Larkspur Landing

Larkspur Landing
MV Del Norte at Larkspur Landing in November 2018
General information
Location	101 East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Larkspur, California
Coordinates	37.945°N 122.509°W / 37.945; -122.509
Owned by	Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
Operated by	Golden Gate Ferry
Connections	Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (at Larkspur station) Marin Transit: 17, 29, 228
Construction
Parking	Yes
Architect	Jacques de Brer
History
Opened	December 11, 1976 (1976-12-11)
Location

Larkspur Landing, also known as Larkspur Ferry Terminal, is the main Golden Gate Ferry terminal in Larkspur, California, in Marin County, north of San Francisco. The terminal is a regional hub receiving heavy service from throughout the North Bay for commuter ferries south to downtown San Francisco.^[1]

History

Larkspur Landing at dusk on a Sunday

Nearby Larkspur station in December 2019

Among various San Francisco Bay Area properties owned by San Francisco-born civil engineer Alfred Finnila in the 1970s was the area known as Larkspur Landing in Marin County. In the mid-1970s, Finnila sold, leased and rented parts of Larkspur Landing to the City of Larkspur and to various businesses, including the restaurant chain of Victoria Station.^[2][3]

The part of the area sold to the City of Larkspur by Alfred Finnila, to be used as a major Marin County ferry terminal, is today known both as Larkspur Landing and as Larkspur Ferry Terminal. It is the main Golden Gate Ferry terminal in Larkspur, Marin County. The ferry service operates daily with a Marin - San Francisco schedule tailored to both commuters and visitors.

Constructed in the mid-1970s, Larkspur Ferry Terminal rose from the ashes of the long demolished Hutchinson's Rock Quarry. The Ferry Terminal was built with an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m²) open air space frame, or tetrahedral-octahedral tesselation, a canopy designed by architect Jacques de Brer.^[1][4][5][6] The Ferry Terminal opened on December 11, 1976, and regular commute service started two days later. The ex-quarry-property also spawned the Larkspur Landing Shopping Center (now Marin Country Mart), with adjacent apartments and office space.^[1]

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit terminates at Larkspur station,^[7] located near the ferry terminal. It serves as an intermodal station, where passengers can transfer to San Francisco-bound ferries^[7] after a 1⁄3 mile (0.5 km) walk.^[8] The station opened for service on December 14, 2019.^[9]

In popular culture

Director Don Siegel filmed the final scenes of the 1971 movie Dirty Harry in the vicinity of Larkspur Landing and at the adjacent East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. After hijacking a school bus, the character of "Scorpio" - played by Andy Robinson - drives into East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard at the Greenbrae interchange, before crashing into the site of the Hutchinson Company quarry.^[1][10][11]

References

1. "Ferry History". Golden Gate Ferry. 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
2. Prime Rib and Boxcars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? History of the chain (ISBN 0972796622).
3. Victoria Station is still working on its restructuring. March 19, 1986 - Los Angeles Times.
4. Rubinstein, Steve (14 September 2006). "Jacques de Brer -- Larkspur terminal architect". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
5. Michelson, Alan. "ArchitectDB - Architects". Retrieved 2012-11-13.
6. "Tnemec Project: Larkspur Ferry Terminal". Retrieved 2012-11-13.
7. "North bay voters back commuter rail — finally". San Francisco Business Times. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
8. Prado, Mark (10 December 2016). "SMART Larkspur extension moves forward amid some discontent". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
9. Houston, Will (4 December 2019). "SMART train service to Larkspur begins Dec. 14". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
10. "FINALE – Hutchinson Co. Quarry, Larkspur Landing, CA « Dirty Harry Filming Locations". Retrieved 2012-11-15.
11. Poskanzer, Jef. "20sep2002 Dirty Harry / mvc-3540". Retrieved 2012-11-15.

External links

• Prime Rib and Boxcars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? History of the chain (ISBN 0972796622).
• Victoria Station is still working on its restructuring. March 19, 1986 - Los Angeles Times (re: Victoria Station at Larkspur Landing in California).
• FINALE – Hutchinson Co. Quarry, Larkspur Landing, CA « Dirty Harry Filming Locations.
• 20sep2002 Dirty Harry - filming locations. Acme.com - access date 2012-11-15.