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Marina del Rey is a seaside unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California. Its population in July 2007 was 8,340.[1] Its Fisherman's Village offers a view of Marina del Rey's dominant feature as one of the largest man-made small boat harbors in the U.S., with 19 marinas with capacity for 5,300 boats. The harbor, the Los Angeles Times said in 1997, is "perhaps the county's most valuable resource."[2]
Geography
Marina del Rey is southeast of Venice and north of Playa del Rey near the mouth of the Ballona Creek. It is located four miles (6 km) north of Los Angeles International Airport.
It is bounded on all sides by the City of Los Angeles. The beach-style homes, the strip of land against the beach, and the beach itself (see photo), west of the harbor, are within the City of Los Angeles limits, with a Marina del Rey address. The name of this strip is the Marina Peninsula. Via Dolce and the southern portion of Via Marina are the boundaries between L.A. City and the unincorporated area.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Marina del Rey has an area of 1.5 mi² (3.8 km²). Nine-tenths of a square mile (2.3 km²) is land and 0.6 square mile (1.5 km²) is water (40.14%).
The marina itself, a specially designed harbor with moorings for pleasure craft and small boats, is surrounded by high-rise condos, hotels, apartments, shops, and restaurants. The area also includes the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which regulates the Internet's address and domain name systems.
The community is served by the three-mile (5 km)-long Marina Freeway (State Route 90), which links Marina del Rey directly to Interstate 405 and nearby Culver City.
Marina del Rey is in area codes 310 and 424. Its ZIP code is 90292.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1980 |
8,065 |
|
? |
| 1990 |
7,431 |
|
−7.9% |
| 2000 |
8,176 |
|
10.0% |
| source: [3][4] |
Duck hunting on the Ballona lowlands in what would become Marina del Rey, 1890.
In July 2007 the population was 8,340. The population in July 2007 was composed of 4,345 males and 3,995 females. The median age was 39.2 years. The 2008 median household income for the CDP was $90,041. The estimated per capita income was $78,260. The estimated house value in 2008 for the CDP was $487,556.
The population was spread out as 6,443 (78.8%) White, 664 (8.1%) Asian, 437 (5.3%) Hispanic, 377 (4.6%) African American, and 13 (0.2%) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. 204 (2.5%) were of two or more races. The population density was 9,476.0 per square mile.
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 8,176 people, 5,315 households, and 1,520 families residing in the Census Designated Place (CDP). The population density was 3,587.2/km² (9,289.5/mi²). There were 6,321 housing units at an average density of 7,181.8/mi² (2,773.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.46% White, 4.68% African American, 0.16% Native American, 8.21% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.34% of the population.
There were 5,315 households out of which 6.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.7% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 71.4% were non-families. 57.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.54 and the average family size was 2.31.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 6.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 50.4% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $68,447, and the median income for a family was $84,390. Males had a median income of $66,928 versus $51,854 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $58,530. About 6.5% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest
- Fisherman's Village
- Burton W. Chace Park--the Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series is held here on Thursdays and Saturdays from June to August.
- California Yacht Club
- UCLA Marina Aquatic Center
- Ballona Wetlands
- Marina del Rey Library
- Villa Marina Marketplace, on the eastern side of town
Governance
Marina del Rey is governed and serviced by the County of Los Angeles and rests under the management of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. All of the area's lands and waters are owned by the County of Los Angeles and are leased to private leaseholders on long-term agreements.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Marina del Rey Station in Marina del Rey.[7]
Residents are represented by their local elected Supervisor to the Fourth District of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, represented by Don Knabe. In the State legislature Marina del Rey is located in the 28th Senate District, represented by Democrat Jenny Oropeza, and, in the 53rd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Ted Lieu. Federally, Marina del Rey is located in California's 36th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +11[8] and is represented by Democrat Jane Harman.
Economy
Businesses in the area are represented by the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce and the Venice Chamber of Commerce.[citation needed] ICANN has its headquarters in Marina del Rey.[9]
History
Prior to its development as a small craft harbor, the land occupied by Marina del Rey was a salt-marsh fed by freshwater from the Ballona Creek, frequented by duck hunters and few others. Burton W. Chase, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, referred to the area as mud flats, though today the area would more properly be referred to as wetlands.
In the mid-1800s, M.C. Wicks thought of turning this Playa del Rey estuary into a commercial port. He formed the Ballona Development Company in 1888 to develop the area, but three years later the company went bankrupt.
In 1916, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revisited the idea of a commercial harbor, but declared it economically impractical. In 1936 the U.S. Congress ordered a re-evaluation of that determination and the Army Corps of Engineers returned with a more favorable determination, however the Marina del Rey harbor concept lost out to San Pedro as a commercial harbor and development funding went to the Port of Los Angeles instead.
In 1953, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized a $2-million loan to fund construction of the marina. Since the loan only covered about half the cost, the U.S. Congress passed and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 780 making construction possible. Ground breaking began shortly after.
With construction almost complete, the marina was put in danger in 1962-1963 due to a winter storm. The storm caused millions of dollars in damage to both the marina and the few small boats anchored there. A plan was put into effect to build a break-water at the mouth of the marina, and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors appropriated $2.1 million to build it. On April 10, 1965 Marina del Rey was formally dedicated. The total cost of the marina was $36.25 million for land, construction, initial operation.
Companies
Transportation
The Marina Expressway, California state route 90, terminates in northeastern Marina del Rey and links the CDP with Culver City. A water shuttle service, WaterBus, is operated between several points throughout the harbor and offers service for $1 per person.
Street layout
Traveling on SR-90, approaching the end of the Marina Expy., this is how the street layout appears:
The Marina Expy. terminates and flows into SR-1, marked additionally as Lincoln Bl. Traveling north on SR-1/Lincoln Bl., the first junction reached is that of Maxella Avenue, a major east-west thoroughfare. Traveling south on SR-1/Lincoln Bl., the first junction reached off the Expressway is that of Bali Way, which connects to Admiralty Way, which encircles the Northern Marina as a whole. Admiralty Way terminates at Via Marina on its western end. Most major businesses and buildings in the Marina are situated along Admiralty Way, which is, in some ways, the Marina's Main Street.
As part of the man made design of the boat harbor, there were seven basins built and there are 7 respective jetouts from those basins, each of which has at least one street. From the northeastern end of the Marina, going clockwise, these streets are: Bali Way, Mindinao Way (terminates at Burton Chace Park), Bora Bora Way, Tahiti Way, Marquesas Way, Panay Way, and Palawan Way. Panay Way, Marquesas Way, Tahiti Way, and Bora Bora Way are all on the western side of the Marina and all terminate at Via Marina. Palawan Way is also on the west side, but it terminates at Washington Bl.
As for Washington, this major thoroughfare is present in the northwestern Marina, and then heads into Venice, where it intersects with SR-1/Lincoln Bl.. Washington Blvd. marks the northern terminus of Palawan Way and Via Marina.
Government and infrastructure
Fire protection in Marina del Rey is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The LACFD operates Station #110 at 4433 Admiralty Way as a part of Battalion 1.[10] Public safety services within Marina del Rey are provided by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Marina del Rey.[11]
Education
There are no schools located within Marina del Rey; the community is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The area is within Board District 4.[12] As of 2009 Steve Zimmer represents the district.[13] Its students are within the attendance areas of Coeur d'Alene Avenue Elementary School, Marina del Rey Middle School, and Venice High School.
Public libraries
County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Lloyd Taber-Marina del Rey Library. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors opened the library, then known as the Marina del Rey Library, in 1976 to serve clientele of the marina. In 1999 the Marina Foundation, the County of Los Angeles Public Library, and the County Board of Supervisors had the Greg and Mimi Wenger Community Room added to the library. The library was renamed after Lloyd Taber, the main donor to the project. The library has a nautical collection to serve small boaters in the area.[14]
Parks and recreation
The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors operates parks. The Burton W. Chase Park has barbecues, harbor viewing areas, multi-purpose rooms, pergolas, guest docks, picnic shelters, and picnic tables.[15] The Yvonne B. Burke Park, originally the Admiralty Park, received its current name in April 2009.[16]
See also
References
External links
