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About the Burlingame, California Area
The City of Burlingame is an American suburban city of approximately 28,000 people in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after Anson Burlingame who was an attorney and a diplomat. Burlingame was settled by wealthy San Franciscans looking for a better climate.
It is known for its high residential quality of life and is often referred to as the City of Trees. Industrial growth was spurred in the 1960s and 1970s by proximity to the San Francisco International Airport. The City of Burlingame has many beautiful hotels along the San Francisco Bayfront and is a significant vacation spot for people wishing to visit the San Francisco Bay Area.
Burlingame residents love their city, yet they have no shortage of opinions on how to make it even better. Dozens of people regularly attend City Council meetings, and many more watch the meetings on cable TV. Sidewalk cafes are crowded with people having animated conversations. Speakers invited to discuss their books or films are often surprised at the large turnout on a weekday evening.
If you want to get involved in this vibrant city, take a look at some of the community groups listed in this section and pay some of them a visit. Come to a council or city commission meeting, or volunteer to help at a local event. The more of yourself you give to Burlingame, the more you will get out of it. (excerpts from the Burlingame Community Site)
LOCATION
Warm and sunny, San Mateo County on the San Francisco Peninsula is graced with natural scenic beauty and an incredible variety of activities that would be hard to match elsewhere.
San Mateo County is the location of the San Francisco International Airport and is just minutes away from downtown San Francisco. Picturesque Monterey, Yosemite and the Napa Valley wine country are just a couple of hours away.
The county itself offers an unending array of activities to enjoy. On the ocean side, one can participate in a unique elephant seal or whale watching adventure, enjoy deep-sea fishing or stroll the miles of unspoiled beaches and magnificent redwoods. Golf, tennis, wind surfing and horse racing will thrill the sports lover. Historic mansions, museums, lighthouses and important landmarks of the county’s fascinating past will delight history lovers.
Gorgeous natural scenery, attractions, showplace homes and colorful fields and gardens offer a feast for the eyes. All this, plus fine dining, entertainment, shopping and accommodations to fit every budget, make San Mateo County, conveniently located on the San Francisco Peninsula, the place for a memorable California meeting or vacation.
(excerpts from the San Mateo County Convention & Visitors Bureau Site)
TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
With nine major hotels located along its eastern border with the bay and San Francisco International Airport just a few miles to the north, Burlingame is a popular destination for visitors. The city offers quiet stretches to walk amid wetlands dotted with egrets, pelicans and great blue herons, as well as bustling streets lined with stores featuring the latest fashions, designer home furnishings, handcrafted gifts and first-class restaurants.
The Burlingame Trolley provides free transportation between designated hotels to Burlingame’s two major shopping and dining districts: Burlingame Avenue and Broadway. The city is also well connected to San Francisco to the north and Palo Alto and other cities in Silicon Valley to the south via a subway, trains, buses and shuttles. If you’re driving, be sure to download a copy of the city’s parking maps to help guide you to free and low-cost lots.
BRIEF HISTORY
Once part of a Spanish land grant given by Governor Pio Pico to repay a debt to his friend, Cayetano Arenas, and then the location of a San Francisco banker’s vision of a “sacrosanct colony,” Burlingame later became the site of the first country club in California — this is the distinct heritage of Burlingame.
During the 1860s, William C. Ralston, a prominent banker, and partner in the development of the Comstock Lode, purchased vast acreage on the peninsula for a grand estate. He appreciated the peninsula’s warm, tranquil setting of oak-clad, rolling hills nestled between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Coastal Range.
One of the first of many famous guests to his estate was the Honorable Anson Burlingame, who had recently been appointed by President Lincoln as United States Minister to China. Ralston showed his guest the portion of his estate set aside for the summer homes of his wealthy friends. So impressed was Burlingame with the locale that he chose a villa site of approximately 1,043 acres for himself, to be used after his retirement from the China mission.
The attractive name “Burlingame” was now on the property maps and in the news because of the “Burlingame Treaty” with China.
The Burlingame Country Club was founded in 1893 and a year later the Burlingame Post Office opened, making the name official.
As more and more people came to the area and recognized its gentle charms, they chose to stay and soon Burlingame was a flourishing village. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake people continued to settle in Burlingame and by 1908 it became incorporated as a municipal corporation of the sixth class, "The Town of Burlingame," later reclassified the City of Burlingame. (excerpt from the Burlingame Chamber of Commerce Site)
City Information
Burlingame California Chamber of Commerce
Quality housing, good weather, outstanding schools, and reasonable access to San Francisco are among the factors which attract people to settle in the Burlingame area.
Welcome to Burlingame, California - Official Site
The City of Burlingame is a fine place to live. Burlingame’s recreational facilities and open space areas provide its citizens with enjoyable and diversified leisure hours year-round. The pleasant, sunny climate is always temperate and the city’s restful, tree-shaded parks, along with the nearby bay, ocean, and mountains, assure recreational opportunities of a wide variety. Lovely homes on tree-lined streets have made Burlingame the “City of Trees.”
Education and Schools
Burlingame School District
Our mission in the SRVUSD is to prepare all our students, in a safe and educationally rich environment, to flourish as responsible, ethical, and productive citizens in an ever-changing world.
San Mateo County Community College
Welcome to San Mateo County Community College District's Home Page. We are located between San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. The three Colleges of our District serve more than 40,000 students each year and offer the first two years of instruction in a wide variety of transfer programs as well as more than 90 vocational-technical programs. Students can earn either Associate in Arts or Science degrees or receive Certificates of Proficiency in their chosen fields.
Arts and Culture in Burlingame
There are lots of free events in Burlingame, including Sunday afternoon concerts, family movie nights, Shakespeare in the Park, an annual pet parade and arts festivals. Check the city’s calendar to learn what’s coming up.
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