Directions to Marina Park

Take 580 towards the San Rafael Bridge.

Take the Marina BAY Parkway South exit. Be careful not to confuse this exit with the nearby Marina Way exit.

Make a right on Regatta Dr and a left on Melville Square. You will see the large parking lot right away.

If you are late, park in the parking lot and walk to the green area closest to the water.

Description

Marina Bay Park is one or the larger Richmond’s waterfront parks. From it you can observe the 850 boats moored at the Marina Bay Yacht Club, large trees in the park’s green areas, and the Marina Bay development’s homes. There are shaded areas and bathrooms. Marina Bay is very clean and bustles with activity. You might want to integrate the many geese, ducks, joggers, cyclists and dog-walkers to be seen coming and going. Marina Bay’s advantage is that you can walk a little further east or west along the paved Bay Trail to find interesting views of these subjects. Disadvantages: it can get windy, and the best views are not shaded.

History

Richmond's first maritime facility was established in 1860 at the foot of what is now Harbor Way. Ellis Landing operated for more than 40 years until the beginning of the 20th century, with sailing scows carrying farm produce to the City (San Francisco) and ferrying passengers back and forth across the Bay, but only when the tide was high enough to navigate through the mud flats. In 1941, the management of Todd-California was given a contract by the Maritime Commission to construct a yard to be known as Richmond #2 on marshland at the current site of the Marina Bay development. Under the name "Richmond Shipbuilding Corporation", a subsidiary of Kaiser Permanente’s Metals Corporation, they nearly immediately began an “astonishing outpouring of transport ships.” Marina Bay is part of Richmond’s Inner Harbor. It was developed in the mid-1980s in an effort to clean up what had been up to that point the defunct World War II-era Kaiser Shipyards. Marina Bay is a 350-acre master-planned waterfront community comprising “2,100 residential units, 650,000 square feet of commercial space, several restaurants, a 1,500-berth pleasure boat marina, and a chain of lagoons, parks, and waterfront promenades.”

Marina Bay is part of a special tax district within Richmond, formed in 2009. The property taxes of Marina Bay residents do not go into the City’s general funds to pay for the upkeep of all parks within the city of Richmond. The property taxes of Marina Bay residents only pay for the upkeep of Marina Bay parks. This is why Marina Bay is so well maintained. Its residents call it “Richmond’s hidden gem” and are lampooned for saying they “live at Marina Bay,” instead of the City of Richmond.