In 1789, the Spanish missionaries had named aNative American village along Laurel Creek asLos Laureles or the Laurels (Mission Dolores, 1789). At the time ofMexican Independence, 30 native Californians were at San Mateo, most likely from the Salson tribelet.[11]
In 1827, CaptainFrederick William Beechey was 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."[11]
The city of San Mateo was documented by Spanish colonists as part of theRancho de las Pulgas and theRancho San Mateo; the earliest history is held in the archives ofMission Dolores. Rancho San Mateo was granted in May 1846 fromPío Pico to his secretary, Cayetano Arenas; this tract included approximately half of present-day San Mateo, all of Burlingame and Hillsborough, and the Spring Valley lakes (nowCrystal Springs Reservoir andSan Andreas Lake).[12]: 32 William Davis Merry Howard purchased Rancho San Mateo from Arenas[13]: 93 in 1846 forUS$25,000 (equivalent to $875,000 in 2024) and spent an equal sum erecting a fence around the property.[12]: 44
In the 1850s, following the AmericanConquest of California, many San Franciscans began building summer homes in the mid-Peninsula, because of the milder climate.[14] The area that is now the city of San Mateo was owned by a few large landowners, including Howard, whose Rancho San Mateo occupied 6,438 acres (2,605 ha) in 1853[13]: 93 [15] north ofSan Mateo Creek,[16]: 92 pushing most of this early settlement into adjacentHillsborough,Burlingame, andBelmont; other significant landowners in the area included John Parrott, who purchased 500 acres (200 ha) in 1860[12]: 51 south of the creek and southwest ofEl Camino Real and Alvinza Hayward, who owned the land south of the creek and east of El Camino.[16]: 92–93 Much of the remaining land south of these areas was used for agriculture until the early 1900s; the owners included John Whipple, who had a large horse farm south of Parrott's land, Lemuel Murray, J.S. Colegrove, and David McClellan.[16]: 93–94
In 1858, Sun Water Station, a stage station of theButterfield Overland Mail route, was established in San Mateo. It was 9 miles (14 km) from both Clarks Station (to the north) in what is nowSan Bruno and the next station south atRedwood City.[17]
Several historically important mansions and buildings were constructed in San Mateo around this time.[13]: 95, 100 A.P. Giannini, founder of theBank of Italy (which later became theBank of America), lived here most of his life. His mansion, Seven Oaks, is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places (No. 99001181).[18] It is located at 20 El Cerrito Avenue.
The Howard Estate was built in 1859 on the hill accessed by Crystal Springs Road; the building, namedEl Cerrito, eventually was moved to Hillsborough and served as its Town Hall starting from in 1910, but it has since been demolished.[13]: 93 [12]: 44 The Parrott Estate was erected in 1860 in the same area,[13]: 106 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. Once San Mateo was incorporated on September 4, 1894,[12]: 28 its first mayor was Captain A.H. Payson, a son-in-law of Parrott.[13]: 106
When theSan Francisco and San Jose Railroad was under construction during the 1860s, one of its corporate directors, Charles Polhemus, purchased the land south of the creek, now the site of downtown San Mateo, and began laying out the town;[16]: 92 the first town plat was laid out in 1862.[13]: 100 Polhemus settled on the land which is nowCentral Park and one of the succeeding owners,William Kohl, built the iron and stone fence which still encloses the park.[13]: 106
The Borel Estate was developed near Borel Creek in 1874 byAntoine Borel. It has been redeveloped since the late 20th century for use as modern offices and shops.[19] The property is managed and owned by Borel Place Associates and the Borel Estate Company.[citation needed]
First Church of Christ, Scientist, established in 1897
Hayward Park, the 1880American Queen Anne-style residence ofAlvinza 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).[20] 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 June 25, 1920.[21]
William H. Howard, eldest son of W.D.M. Howard, is credited with the first subdivisions in the region, resulting in what is now the Western Addition of San Mateo in 1888; he followed up by creating the first subdivision of Burlingame and Highland Park in San Mateo.[12]: 53
In 1893, Pedro Evencio had been called the last of theRamaytush Native American of San Mateo.[citation needed] Although Joseph (José) Evencio (the younger) was reported to be his descendant living at Coyote Point untilWorld War II, "Indian Joe", (Joe Mestes) was the American Indian who was actually hired by the Howard family to oversee their land holding at Coyote Point. He is reported to have had a tribal affiliation in Montana. His final whereabouts were reported to be a care facility in Oakland after he had been removed from Coyote Point when a Merchant Marine Academy was established there.[22][23]
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.[24] TheEugene 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 inGolden 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 largekoi pond surrounds an island. The property was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1992.[25]
Interurban Railroad Car riding in downtown San Mateo,c. 1909
In December 1967, Sgt. Joe Artavia, then serving in Vietnam with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion,327th Infantry Regiment of the101st Airborne Division wrote to his sister, Linda Giese, who was a resident of San Carlos working in San Mateo,[26] 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".[27] 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.[26][28] Joe would be killed in action on March 24, 1968, less than three weeks after the resolution.[29][30] 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.[26][31][32] 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.[26] In 1988, Joseph Brazan wrote a screenplay entitledA 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.[33] The city expanded its support to the entire 1st Battalion in 1991, when they were deployed to Kuwait underOperation Desert Storm.[26]
In the November 2022 election, CouncilmemberDiane Papan was elected to theCalifornia State Assembly, creating a vacancy on the five-person city council. At the December 5, 2022, council reorganization meeting, two of the remaining four councilmembers chose not to follow the standard precedent of selecting a new mayor, which normally rotates to the councilmember who has been in office the longest. With the vote split at 2–2, the city went a week without a mayor. After a second meeting that also ended without a decision, Amourence Lee was selected as the mayor at the third meeting on December 12.[34][2]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.8 square miles (41 km2), of which 12.1 square miles (31 km2) are land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2), comprising 23.44%, are covered by water.
The best-known natural area isCoyote Point Park, a rock outcropped peninsula that juts out into theSan Francisco Bay. The early Spanish navigators named itla punta de San Mateo.[35] Crews of American cargo ships carrying grain in the bay renamed itBig Coyote.[36] Sailors had a penchant for naming promontories at the edge of San Francisco Bay after thecoyote; across the bay in Fremont are the Coyote Hills, part ofCoyote 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 itplaya de San Mateo. Today, Coyote Point is home toCuriOdyssey, formerly known as the Coyote Point Museum, a majornatural history museum and wildlife center in the state. The animal care facility for thePeninsula Humane Society is also situated at Coyote Point, where the adoption facility is located in Burlingame.
Sugarloaf Mountain, whose name has been documented in 1870, is a prominent landform between the forks of Laurel Creek.[38] 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 endangeredmission blue butterfly.
Sawyer Camp Trail, located on the western edge of San Mateo along theCrystal Springs Reservoir, is another popular destination for joggers, pedestrians, and bikers. This roughly 6-mile (9.7 km) trail begins in San Mateo and stretches north toward Hillsborough and San Bruno, parallel to the 280 freeway.
In general, San Mateo's downtown core and the neighborhoods east ofEl Camino Real are more populous and have a greater density than the neighborhoods to the west of El Camino Real, where there is a lower population density.
San Mateo has one of the larger, better-developed suburban downtowns in theSan Francisco Bay Area. It is located roughly between Tilton Ave. to the northwest, 9th Ave. to the southeast, Delaware St. to the northeast andEl Camino Real to the southwest. The downtown core contains over 800 shops and restaurants, many located in historic buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The non-profit Downtown San Mateo Association (DSMA) works on behalf of downtown businesses to promote them and improve the downtown area.[39]
The historic National Bank of San Mateo, located in downtown
Central Park is considered to be San Mateo's signature park with a baseball field, tennis courts, sculptures, picnic areas, playground, Japanese tea garden, recreation center, miniature train, rose garden and theSan Mateo Arboretum. The 16.3-acre (6.6 ha) property was purchased by the city in 1922.[40] A historically influential area for the Japanese-American community, the downtown is home to many Japanese restaurants and shops. A large, 12-screen movie theater complex is located off the Main Street alley between 2nd and 3rd Ave. TheSan Mateo Caltrain station is situated downtown. The area also contains many large and small multi-story office buildings, apartments, government buildings and Mills Medical Center.
Segments of South B Street between 1st and 3rd Ave. and the southbound lane between Baldwin and 1st Ave. were temporarily closed to vehicular traffic in 2020 to allow for expanded outdoor dining.[41] The San Mateo City Council extended the temporary closure through the end of 2021 and voted in September 2021 to create a permanent pedestrian mall between 1st and 3rd Ave.[42] The plan requires a 12-foot (3.7 m) fire lane in the center of the street for public safety vehicles and necessary garbage or delivery services. The city aims to conduct the project in two phases: First, by installing retractable bollards and updating traffic signals and signage, then by raising the level of the street to be flush with sidewalk and reimagining its landscaping.
The Bay Meadows neighborhood is an 83-acre (34 ha)mixed-usetransit-oriented development on the site of the formerBay Meadows Racetrack, a horse racing venue that closed in 2008.[43] The area includes hundreds of new residential units, office space, retail space and parks and a town square.[44] Ground broke in 2012 and construction on various projects continues as of 2021.[45]
Hillsdale Shopping Center is a mall in San Mateo County, featuring over 120 stores in the mall itself and surrounded by many big box stores. Tenants include anchors Nordstrom, Ethan Allen and Macy's. The construction of a new food court and the outdoor North Block Plaza expanded the mall in 2019.[46] New entertainment additions include luxury movie theaterCinépolis and a Pinstripes bowling alley offEl Camino Real. TheHillsdale Caltrain station is located across El Camino.
TheNational Weather Service maintained a cooperative weather station in San Mateo until 1978; records for the period show that January, the coolest month, had an average maximum of 57.8 °F (14.3 °C) and an average minimum of 41.7 °F (5.4 °C), and September, the warmest month, had an average maximum of 78.0 °F (25.6 °C) and an average minimum of 54.2 °F (12.3 °C). The record maximum temperature was 109 °F (43 °C) on June 14, 1961, and the record minimum temperature was 25 °F (−4 °C) on January 5, 1949, and December 9, 1972. Annual precipitation averaged 18.77 inches (477 mm) of rainfall, falling on an average of 60 days each year. The wettest year was 29.77 inches (756 mm) in 1973 and the driest year was 11.16 inches (283 mm) of rainfall in 1953. The most precipitation in one month was 12.59 inches (320 mm) of rainfall in December 1955 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was 3.72 inches (94 mm) of rainfall on December 23, 1955.[49] Based on comparison with the existing NWS office at San Francisco International Airport, San Mateo is generally a few degrees warmer in summer than the airport and a few degrees cooler in winter, while annual precipitation is almost the same at the airport and in San Mateo.[50] In recent years, daily temperature reports for San Mateo from local weather observers have been published in theSan Mateo Times and theSan Francisco Chronicle.
San Mateo city, California – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 98.8% of the population lived in households, 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.[56]
There were 40,263 households, out of which 29.9% included children under the age of 18, 49.7% were married-couple households, 7.0% werecohabiting couple households, 26.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.3% of households were one person, and 11.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59.[56] There were 25,800families (64.1% of all households).[57]
The age distribution was 19.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% aged 18 to 24, 33.0% aged 25 to 44, 24.6% aged 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 38.3years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males.[56]
There were 42,229 housing units at an average density of 3,480.2 units per square mile (1,343.7 units/km2), of which 40,263 (95.3%) were occupied. Of these, 49.8% were owner-occupied, and 50.2% were occupied by renters.[56]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $152,669, and theper capita income was $80,312. About 4.6% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line.[58]
San Mateo is structured as acouncil–manager form of government. The city council has five members elected every two years to staggered four-year terms.[59] In 2022, the city began the process of switching from at-large elections to district elections.[60]
Since 1990, San Mateo has had a voter-approved ordinance limiting the height of new development to 55 feet (17 m). The San Mateo housing market is one of the most expensive in the country. In February 2018, the median San Mateo home was valued at $1,463,900,[64] and the median rent was ranked ninth in the entire nation, at $2,242 per month.[65]
In the mid-2000s, the second stories of downtown San Mateo buildings became a hub forstartup companies, including Roblox, GoPro andYouTube.[66]
According to the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:[9]
TheSan Mateo Union High School District also hosts an adult school behind San Mateo High School.[67] The San Mateo Performing Arts Center, one of the largest local theaters, is located on the San Mateo High School campus.
The city is home to theCollege of San Mateo, acommunity college. The campus of over 10,000 students is located on 153 acres (0.62 km2) in the western foothills of the city which offer a panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay.[68] Other universities in the area includeNotre Dame de Namur University, a private Catholic university of 2,000 students in neighboring Belmont,[69] andStanford University located about 12 miles (19 km) to the south.
The City of San Mateo operates one central (Main) and two branch (Hillsdale and Marina) libraries within the city; all three are part of thePeninsula Library System.[70]
The newest Main Library building, at 55 West 3rd Avenue nearCentral Park in downtown, opened in 2006 after residents passed a $35 million bond measure; the remaining funds came from state ($20 M) and private sources ($10 M).[71] It was designed byEHDD. Upon opening, the three-story, 93,000-square-foot (8,600 m2) building earned numerous design awards and was LEED-certified NC Gold. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide abundant natural light. The technologically advanced building is modeled after a retail bookstore.[72]
The first public library in San Mateo was organized in 1883, and a building named Library Hall was completed in 1885, sharing the structure with other municipal uses.[73] The library moved to a dedicatedCarnegie library building in 1907 at 129 2nd Avenue, the northwest corner with San Mateo Drive, one year after the1906 San Francisco earthquake damaged Library Hall.[74] The Hillsdale and Marina branches opened in 1957 and 1966, respectively.[73] The Carnegie building was torn down in 1969[75] after a new library building designed by William Garwood was dedicated on December 15, 1968 at the present-day location on 3rd.[73] The Garwood-designed building was expanded in 1983[76] and was closed and demolished in 2003 to clear the land for the present building, which opened on August 27, 2006.[73]
San Mateo maintains more than 15 parks throughout the city.Central Park is considered to be the main one and hosts many community park functions that serve downtown residents. It has a Japanese tea garden to commemoratesister cityToyonaka, Japan.[77] The park also features a rose garden, a mini train and theSan Mateo Arboretum.[78]
Beresford Park is another large park that offers bocce ball and a skate plaza. Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Joinville Park offer swimming pools, while Ryder Park boasts a water play structure. Parkside Aquatic Park, located onSeal Slough, has beach swimming and volleyball. Many of these parks have picnic areas with grills, children's play areas, basketball and tennis courts, and baseball diamonds.[79]
Coyote Point Park, near the border with Burlingame and on the San Francisco Bay, is a 670-acre (2.7 km2) regional county park known for its ideal location for windsurfing and sailing. It is also home toCuriOdyssey: a hands-on science museum and small native animal zoo.[80]
San Mateo has a network ofbikeways connecting major destinations in the city. In 2011, the city approved a Bicycle Master Plan to establish bicycling goals, identify gaps in the existing bikeway system, and create a prioritized list of infrastructure improvement projects.[83]
SamTrans provides local bus service within the city of San Mateo as well as the entire county of San Mateo.[84]AC Transit provides transbay bus service via the San Mateo Bridge to Alameda County.[85]Caltrain provides commuter rail service on the San Francisco Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose. Caltrain operates three stations within the city of San Mateo with stations atHillsdale (serving the mall and surrounding area),Hayward Park (near Highway 92), andSan Mateo (in downtown San Mateo). There are 41 northbound and 41 southbound trains with a stop in the city each weekday and 18 trains in both directions on weekends. Extra southbound trains are run to accommodate passengers afterSan Francisco Giants games.[86] Seepublic transportation in San Mateo County for more details.
Pat Hennen (born 1953), former professional motorcycle racer, first American to win a World Championship Grand Prix road race (1976 500cc Finnish Grand Prix)
Ann Kiyomura, tennis player, Wimbledon doubles champion
^abPostel, Mitchell P. (1994).San Mateo: A Centennial History (1st ed.). San Francisco, Calif.: Scottwall Associates, Publishers. p. 13.ISBN978-0-942087-08-6.
^Oral history of "Indian Joe" provided by Jim Durant (recording), San Mateo County Historical Association, 1968 (October 2021)
^Brown, Alan K. "Indians of San Mateo County",La Peninsula: Journal of the San Mateo County Historical Association, Vol. XVII No. 4, Winter 1973–1974.4
^Silverfarb, Bill (May 15, 2012)."Operation Eagle Visit".San Mateo Daily Journal. Archived fromthe original on January 4, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2017.
^Gilliam, Harold (2002)."The Four Seasons: Summer".Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 40–43.ISBN978-0-520-22989-1. RetrievedMarch 23, 2015.
^"San Mateo Public Library".Architecture Record. McGraw-Hill Construction. October 5, 2011. Archived fromthe original on March 20, 2013. RetrievedJuly 21, 2013.
^Visiting Eden: The Public Gardens of Northern California, photographs by Melba Levick, text by Joan Chatfield-Taylor. Chronicle Books, 1993,ISBN0-8118-0107-1
^Bill Dedman, Paul Clark Newell, Jr.,Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Loss of one of the World's Greatest Fortunes, London: Atlantic Books, 2013, p. 142
Ringler, Donald P (1975).San Mateo, U.S.A.: the golden years; an early background and sixty years of the city of San Mateo's history from its beginning at the Polhemus Plat in 1862 up through World War I. San Mateo: San Mateo Bicentennial Committee.OCLC19844093.
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