San Marcello, California is the fictional setting of the web series Tomorrow Waits For No One.  It is a suburb on the San Francisco Peninsula in fictional Santa Lorena County.  San Marcello encompasses the actual cities of Menlo Park, Atherton, and Woodside.

Located between Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, at the south end of San Francisco Bay, Santa Lorena County extends southwest to the Pacific Ocean, bordering Santa Cruz County.  San Marcello encompasses the northern edge of Silicon Valley.

At a Glance

Country: United States
State: California
County: Santa Lorena
Incorporated: June 16, 1900
Named for: Marcelo Estrada
Government
 - Type: Incorporated Town
 - Mayor-Council, Executive (Strong Mayor)
Area
 - Total: 34.13 sq mi
 - Land: 29.8 sq mi
 - Water: 4.33 sq mi
 - Urban: 20.3 sq mi
 - Rural: 9.5 sq mi
Elevation: 59 ft
Population (2000)
 - Total: 65,310
 - Density: 2,366.3/sq mi
Time zone: PST (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST): PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code: 94029
Area code: 650
Demonym: San Marcellan

History

San Marcello (pronounced by locals as "san mar-sell-o") is in Santa Lorena County, California, on what was once El Rancho Prado de las Ovejas (translated as "sheep meadow ranch").  In 1844, The Mexican government granted the Rancho, in what was to become Santa Lorena County, to Marcelo Estrada.

In 1850, Emerson Sterling Benton purchased a portion of Rancho Prado de las Ovejas from Estrada, planted grains (wheat, rye, and barley), and built the Bay Vista Ranch.  The Benton clan had come to California from the Midwest via wagon train in 1846.

Emerson was an honorable man but his sons, Palmer, Hollis, and Mason, were greedy and spoiled.  Against Emerson's wishes, the railroad was granted right of way in 1861 by the shady legal maneuverings of his sons.  Grain production became uneconomical by the late-1860's so Bay Vista began planting orchard fruits.  The sons partnered to begin a cannery in 1870.

Emerson died in 1880.  In a final act of punishment, he left the bulk of his fortune to a board of trustees established to build the world's largest astronomical observatory atop Mt. Angustia.  Sterling Observatory (named after his grandfather) was completed 15 years later.  It is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places as an outstanding example of Art Nouveau architecture.

The remainder of Emerson's estate went to his wife Claire and his daughters Celeste and Constance but Palmer, Hollis, and Mason swindled ownership of Bay Vista Ranch away from their sisters after their mother died in 1887.

The Martinez family was employed as tenant farmers at Bay Vista Ranch.  When Emerson Benton's sons took over Bay Vista Ranch, they treated the Martinez's poorly.  As San Marcello became industrialized, the Benton-Martinez feud continued as a ruling class vs. working class dispute that, to some extent, exists today.

The Bailey, Riley, and McDonough families came to the US in the mid-19th Century to escape Ireland's potato famine.  The families settled in a variety of East Coast and Midwest regions, separately making their way to the Bay Area by the late-19th Century.  Many found work in San Marcello's burgeoning fruit packing industry.

The Town of San Marcello was incorporated in 1900 by real estate developer Donovan E. Riley.  A US Post Office was established that year but the name Benton was already in use as the name of another California town so Riley proposed the name San Marcello, in honor of the first Mexican landowner, though the name was misspelled.

Other early-20th Century San Marcello residents included the Wilhelm and Jensen families, industrialists who launched the Wilhelm Textile Mill (which relocated to San Marcello after the original location in San Francisco was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire) and the Jensen Fruit Packing cannery (now Jensen Fine Fruits).

Jurgen Wilhelm and Lillian Jensen Wilhelm were married in 1924.  She was a school teacher at Emerson High.  During World War II she coached the boys basketball team to two consecutive winning seasons.  A descendant of Claus Jensen, who started Jensen Fruit Packing and built Valley View (which would become the Wilhelm Estate) on Jensen Hill, Mrs. Wilhelm was thought to be a witch by local schoolchildren for decades.  She died in 1997 at age 90.

Carter De Vries and a business partner started Foretell Technologies, a small electronics firm, in the late 1960s.  Carter was the business and marketing man, his partner was the programming genius.  As the personal computer market exploded in the late-1970s, they found their business growing by leaps and bounds.  In time, Carter bought out his partner, and the company became a subsidiary of DeVries International (DVI).

Geography

San Marcello sits at the edge of San Francisco Bay, and stretches southwest into the foothills of Mt. Angustia on the Santa Cruz Mountain Range.  Redwood City abuts San Marcello to the north-west, Menlo Park and the Bay to the northeast, Palo Alto to the southeast, Marcelo Estrada State Park to the southwest.

Bailey Ridge runs southwest-northeast along the eastern portion of Santa Lorena County, separating the Santa Lorena Valley from the Santa Clara Valley.  Martinez Point lies at the edge of the Bay where Bailey Ridge terminates.  It was named to honor the death of an early resident who died there.

Marcelo Estrada State Park is located at Cougar Peak, the summit of Mt. Angustia.  Emerson River flows north from Cougar Lake, through Downtown San Marcello, into the Bay at Remo's Landing.  The river is named after the town's white founder Emerson Sterling Benton.

Demographics

With the exception of San Marcello and Mikesboro (on the coast), Santa Lorena County is mostly rural with a handful of unincorporated communities.  Santa Lorena County's current population is approximately 199,240 and its county seat is San Marcello.

As of the 2000 census, San Marcello's current population is approximately 65,310.  The racial makeup of the town is 49.27 White, 19.27 Asian, 17.22 African American, 7.21 other races, 4.25 two or more races, 2.32 Pacific Islander, 0.46 Native American.  24.48 of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latino of any race.

According to a 2008 estimate, the median income for a household in San Marcello was $77,820, and the median income for a family was $93,550.

About 4.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were living below the poverty line.

San Marcello’s ZIP Code is 94029.

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods include low-income Riverview, working-class McDonough Park, middle-class Orchard Grove, upper-middle-class Bayview, Bailey Ridge, and University Heights, and exclusive Jensen Hill, on the southern outskirts of town.

San Marcello streets generally run north-south and avenues run east-west.  Three of the main boulevards Downtown are Hollis, Mason, and Palmer, named after Emerson Benton's sons: Mason St. and Palmer St. (Rt. 7) run parallel, on either bank of the Emerson River and Hollis Ave. runs perpendicular, crossing the river via the Hollis Ave. Bridge.

Many streets in town are named after early female Benton family residents, including Emerson's daughters Celeste (Celeste St.) and Constance (Constance St.) and wife Claire (Claire Ave., running east-west between Celeste and Constance Streets).

Many local place names are from early residents, including the following families: Bailey (i.e. Bailey Ridge), Jensen (i.e. Jensen Hill), Martinez (i.e. Martinez Point), McDonough (i.e. McDonough Park), Riley (i.e. the Riley Bldg.), and Wilhelm (i.e. Wilhelm Field)

Transportation

El Camino Real (SR 82) and the Bayshore Freeway (US 101) run northwest-southeast through town.  The Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280) runs northwest-southeast just south of town.

Caltrain, formerly the Southern Pacific Railway , runs northwest-southeast (to San Francisco, in the north and San Jose, in the south) through Downtown San Marcello, stopping at the San Marcello Station.

San Marcello has a light rail system, called the MARC, Metropolitan Arterial Rapid Commute.

San Marcello Municipal Airport, AKA Wilhelm Field, named after an early 20th Century flight enthusiast, sits at the northern edge of town, along the Bay.

Remo's Landing is the name of the town's marina.  It once served as a port, though the bay was never dredged to create a deep water channel to allow major shipping activity.  Just north, the Port of Redwood City serves that purpose.  Ferry service to the East Bay, (Irvington, now part of Fremont, Hayward, and San Leandro) and San Mateo (on the Peninsula) began in 1920.  Demand for ferry service declined after the Dumbarton Bridge was built in 1927 but continued until the mid-'30s until the company providing service went bankrupt.  Service to Fremont, Hayward, and San Leandro was resurrected in 2009.

Landmarks

Bay Vista Ranch is the Benton Family mansion, located in the Jensen Hill neighborhood.

The Wilhelm Estate, thought to be haunted, sits atop Jensen Hill.

Located Downtown is the Santa Lorena/San Marcello Civic Center, housing:

• San Marcello Public Safety Dept. (police and fire/rescue)
• San Marcello/Santa Lorena Town/County Jail
• Santa Lorena County Courthouse
• San Marcello Town Hall
• Santa Lorena County Building

• District Attorney's office
• Sheriff's office
• County Commission
• Public Health Dept.
• County Records
• Registrar of Voters
• Planning Dept.
• Santa Lorena Union High School Dist. offices

• The main branch of the Santa Lorena Regional Library system

The high-rise Valley Towers Hotel is located Downtown, overlooking Emerson River.

DVI World Headquarters was built Downtown in 1992 across the street from rival Benton Industries.

The UK firm Kingsley Oil has an office in Downtown San Marcello and oil fields outside of McKittrick, in the Central Valley.

Business and Industry

Formerly a thriving fruit growing and packing region, San Marcello is now home to many of the electronics and software industries' leading companies.  However, several orchards and vineyards still operate today.

Local restaurants include:

• Lotus Blossom, a sushi restaurant owned by the Nguyen family
• Civic Center Grill, a downtown greasy spoon diner
• Benedetto's, an upscale Italian restaurant
• Spacely's Drive-In, a retro burger joint
• The Crooked Twig, a tea bazaar

The Plaza Shopping Center is located alongside Emerson River, in the Uptown Arts District. The local department store chain is Hart's.

The local grocery chain is Carabello's with two San Marcello locations (Orchard Grove and McDonough Park).

The Wilhelm Gallery maintains a private art collection in the Uptown Arts District.

Lujoso is the luxury spa and health club at the Bayview Country Club.

San Marcello is home to Wilhelm Textiles and Jensen Fine Fruits.

Willow Brook Psychiatric Hospital is located on the outskirts of town.

Education

Local students attend Emerson High School, part of the Santa Lorena Unified High School District.

The University of San Marcello, a private four-year institution, is located in town and is the location of the teaching hospital.  The University's athletic stadium is known as the Epicenter and their football team is called the "Terrifying" Temblors.

USM, was founded in 1926 by Emerson Benton's daughters Constance and Celeste.  They mandated that it be a coed school and that "no one shall be denied admission because of race, creed, color, or national origin."

The campus is almost evenly divided by the Emerson River, which flows diagonally through the center of the property.  Several footpaths cross the River throughout the grounds.

Media

The local newspaper is the San Marcello Bulletin.

The local radio station is KSMO, 88.5 FM.  The Paige Turner Show is a one-hour call-in show.

The local TV station is KSLV, Channel 6.

Community Institutions

Orchard Grove Community Church is a Unitarian Universalist church run by Pastor Ruthledge.

The First Presbyterian Church of San Marcello is a conservative church in Bayview.

Riverview Community Center serves the recreational needs of the low-income residents of the Riverview neighborhood.  Social service agencies and food programs also use the center to provide needed services.

Riverview Clinic, located across the street from the community center and run by Dr. Antonio Martinez, serves impoverished patients' medical needs.

Sycamore Delta State Correctional Facility is a prison near Stockton

Architecture

Bay Vista Ranch, the original home of Emerson Benton, was built in 1851 in the area that became the Orchard Grove neighborhood.  It was an example of the Monterey Colonial style that was prevalent in California during the period.  The property is now the site of the municipal Bay Vista Park.

In 1888, construction began on the new Bay Vista Ranch Estate, an Italianate mansion on Jensen Hill, just south of town.  Expanded throughout the years, it is one of the largest homes in Santa Lorena County.

Claus Jensen, a Norwegian immigrant, built Santa Lorena County's first cannery in 1869.  He had Valley View, a Second Empire-style mansion built on Jensen Hill in 1886.  In 1925, a devastating fire destroyed the home.  Jensen's son-in-law Jurgen Wilhelm built the Wilhelm Estate on the site that same year.  It is considered a Neo-Gothic masterpiece.

Many fine examples of Victorian, Queen Anne, Edwardian, Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, Mediterranean Revival, Mission Revival, Art Nouveau, Beaux Arts, Prairie, and Art Deco homes may be found in Jensen Hill.

The original one-block stretch of Downtown began as a sleepy pioneer village along El Camino Real, the highway that connected Alta California's Missions, Presidios, and Pueblos.  When the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (which became Southern Pacific and is now Caltrain) was granted access to the Benton Estate in 1861, Downtown expanded eastward.

Originally, buildings in the commercial district were typical of the frontier era but gave way to mostly Art Deco-style development during the Roaring '20s.  Examples of Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, Post-Modern, High-Tech, and Memphis exist in the district today.  The San Marcello Caltrain Station serves as a shining example of the Streamline Moderne style.

The low-income Riverview district dates back to the earliest days of San Marcello.  As agriculture became the dominant industry in the region, farm workers and cannery employees built modest homes along the river, just north of Downtown.  Many homes, of mostly Queen Anne, Craftsman, and Edwardian architecture, still exist.

But in the 1960s, as part of the urban renewal movement, many of the buildings deemed not up to code were demolished.  In their place, low-rent apartment buildings and complexes were built.  Most of these buildings exemplify the Mid-Century Modern and International architectural styles.  Riverview remains the neighborhood in which the town's poorest residents live.  The crime rate in the district is the highest in the county.

As San Marcello grew during the 1890s and early 1900s, several fruit orchards sprung up around the original Bay Vista Ranch in what has since become McDonough Park, Orchard Grove, University Heights, and the University of San Marcello.  Some of these farms thrive even today.

With the economic boom of the 1920s, San Marcello experienced a growth spurt.  McDonough Park, just north of Downtown, developed as a working-class neighborhood on the site of former orchards.  Many of the Craftsman and Prairie buildings erected in the '20s and '30s remain today.

Likewise, Bayview, an upper-middle-class district in the foothills just south of Orchard Grove, developed in this period.  The neighborhood boasts a bevy of well-kept Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Mission Revival, Edwardian, Bauhaus, and Art Deco homes.

To the west of Downtown lies the Uptown Arts District, which developed during the Jazz Age of the 1920s.  Uptown is the entertainment center of San Marcello, playing host to several bars, nightclubs, galleries, boutiques, cafes, and restaurants.  The Plaza Shopping Center sits alongside Emerson River at the east end of Uptown.  Most of the buildings in the district date back to the mid-'20s through late '40s and exemplify the Art Deco, Bauhaus, and Streamline Moderne architectural style.

The Plaza Shopping Center sits alongside Emerson River at the east end of Uptown.  Originally constructed in 1959, the open-air mall was renovated in the early 1980s in the Memphis style, a la the climate-controlled Beverly Center in West Hollywood.  The Plaza is scheduled for a makeover to begin in 2010 in a Post-Modern, retro Streamline Modern style.  The section of Celeste and Claire streets that were blocked off in the '80s will be restored as the property is transformed into a traditional cityscape.  The new development will feature many sustainable elements, including:

• solar-thermal hot water heating
• rainwater collection system/cistern for onsite watering of plants
• permeable paving in courtyard areas
• native, drought-resistant landscaping

Just south of the University of San Marcello lies University Heights, a higher-density upper-middle-class neighborhood.  Many of the buildings represent Mediterranean Revival, Mission Revival, and Spanish Colonial architectural styles.

In the 1950s and '60s, many of the orchards surrounding the original Bay Vista site were subdivided into housing developments as the Orchard Grove neighborhood came into being.  Mid-Century Modern bungalows and ranch-style homes are prevalent in the area.  The original Bay Vista home became the San Marcello Historical Museum in 1965.

Another upper-middle-class neighborhood lies atop Bailey Ridge, for which it is named.  Bailey Ridge is on the east side of town, in the foothills overlooking Orchard Grove.  Originally dotted with a handful of ranches, the piedmont now sports several housing developments, most of which were built in the 1970s and '80s.  Most architecture is of the Post-Modern and Memphis style.

The Warehouse District, north of McDonough Park, is gradually gentrifying.  Once a shipping hub for Peninsula and South Bay industry, most warehouses lie empty today.  Located at the edge of Remo's Landing, San Marcello's port, it connected to the Southern Pacific Railroad by way of a spur that runs along the edge of Bailey Ridge toward Martinez Point.  It also provided trucking and rail access to the East Bay via the Dumbarton Bridges (the rail bridge has been out of commission since 1982).  The district is located along what is now the Bayshore Freeway, allowing it to support trucking to and from San Jose and San Francisco.

Since the late-1980s, many warehouses have been transformed into loft apartments and artist studios.  Several of the buildings are of masonry construction, dating back to the early 1900s.  Due to seismic activity in the area, those structures that have not been retrofitted to post-1989 Loma Prieta building codes have been abandoned or demolished.