San Mateo, California

Infobox Settlement
official_name = City of San Mateo
other_name =
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settlement_type = City
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image_caption = San Mateo from above


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map_caption = Location in San Mateo County and the state of California


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = California
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = San Mateo
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leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Carole Groom
(one-year term)
leader_title1 = City Manager
leader_name1 = Arne Crocea
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established_title = Incorporated
established_date = September 4, 1894
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area_total_km2 = 41.3
area_land_km2 = 31.6
area_water_km2 = 9.7
area_total_sq_mi = 16.0
area_land_sq_mi = 12.2
area_water_sq_mi = 3.7
area_water_percent = 23.43
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_note = United States Census Bureau
population_total = 92482
population_density_km2 = 2922.1
population_density_sq_mi = 7569.5
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timezone = PST
utc_offset = -8
timezone_DST = PDT
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd = 37 |latm = 33 |lats = 15 |latNS = N
longd = 122 |longm = 18 |longs = 47 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 13
elevation_ft = 43
postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 94401-94404
area_code = 650
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 06-68252
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1659584
website = http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/
footnotes =

San Mateo (pron-en|ˌsæn məˈteɪoʊ "san muh-TAY-o") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, and Belmont to the south. San Mateo was incorporated in 1894.

History

Originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas (literally "Ranch of the Fleas"), the earliest recorded history is in the archives of Mission Dolores. It indicates in 1789 the Missionaries had named a Native American village along Laurel Creek "Los Laureles" or the Laurels (Mission Delores, 1789). An 1835 sketch map of the Rancho refers to the creek as "arroyo de los Laureles", but by now most of the Laurels have vanished.

Coyote Point was an early recorded feature of San Mateo in 1810. Beginning in the 1850s some wealthy San Franciscans began looking for 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 trickled over into San Mateo.

A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (that became Bank of America), lived here most of his life. His mansion, Seven Oaks, currently in disrepair and listed in the National Register of Historic Places (No.99001181), is located at 20 El Cerrito Drive.

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 Parrott Hill. After substantial use of the automobile by about 1935, neither name was commonly applied to that hill (Brown, 1975}. The Borel estate was developed near Borel Creek in 1874, with present uses being modern offices and shops; the property is still managed and owned by the Borel Estate Company. Scholars Cottage, at 37 E. Santa Inez Avenue, was built by Ernest Coxhead in 1875 in the Tudor Revival style. The Eugene J. De Sabla Teahouse and Tea Garden was established in 1900 at 70 De Sabla Avenue, designed by Makota hagiwara. It exists today as a garden of a later home, and it features rock art and other sculpture.

"Hayward Park," the extraordinary 1880 American Queen Anne style residence of silver and banking millionaire Alvinza Hayward (often said to be "California's first millionaire"), was built on an convert|800|acre|km2|sing=on estate in San Mateo. The property, which included a deer park and racetrack, was converted into a hotel after Hayward's death in 1904. It burned in a spectacular 1920 fire.

Geography

Perhaps the best-known natural area is Coyote Point Park, a rock outcropped peninsula that juts out into San Francisco Bay. The early Spanish navigators named it "la punta de San Mateo" (Brown, 1975), but cargo ships carrying grain in the bay renamed it "Big Coyote" (BLM, 1853). In any case sailors had a penchant for naming promontories at the edge of San Francisco Bay after the coyote, since across the bay in Fremont are the Coyote Hills, part of Coyote Hills Regional Park. By the 1890s the shore area was a popular beach called San Mateo Beach, originally named by the Spanish in 1842 as "playa de San Mateo". Today Coyote Point is home to the Coyote Point Museum, one of the best natural history museums and wildlife centers in California. The Peninsula Humane Society is also situated at Coyote Point.

There are a variety of natural habitats present, including 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 (Pfeifle, 1980). The marsh areas are also likely habitat for the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, who enjoys the middle and high zones of salt and brackish marshes, as well as for the endangered marsh plant, Point Reyes bird's beak.

Sugarloaf Mountain, whose name derives from at least 1870, is a prominent landform between the forks of Laurel Creek (Brown, 1975). In recent years, this mixed oak woodland and chaparral habitat, has been a site of controversy involving proposals to develop a portion of the mountain for residential use.

San Mateo is located at coor dms|37|33|15|N|122|18|47|W|city (37.554286, -122.313044)GR|1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.0 square miles (41.3 km²), of which, 12.2 square miles (31.6 km²) of it is land and 3.7 square miles (9.7 km²) of it (23.43%) is water.

Climate

San Mateo enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, shielded from the Pacific Ocean by the Montara Mountain block of the Santa Cruz Mountains. There is a gap in the mountains, west of the College of San Mateo, where State Route 92 meets State Route 35, resulting in gusty afternoon winds and allowing fog to flow toward San Mateo in the late afternoon through early morning in the summer months.

The National 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 convert|57.8|°F|°C|abbr=on and an average minimum of convert|41.7|°F|°C|abbr=on, and September, the warmest month, had an average maximum of convert|78.0|°F|°C|abbr=on and an average minimum of convert|54.2|°F|°C|abbr=on. The record maximum temperature was convert|109|°F|°C|abbr=on on June 14, 1961, and the record minimum temperature was convert|25|°F|°C|abbr=on on January 5, 1949, and December 9, 1972. Annual precipitation averaged convert|18.77|in|mm, falling on an average of 60 days each year. The wettest year was convert|29.77|in|mm in 1973 and the dryest year was convert|11.16|in|mm in 1953. The most precipitation in one month was convert|12.59|in|mm in December 1955 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was convert|3.72|in|mm on December 23, 1955. 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. [Western Regional Climate Center website (http://wrcc.dri.edu/)] In recent years, daily temperature reports for San Mateo from local weather observers have been published in the "San Mateo Times" and the "San Francisco Chronicle".

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 92,482 people, 37,338 households, and 22,328 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,569.5 people per square mile (2,922.1/km²). There were 38,249 housing units at an average density of 3,130.6/sq mi (1,208.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.23% White,15.10% Asian, 2.59% African American, 0.48% Native American, 1.64% Pacific Islander, 8.93% from other races, and 5.03% from two or more races. 20.52% of the population were Hispanic.

There are 37,338 households of which 25.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.09. The age distribution is: 20.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who are 65 or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $73,916, and the median income for a family was $90,613. [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US0668252&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US06%7C16000US0662938&_street=&_county=san+mateo&_cityTown=san+mateo&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2006_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=] Males had a median income of $51,280 versus $41,231 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,176. About 3.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature San Mateo is located in the 8th Senate District, represented by Democrat Leland Yee, and in the 19th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Gene Mullin. Federally, San Mateo is located in California's 12th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +22 [cite web | title = Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest? | publisher = Campaign Legal Center Blog | url=http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html | accessdate = 2008-02-10] and is currently represented by Democrat Jackie Speier, who succeeded Democrat Tom Lantos after his death in 2008.

Education

Residents are zoned for schools in the San Mateo Union High School District. Actress Alicia Silverstone attended San Mateo High School while living in nearby Hillsborough. Other prominent students of San Mateo High School included Merv Griffin, Barry Bostwick, Kris Kristofferson and Dennis Haysbert.

San Mateo is also home to private Junípero Serra High School, whose graduates have included Barry Bonds, Tom Brady, Lynn Swann, Gregg Jefferies and Dan Serafini.

Another high school in San Mateo is Aragon High School, home of the Dons. Aragon is widely respected for it's high AP and STAR Test scores. Representatives of Aragon's music program, including over 100 students in choir, band, and orchestra, went to China as guests in an international music celebration in June of 2008, and performed in an internationally broadcasted concert at the Beijing Conservatory of Music, one of China's most respected music academies.

Public transportation

The city has good public transportation. SamTrans [ [http://transit.511.org/providers/providerinfo.aspx?cid=SM Transit.511.org ] ] , AC Transit [ [http://transit.511.org/providers/providerinfo.aspx?cid=AD Transit.511.org ] ] (Transbay service) and Caltrain are public transit providers here. See public transportation in San Mateo County for more details.

Prominent places

The San Mateo Performing Arts Center, located on San Mateo High School, is one of the largest theatres on the peninsula outside of San Francisco. The College of San Mateo is also located here and is home to radio station KCSM. A heavily attended attraction has been the Bay Meadows horse-racing track. The San Mateo Arboretum in pass through San Mateo. The Japanese garden in Central Park was made in order to commemorate this event. Century 12 Cinema is on B Street.

Prominent companies based in San Mateo

* [http://ar-edelman.com/ A & R Edelman]
* Actuate Corporation
* AdMob
* Blizzard North, a division of Blizzard Entertainment formerly located in San Mateo
* Con-way
* Fisher Investments
* Franklin Templeton Investments
* Glu Mobile, global publisher of mobile games.
* Keynote Systems
* NetSuite
* Oodle
* PBwiki
* Sling Media, Inc.
* Webcor Builders
* Wikia, Inc.
* YouTube, formerly located in San Mateo.
* Zimbra, now a division of Yahoo.

Media

* San Mateo Daily News - Newspaper
* San Mateo County Times - Newspaper
* KCSM (FM) - National Public Radio outlet
* KCSM-TV - PBS television station

Notable people from San Mateo

* Andy Banachowski, 41 year Hall of Fame coach of the UCLA women's volleyball team
* Lina Basquette, actress
* Barry Bostwick, American actor
* Tom Brady, Quarterback of the New England Patriots in the NFL
* Barry Bonds, Former San Francisco Giants Left Fielder, MLB
* Keith Carradine, American actor
* Ted Dabney, co-founder Atari
* Sam Francis, modern artist
* Merv Griffin, actor, producer, and game show creator.
* Paul Guay, writer, actor, and script consultant
* Greg Gutfeld, blogger and host of the late night talk show, Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld
* Dennis Haysbert
* Patty Hearst
* Kris Kristofferson, Songwriter, musician, actor
* Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands.
* Zoe Lofgren
* Marc McClure
*
*
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* Graham Norwood, Guitarist, Bryan Scary
* Sean Payton, Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints in the NFL
* Darick Robertson, comic book artist
* Barbara Roles, figure skater
* Neal Schon, musician (guitarist for Santana and Journey)
* Lindsey Shaw, niece of John Cale and actress (from "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide")
* Terri Stickles, Olympic swimmer
* Paul Terry, animated film producer
* Michael Trucco, actor
* Diane Varsi, actress
* John Wetteland, baseball player
* Stacy Sakai , Anchor for WMDT-47

ister cities

San Mateo has three sister cities, as designated by the Sister Cities International, Inc.: [Sister Cities information obtained from the [http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/usa/CA Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)] ." Retrieved on July 25, 2007.]

*flagicon|Denmark Varde, Denmark
*flagicon|Japan Toyonaka, Japan
*flagicon|Philippines San Pablo City, Philippines

ee also

*Aragon High School
*The Carey School
*Pier 1 Imports - founded 1962, in San Mateo
*Hillsdale High School (San Mateo)
*Electronic Arts

References

Further reading

* Alan K. Brown, "Place names of San Mateo County", San Mateo County Historical Association, published by Glen Luck, San Mateo, Ca. (1975)

* Mission Dolores, San Francisco, "Registers of Baptisms and Deaths", (1789)

* "San Mateo: A Centennial History", By Mitchell P. Postel; Scottwall Associates, Publisher, San Francisco; 1994. ISBN 0-942087-08-9 (HBK)

* U.S. Bureau of Land Management BLM, FN 254-21 (1853)

External links

* [http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/ City of San Mateo website]
* [http://www.sanmateocert.org/ San Mateo CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)]
* [http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/dept/library/ San Mateo Public Library]
* [http://gocsm.net/ College of San Mateo website]
* [http://www.sanmateoarboretum.org/ San Mateo Arboretum Society]
* [http://www.smuhsd.k12.ca.us/smhs/ San Mateo High School]