San Mateo Park

San Mateo Park Background

San Mateo Park, one of the San Francisco Bay Region's most beautiful residential communities, is located on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately 20 miles south of San Francisco and adjacent to the towns of Burlingame to the north and Hillsborough to the west and south.

In 1896, when San Mateo Park was founded, there was a trend in the United States known as the "City Beautiful Movement."  It was the goal of George Howard, Jr., noted local architect, and John McLaren, noted landscape architect and designer of Golden Gate Park, to develop San Mateo Park as an upscale community that reached the highest ideals of this movement.

Together, Howard and McLaren laid out gently winding streets, conforming them to the rolling terrain. The entry into San Mateo Park from El Camino Real would be a magnificently landscaped crescent. At every intersection, and randomly placed throughout the development, would be 69 landscaped circles, medians and crescents. The trees would be native oaks and redwoods from Northern California, elms, maples and poplars from the Eastern United States, plus palms, cedars, olives and other exotic trees from throughout the world. To guarantee that every home built in San Mateo Park would be of quality, both in construction and design, strict deed restrictions were formed.

Today, the goal of these two visionaries, George Howard, Jr. and John McLaren, has largely been realized. "The Park," as San Mateo Park is affectionately called by residents, is now a virtual arboretum of native and exotic plants and trees and filled with a treasure trove of period houses of all sizes and descriptions -- turn of the century Queen Annes and Mission revivals, early 20th century craftsman bungalows, plus English Tudors, French Normandies, Colonials and Mediterraneans from the '20s and '30s. Included among these are several landmark homes by such noted architects as George Howard, Jr., Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan. Over the years, many of these landmark homes have been splendidly restored to their original glory.

San Mateo Park now has a friendly neighborhood feeling with its somewhat whimsical homes and luxuriant vegetation, a relaxed informality. San Mateo Park is a neighborhood where residents still take evening strolls and where children ride their bicycles along the quiet streets. It is this neighborhood feeling, along with the exuberance of its architecture and landscaping, that gives San Mateo Park its unique character and makes San Mateo Park so desirable.

Setting and Historical Context

From the San Mateo Historical Association, Tom Gaman obtained a copy of the original Plan map of San Mateo Park, dated 1903. Potential buyers were urged to come on the newly constructed train line from San Francisco and to purchase lots. Roads and islands had previously been laid out, and the San Mateo Park was sold off in a series of auctions. Lots near El Camino Real were developed first, while lots to the west were developed last. Home sites sold for less than $1000 at the time. The initial wave of construction at San Mateo Park occurred in the first decade of the century following the 1906 earthquake, when, presumably, many San Franciscans left the City. Along with nearby nurseryman, E.W. McLellan, and possibly a planner by the name of Bromfeld, John McLaren was hired as a landscape architect. It is very clear from the layout and the species selection that McLaren was very influential in the landscape design and plot layout process at San Mateo Park, although others certainly did the actual layout and planting work. McLellan raised, landscaped, planted and watered the trees under contract to the developers in 1903 and 1904. One of the early brochures (at the Historical Society) shows small trees on expansive lawns. One discussion talks of an unobstructed view of the bay. Today, 100 years later, those trees have grown, the vegetation has thickened and San Mateo Park is probably a different place than even its founders had ever imagined. Recent aerial photographs of the area show the Park as a cluster of trees in an island of urban influence.

John McLaren

John McLaren was certainly a visionary tree planter, and he became something of a legendary figure during (and since) his 50+ year reign over the City of San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation from the 1880's until he died in the 1930's. He was a Scotsman known simply (and affectionately) as "the Boss" to most of San Francisco, and, of all people, he is the one responsible for planting the thousands of Monterey pines, Monterey cypress and eucalyptus groves and for creating the urban forest fabric of San Francisco. He converted dunes to park forests and trails through grasslands into tree lined boulevards. John McLaren was also responsible for planting vast numbers of trees on the peninsula. Prior to his employment by the City, McLaren had been the chief gardener for "El Cerrito", the 8000 acre estate which occupied much of San Mateo County in the mid-peninsula area. On the side, McLaren did work planning landscapes for estates and newly developing urban centers. Several cities in California, in addition to San Francisco, have been influenced by McLaren designs. McLaren always described himself as "a gardener"--and a master he was.  His basic tenet was to plant trees.

McLaren's Selected Species

McLaren's (certainly undocumented) objective appears to have been the use of relatively few species of trees, in combination with each other and the lay of the land, the roads and the overall site, to produce a diversity of aesthetic landscapes. McLaren achieved remarkable successes using relatively few species, balancing their needs with opportunities to develop sites for new species which would otherwise not survive--a form of permaculture that largely gave the peninsula the character that it retains today. In San Mateo Park the "islands" were usually at a contrast to the trees in the surrounding streets, and the landscape would often dramatically change from block to block. From the literature, and recent surveys and research, chief among McLaren's species used at San Mateo Park were:

McLaren's Primary Species

Acacia melanoxylon black acacia

Cinnamomum camphora camphor tree

Cupressus macrocarpa Monterey cypress

Crataegus spp. hawthorn

Populus sp. Carolina poplar & Lombardy poplar

Pinus radiata Monterey pine

Platanus (occidentalis and sycamore

possibly racemosa)

Quercus agrifolia coast live oak

Quercus suber cork oak

Robinia pseudoacacia black locust

Ulmus americana (also campestris, elm

and U. scabra were used)

Umbellularia californica California bay

McLaren's Palms

Phoenix canariensis Canary Island date palm

Washingtonia filifera California fan palm

Cordyline australis dracaena palm.

Washingtonia gracilis Mexican Washington palm

McLaren's Minor Species

Juglans walnut

Magnolia grandiflora southern magnolia

Prunus spp.--notably purple plum

leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera)

Schinus molle California pepper

These species of street trees have been intermingled together to create the fabric of an undulating 3-dimensional array of shapes, colors, textures and sizes. Most have also been remarkably successful--today, 100 years later, there remain examples of each species from the original McLaren plantings. Several of these species have been emphasized in making re-planting recommendations for the Park.

Excerpts of an article describing the early history of San Mateo Park