San Mateo, California

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San Mateo, California

City

City of San Mateo

Seal
 Location in San Mateo County and the state of California

San Mateo, California

Location in San Francisco Bay Area

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Coordinates: 37°33′15″N 122°18′47″WCoordinates:

37°33′15″N 122°18′47″W

Country United States

State California

County San Mateo

Incorporated September 4, 1894[1]

Named for St. Matthew

Government

• Mayor Joe Goethals[2]

• City manager Drew Corbett[3]

Area

[4]

• Total 15.85 sq mi (41.04 km2)

• Land 12.13 sq mi (31.42 km2)

• Water 3.71 sq mi (9.62 km2) 23.63%

Elevation 46 ft (14 m)

[5]

Population

(2010)[6]

• Total 97,207

• Estimate 104,430

(2019)[7]

• Rank 68th in California

298th in the United States

• Density 8,607.81/sq mi (3,323.38/km2)

Time zone UTC−8 (Pacific)

• Summer (DST) UTC−7 (PDT)

ZIP codes[8] 94401–94404, 94497

Area code 650

FIPS code 06-68252

 GNIS feature IDs 1659584, 2411800

Website www.cityofsanmateo.org

San Mateo (/ˌsæn məˈteɪ.oʊ/ SAN mə-TAY-oh; Spanish for '"Saint Matthew"') is a
city in San Mateo County, California, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of San
Francisco, and 31 miles (50 km) northwest of San Jose. San Mateo had an
estimated 2019 population of 104,430.[9] It has a Mediterranean climate, and is
known for its rich history. The biggest economic contributors to the city include the
Medical Center, one of the local school districts, and Sony's Sony Interactive
Entertainment division. Finally, being in the center of the San Francisco Bay Area,
it has many ways to travel back and forth beween the major cities of that area.

Contents

 1History
 2Geography
 3Climate
 4Demographics
 5Government
 6Cityscape
o 6.1Downtown
o 6.2Hillsdale
o 6.3Bay Meadows
 7Economy
 8Education
 9Public libraries
 10Parks and recreation
 11Transportation
o 11.1Freeways
o 11.2Bicycling
o 11.3Public transportation
o 11.4Airports
 12Other services
 13Prominent places
 14Media
 15Sister cities
 16Notable people
 17See also
 18References
 19Further reading
 20External links

History[edit]
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Documented by Spanish colonists as part of the Rancho de las Pulgas (literally

"Ranch of the Fleas") and the Rancho San Mateo, the earliest history is held in the
archives of Mission Dolores. In 1789 the Spanish missionaries had named a Native
American village along Laurel Creek as Los Laureles or the Laurels (Mission
Dolores, 1789). At the time of Mexican Independence, there were 30 native
Californians at San Mateo, most likely from the Ssalson tribelet.[10]
Captain Fredrick W. Beechey in 1827 traveling with the hills on their right, known in
that part as the Sierra del Sur, began to approach the road, which passing over a
small eminence, opened out upon "a wide country of meadow land, with clusters of
fine oak free from underwood… It strongly resembled a nobleman's park: herds of
cattle and horses were grazing upon the rich pasture, and numerous fallow-deer,
startled at the approach of strangers, bounded off to seek protection among the
hills… This spot is named San Matheo, and belongs to the mission of San
Francisco."[10] An 1835 sketch map of the Rancho refers to the creek as Arroyo de
Los Laureles. In the 21st century, most of the laurels are gone, having been
removed for development.[citation needed]
In 1810 Coyote Point was an early recorded feature of San Mateo. Beginning in the
1850s, some wealthy San Franciscans began building summer or permanent
homes in the milder mid-peninsula. While most of this early settlement occurred in
adjacent Hillsborough and Burlingame, a number of historically important mansions
and buildings were constructed in San Mateo.[citation needed]
A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (which later became the Bank of
America), lived here most of his life. His mansion, Seven Oaks, is listed in
the National Register of Historic Places (No.99001181). Located at 20 El Cerrito
Avenue, it has been deteriorating as it has not been preserved or occupied for
years.[citation needed]

Interurban Railroad Car riding up B Street, circa 1909

In 1858 Sun Water Station, a stage station of the Butterfield Overland Mail route,
was established in San Mateo. It was located 9 miles south of Clarks Station in
what is now San Bruno and 9 miles north of the next station at Redwood City.[11]
The Howard Estate was built in 1859 on the hill accessed by Crystal Springs Road.
The Parrott Estate was erected in 1860 in the same area, giving rise to two
conflicting names for the hill, Howard Hill and Parrot Hill. After use of the
automobile changed traffic patterns, neither historic name was commonly applied
to that hill (Brown, 1975). The Borel Estate was developed near Borel Creek in
1874. It has been redeveloped since the late 20th century for use as modern
offices and shops. The property is managed and owned by Borel Place Associates
and the Borel Estate Company.[citation needed]
Hayward Park, the 1880 American Queen Anne-style residence of Alvinza
Hayward (often said to be "California's first millionaire" from his silver and banking
fortunes), was built on an 800-acre (3.2 km2) estate in San Mateo which included a
deer park and racetrack, roughly bounded by present-day El Camino Real (on the
west), 9th Avenue (on the north), B Street (on the east) and 16th Avenue (on the
south).[12] A smaller portion of the property and the mansion, was converted into
The Peninsula Hotel in 1908, following Hayward's death in 1904. The Hotel burned
down in a spectacular fire on 25 June 1920.[13]

1840s

1872
 1938

Maps of San Mateo

In the early 20th century, Japanese immigrants came to San Mateo to work in the
salt ponds and flower industry. Although Japanese-Americans only account for
2.2% of the population today, they continue to be a major cultural influence and a
draw for the rest of the region.[14] The Eugene J. De Sabla Japanese Teahouse and
Garden was established in 1894 at 70 De Sabla Road, designed by Makoto
Hagiwara, designer of the Japanese garden in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
He arranged for Japanese artisans to be brought to the United States primarily for
its teahouse construction. The parcel was purchased in 1988 by San Francisco
businessman Achille Paladini and wife Joan, who have restored it. The garden
features hundreds of varieties of plants and several rare trees. A large koi pond
surrounds an island. The property was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1992.[15]
In December 1967, Sgt. Joe Artavia, then serving in Vietnam with Alpha Company,
1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division wrote to his
sister, Linda Giese, who was a resident of San Carlos working in San
Mateo,[16] asking if San Mateo or San Francisco could adopt the Company, saying
that it would bring "the morale of the guys up as high as the clouds".[17] San Mateo
passed a resolution on March 4, 1968, officially adopting Alpha Company and
letters and gifts began arriving from the citizens of San Mateo.[16][18] Joe would be
killed in action on March 24, 1968, less than three weeks after the
resolution.[19] Linda would travel to Vietnam to meet with the men of Alpha
Company for Christmas in 1968 and deliver personalized medallions from the City
of San Mateo.[16][20] In 1972, San Mateo requested and received permission to have
Alpha Company visit the city when they left Vietnam, later holding a parade in
January 1972, believed to be the only parade honoring the military during the
Vietnam War.[16] In 1988, Joseph Brazan wrote a screenplay entitled A Dove
Among Eagles chronicling the adoption of Alpha Company by San Mateo and the
real-life romance between Linda and Artavia's commander, Lt. Stephen
Patterson.[21] The city expanded its support to the entire 1st Battalion in 1991, when
they were deployed to Kuwait under Operation Desert Storm.[16]

Geography[edit]
San Mateo is located at 37°33′15″N 122°18′47″W (37.554286,
−122.313044).[22] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 15.9 square miles (41 km2), of which, 12.1 square miles (31 km2) is land
and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) (23.63%) is water.
The best-known natural area is Coyote Point Park, a rock outcropped peninsula
that juts out into the San Francisco Bay. The early Spanish navigators named it la
punta de San Mateo.[23] Crews of American cargo ships carrying grain in the bay
renamed it Big Coyote (BLM, 1853). Sailors had a penchant for naming
promontories at the edge of San Francisco Bay after the coyote; across the bay in
Fremont are the Coyote Hills, part of Coyote Hills Regional Park. By the 1890s the
shore area was developed as a popular beach called San Mateo Beach. In 1842
the Spanish had named it playa de San Mateo. Today Coyote Point is home
to CuriOdyssey, formerly known as the Coyote Point Museum, a major natural
history museums and wildlife centers in the state. The Peninsula Humane
Society is also situated at Coyote Point.
The variety of natural habitats includes mixed oak woodland, riparian zones, and
bayland marshes. One endangered species, the California clapper rail, was sighted
feeding on mudflats by the Third Avenue bridge in San Mateo.[24] The marsh areas
are also likely habitat for the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, which inhabit
the middle and high zones of salt and brackish marshes, as well as for the
endangered marsh plant, Point Reyes bird's beak.

Aerial view of Coyote Point Park, directed northeast. Prominent landmarks include Bayshore
Freeway (diagonal, foreground) and the Bay Bridge (background).

View of San Francisco Bay, directed north from Seal Point Park.
 

Laurelwood Park and Sugarloaf Mountain

Sawyer Camp Trail (2014)

Sugarloaf Mountain, whose name has been documented in 1870, is a prominent
landform between the forks of Laurel Creek (Brown, 1975). In the late 20th century,
this mixed oak woodland and chaparral habitat was a site of controversy related to
proposals to develop a portion of the mountain for residential use. It has been
preserved for use as park and open space area, and is home to the
endangered Mission Blue Butterfly.