San Rafael, CA – The historic Marin County Civic Center, designed by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, is a huge building of more than 470,000 square feet. Every day, new visitors are curious about the Civic Center’s origins more than 50 years ago. Often they need a little help getting around – whether they are architecture-loving travelers marveling at the building for the first time or a local trying to get a building permit or marriage certificate.
The app is available for download in English and Spanish and accommodates all mobile devices.Now, the best way to find your way around the Civic Center and absorb its legacy is right in your hand. Download the new Civic Center mobile application on your iPhone or Android smartphone and start exploring.
The Marin County Department of Cultural Services, in partnership with the Department of Information Services and Technology, created the app not only to help people find what they’re looking for but to provide a captivating history lesson. The app includes vintage and recent photos (including 360-degree views), drone videography, architectural plans and blueprints, and other historic information about Wright’s history in Marin County.
The app begins with drone video footage shot inside and outside the building and grounds. It offers a self-guided tour and serves as a resource for Wright fans and enthusiasts worldwide who want delve deeper into the building’s origins.
App sections include Frank Lloyd Wright in Marin County, Civic Center Building History, Architectural Exteriors, Architectural Interiors, Civic Center Campus, Plants & Landscaping, and Offices.
The app is available for download in English and Spanish in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store to accommodate all mobile devices including iPhone, iPad, and all Android phones and tablets.
With its groundbreaking in 1957 on the old Scettrini Ranch location in San Rafael’s unincorporated Santa Venetia neighborhood, the Civic Center was one of the last major works of Wright’s career and his only realized project for a government entity. Wright died at age 92 in 1959 without seeing his dramatic statement completed. The administration wing was opened in 1962 and the longer Hall of Justice was opened in 1969.
A group of 10 Wright-designed buildings, including the Civic Center, have become the first works of modern architecture nominated by the United States to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The Civic Center is also a state and national historic landmark.
Docent-led tours of the Civic Center take place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays year-around and 10:30 a.m. Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.