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 72 persons (3.5%).

The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.

There were 928 households, out of which 228 (24.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 542 (58.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 54 (5.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 15 (1.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 27 (2.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 276 households (29.7%) were made up of individuals and 187 (20.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23. There were 611 families (65.8% of all households); the average family size was 2.76.

The population was spread out with 443 people (21.4%) under the age of 18, 45 people (2.2%) aged 18 to 24, 277 people (13.4%) aged 25 to 44, 650 people (31.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 653 people (31.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54.0 years. For every 100 females there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males.

There were 1,045 housing units at an average density of 434.2 per square mile (167.6/km²), of which 695 (74.9%) were owner-occupied, and 233 (25.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.5%. 1,614 people (78.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 454 people (22.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census, there were 2,125 people, 956 households and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,968.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,519.4/km²). There were 1,059 housing units at an average density of 1,977.9 per square mile (757.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 90.9% non-Hispanic White, 0.1% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 2.8% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 3.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 956 households of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.68.

Age distribution was 20.0% under the age of 18, 2.2% from 18 to 24, 14.9% from 25 to 44, 35.8% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.

The median household income was $130,796, and the median family income was $185,590. The per capita income for the city was $113,595. About 2.9% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Largely because of the high cost of housing, the median age of residents in 2000 (52.7 years) was much higher than that for California as a whole (33.3 years).

Politics

Belvedere is the most Republican city by far in heavily Democratic Marin County. According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2012, Belvedere has 1,520 registered voters. Of those, 582 (38.3%) are registered Democrats, 522 (34.3%) are registered Republicans, 359 (23.6%) have declined to state a political party, and 15 are registered with other parties.

Education

Public libraries

The Belvedere-Tiburon Library is located in nearby Tiburon.

See also

• List of people from Marin County, California

References

• C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Ring Mountain, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham [1]