San Bruno (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for "
St. Bruno") is a city in
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...
, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the
2020 United States Census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
. The city is between
South San Francisco
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...
and
Millbrae
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
, adjacent to
San Francisco International Airport and
Golden Gate National Cemetery
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...
; it is approximately south of
Downtown San Francisco
The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States, that serves as its main central business district and had 372,829 jobs according to U.S. census tracts as of 2012-2016. It is home to the city's largest conce ...
.
Geography
The city is located between
South San Francisco
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...
and
Millbrae
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
, adjacent to
San Francisco International Airport to the east and
Golden Gate National Cemetery
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...
to the northwest. It is approximately south of Downtown San Francisco.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land. The city spreads from the mostly flat lowlands near
San Francisco Bay into the foothills of the
Santa Cruz Mountains, which rise to more than above sea level in Crestmoor and more than above sea level in Portola Highlands. San Bruno City Hall sits at an official elevation of 41 feet (12.5 m) above sea level.
Portions of Mills Park, Crestmoor, and Rollingwood are very hilly, featuring canyons and ravines. Creeks, many of them now in culverts, flow from springs in the hills toward San Francisco Bay. Just west of
Skyline Boulevard
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skyline ...
and outside of city limits is
San Andreas Lake
San Andreas Lake is a reservoir adjacent to the San Francisco Peninsula cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in San Mateo County, California. It is situated directly on the San Andreas Fault, which is named after the valley it is in.
History
Afte ...
, which got its name from the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizonta ...
. The lake is one of several reservoirs used by the San Francisco Water Department, providing water to San Francisco and several communities in San Mateo County, including San Bruno west of
I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80:
* Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco
* Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...
.
Climate
![CrestmoorSnow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/CrestmoorSnow.jpg)
San Bruno has a mild
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
characterized by mild to warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. San Bruno has much milder temperatures than most of the state. Owing to its relatively mild temperatures, the city's climate closely resembles that of an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
. Since 1927, the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
(formerly the U.S. Weather Bureau) has maintained a weather station at the nearby
San Francisco International Airport (formerly Mills Field). According to the official records, January is the coldest month with an average high of 55.9 °F (13.3 °C) and an average low of 42.9 °F (6.1 °C).
Freezing temperatures occur on an average of only 1.3 days annually. The coldest winter temperature on record was on December 11, 1932, a day on which of snow also fell. A week-long cold spell in December 1972 caused hard freezes throughout the area, damaging trees and plants and causing some water pipes to break; the temperature dropped as low as at the airport and in Crestmoor, which also reported snow flurries several times that week. There was of snow at the airport on January 21, 1962, with several inches falling in the hills.
September is the warmest month with an average high of and an average low of . Temperatures exceed on an average of 4.0 days annually. Fog and low overcast are common during the night and morning hours in the summer months, which are generally very dry except for occasional light drizzle from the fog. On rare occasions moisture moving up from tropical storms has produced thunderstorms or showers in the summer. Gusty westerly winds are also common in the afternoon during the summer. The highest summer temperature was on June 14, 1961, breaking a record of set in June 1960. A high of was recorded on July 17, 1988, and a high of was recorded on September 1, 2017. Until August 1, 1993, it had never reached in August, which is one of the foggier months in the area. Due to
thermal inversion
In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. Nor ...
s, summer temperatures in the higher hills are often much higher than at the airport.
Thunderstorms occur several times a year, mostly during the winter months, but are usually quite brief. Total annual precipitation, most of which falls from November to April, ranges from at the nearby
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
station at San Francisco International Airport to over in the higher hills (according to observations by Gayle Rucker for the
Army Corps of Engineers and Robert E. Nylund for the
U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
from 1962 to 1985). Nylund also took temperature observations for several years and published weekly weather reports in the ''San Bruno Herald'' from 1966 to 1969, which were included in official reports for the
Golden Gate National Cemetery
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...
. The annual average days with measurable precipitation is 65.2 days. The most rainfall in a month at the airport was in February 1998, and the most rainfall in 24 hours was on January 4, 1982. Nylund reported in Crestmoor during a 24-hour period in January 1967. Winter storms are often accompanied by strong southerly winds.
Demographics
2010
The
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that San Bruno had a population of 41,114. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Bruno was 20,350 (49.5%)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 942 (2.3%)
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 246 (0.6%)
Native American, 10,423 (25.4%)
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 1,377 (3.3%)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 5,075 (12.3%) from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2,701 (6.6%) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 12,016 persons (29.2%).
The Census reported that 40,716 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 316 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 82 (0.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,701 households, out of which 4,831 (32.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,364 (50.1%) were
opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,830 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 850 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 764 (5.2%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 123 (0.8%)
same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,660 households (24.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,119 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 10,044
families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
(68.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.31.
The population was spread out, with 8,632 people (21.0%) under the age of 18, 3,577 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 12,038 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 11,653 people (28.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,214 people (12.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
There were 15,356 housing units at an average density of , of which 8,938 (60.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,763 (39.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,712 people (60.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,004 people (38.9%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census
of 2008, there were 42,401 people, 15,486 households, and 10,561 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 16,403 housing units at an average density of .
There were 15,486 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were
married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.72 and the average family size was 4.29.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 25.0% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
The
median household income
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
for the city was $60,081, and the median income for a family was $69,251 (these figures had risen to $71,869 and $80,401 respectively as of a 2008 estimate). Males had a median income of $47,843 versus $39,851 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $25,360. About 5.1% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
![Policeplazasanbruno](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Policeplazasanbruno.jpg)
The current Mayor of San Bruno is Rico E. Medina, who began his term as Mayor on December 12, 2017. He has previously been a Council Member. The previous mayor of San Bruno was
Jim Ruane,
[ who was first elected in 2009 and served until December 2017. The mayor before Jim Ruane was Larry Franzella, who was first elected November 1999 and was reelected through November 2009. Bob Marshall, "Mr. San Bruno", served as mayor from 1980 to 1992. San Bruno is one of the few cities in San Mateo County with an independently elected mayor.
In the ]California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
, San Bruno is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, San Bruno is in .
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, San Bruno has 22,808 registered voters. Of those, 11,856 (52%) are registered Democrats, 3,051 (13.4%) are registered Republicans, and 6,993 (30.1%) have declined to state
Decline to State (DTS) was an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a party affiliation. It is similar to what in other states would be called declaring oneself as ...
a political party.
Parks
San Bruno City Park, bordered by Crystal Springs Avenue and El Crystal School, is the major municipal park. It offers shaded walkways and hiking trails, picnic tables, a playground, a small ballpark, a municipal swimming pool, and a recreation center that includes an indoor basketball court once used for training by the San Francisco Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1 ...
basketball team. There are smaller municipal parks in other parts of the city.
Junipero Serra County Park, also accessible from Crystal Springs Avenue, is a park owned by San Mateo County and includes numerous hiking trails, as well as picnic shelters, barbecue pits, and picnic tables. The wilderness area was named for Junípero Serra
Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...
, a Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
friar who founded many of the Spanish missions in California during the eighteenth century; Serra regularly passed through what is now San Bruno whenever he visited the mission at San Francisco. The park is administered by the San Mateo County
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...
Parks and Recreation Department, which charges a $6 entry fee for vehicles.
Education
The city is served by the San Bruno Park School District which operates five elementary schools, and one intermediate school; in 1970, the school district had an enrollment of 4,829, and was closer to 2,700. San Mateo Union High School District
The San Mateo Union High School District is a high school district headquartered in San Mateo, California. In addition to San Mateo, the district serves the cities of San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, and Foster City.
Schools
The ...
also serves the city, and most students who attend secondary public education attend Capuchino High School
Capuchino High School is a public high school in San Bruno, California, United States. It is one of seven high schools in the San Mateo Union High School District, a division of the San Mateo County Office of Education.
Capuchino's rival is Mi ...
, the only high school in the community after Crestmoor High School was closed in 1980. The city's main library is part of the Peninsula Library System
The Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of public and community college libraries in San Mateo County, California, United States, which serves the part of the San Francisco Bay Area known as " The Peninsula". The system has dozens of br ...
. Skyline College
Skyline College is a public community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have gr ...
, a community college that is part of the San Mateo Community College District (SMCCD), is located in San Bruno.
History
Early years
San Bruno was the location of the Ohlone village ''Urebure''. It was explored in November 1769 by a Spanish expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname).
It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible.
Notable peo ...
. Later, more extensive explorations by Bruno de Heceta
Bruno de Heceta (Hezeta) y Dudagoitia (1743–1807) was a Spanish Basque explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Bilbao of an old Basque family, he was sent by the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area nort ...
resulted in the naming of San Bruno Creek San Bruno Creek (Spanish for: "St. Brun") is an intermittent stream that rises on the eastern slopes of the Northern Santa Cruz Mountains in San Mateo County, California, USA. The headwaters descend a relatively steep canyon east of Skyline Boulev ...
after St. Bruno of Cologne, the founder of a medieval monastic order. This creek apparently later gave its name to the community.
With the establishment of the San Francisco de Asís (St. Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
) mission, much of the area became pasture for the mission livestock. Following the decline of the missions, the area became part of Rancho Buri Buri Rancho Buri Buri (also called Sánchez Rancho) was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California, given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Antonio Sánchez. The name derives from the Urebure village of the Ramaytush spe ...
granted to José de la Cruz Sánchez
José de la Cruz Sánchez (November 8, 1799 – 1878) was a Californio statesman and ranchero who served as the eleventh Alcalde of San Francisco.
Life
José de la Cruz Sánchez was born November 8, 1799, in Santa Clara, California. He was ...
, the eleventh ''Alcalde'' (mayor) of San Francisco. After Jose Antonio Sanchez died, his heirs divided the Rancho and sold it off. Dairy farms later became common in much of the area.
The city began as Clarks's Station, a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...
stagecoach route, utilizing an inn built in 1849, which was initially called Thorp's Place and later Uncle Tom's Cabin or 14 Mile House. The inn was demolished in 1949 and replaced with a Lucky's supermarket (now a Walgreens
Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...
drugstore, on the corner of El Camino Real and Crystal Springs Avenue). Gus Jenevein (for whom Jenevein Avenue was named) built another landmark called San Bruno House, which burned several times and was not rebuilt after the third fire. A few homes and farms were developed in the area. The railroad between San Francisco and San Jose built a train station at San Bruno in the 1860s. The railroad eventually became part of the Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
system, which ran both passenger and freight trains on the line. Today it is known as Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
.
A U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
was first established at San Bruno in 1875. Postal services were discontinued for several months in both 1890 and 1891, then from 1893 to 1898. There has been a post office in San Bruno continuously since 1898. The present post office is located near the Tanforan
The Shops at Tanforan is a regional shopping mall in San Bruno, California, United States. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco city limits.
The site was originally used as a horse racing track from 1899 until 1 ...
shopping center.
20th century
Real growth and development began after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The city's first public school was completed in late 1906. With the construction of Edgemont Elementary School in 1910, all classes were moved there and the original school building became a public facility named Green Hall. Another school, North Brae Elementary School, opened in 1912; among its earliest students was future actor Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester".
Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...
. Paving of California's first state highway, El Camino Real, began in 1912 in front of San Bruno's Uncle Tom's Cabin; the highway is now designated as State Route 82. The adjoining San Francisco International Airport opened in early 1927 and included a Weather Bureau station, now operated by the National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
. Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
was an early visitor to the airport, during his national tour following his successful transatlantic flight; unfortunately, his airplane (''Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...
'') became stuck in the mud.
On January 18, 1911, aviator Eugene Ely
Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886 – October 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.
Background
Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having c ...
made naval aviation history when he took off from Tanforan and made a successful landing on the armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
anchored in San Francisco Bay. This marked the first successful shipboard aircraft landing.
Following a campaign by the local newspaper, the ''San Bruno Herald
''San Bruno Herald'' began as an independent weekly newspaper in San Bruno, California in 1914 and continued publishing through the 1990s. The ''Herald'' was originally located in a small building at 624 San Mateo Avenue (next to the San Bruno Vo ...
'', the community was incorporated in 1914, mainly so the streets could be paved. Green Hall became the first city hall. San Bruno grew rapidly, passing 1,500 residents by 1920 and 3,610 residents in 1930. Additional schools, including New Edgemont (later renamed Decima Allen) and Crystal Springs, were built during the 1940s.
In 1930, the El Camino Theater opened at the corner of El Camino Real and San Mateo Avenue. The popular theater, wired for sound, replaced the earlier Melody Theater, which had presented silent films. The El Camino showed double features, cartoons, short comedies, adventure serials, and newsreels during its history, including Saturday matinees and summer Wednesday matinees for children. Normally, films changed every week, but in 1958 Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
's ''The Ten Commandments'' ran for two weeks to packed audiences. The theater closed in the early 1970s when a four-screen movie theater opened in the Tanforan shopping center. The El Camino Theater building was remodeled, but later demolished. The lot is now home to mixed-use apartment and retail space. A larger, multi-screen complex was later built north of Tanforan, but it has been replaced by an even larger complex, Century at Tanforan, in the remodeled shopping center.
In 1939, the War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
created the Golden Gate National Cemetery
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...
in San Bruno as space was starting to run out for veterans to be buried at the Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...
. In 1942, after the start of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the local racetrack became the Tanforan Assembly Center
The Tanforan Assembly Center was created to temporarily detain nearly 8,000 Japanese Americans, mostly from the San Francisco Bay Area, under the auspices of Executive Order 9066. After the order was signed in February 1942, the Wartime Civil Cont ...
, a temporary detention site for Japanese Americans evicted from the West Coast under Executive Order 9066.
Following World War II, there was continued growth and new subdivisions were built in Mills Park, Rollingwood, and Crestmoor. In 1947, the Bayshore Freeway (U.S. Route 101) was opened from South San Francisco
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...
to Redwood City
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
and included an interchange at San Bruno.
Prior to 1950, San Bruno's high school students attended San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School is a National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year public high school in San Mateo, California, United States. It serves grades 9–12 and is part of the San Mateo Union High School District.
History
In its first year, San ...
(opened in 1902) and then Burlingame High School (opened in 1923), traveling to and from school on the streetcars that ran next to the Southern Pacific railroad. Finally, on September 11, 1950, Capuchino High School
Capuchino High School is a public high school in San Bruno, California, United States. It is one of seven high schools in the San Mateo Union High School District, a division of the San Mateo County Office of Education.
Capuchino's rival is Mi ...
opened in San Bruno. After years of using Green Hall as a multi-purpose building, the city dedicated a library and city hall in 1954. That same year saw the dedication of the current central terminal at the airport, part of a major expansion program. A central fire station was later built next to the city hall; an additional station was built in Crestmoor.
Actress and businesswoman Suzanne Somers was born in San Bruno in 1946. She attended local schools and graduated from Capuchino High School in June 1964.
In 1953, San Bruno annexed the adjoining unincorporated community of Lomita Park, bounded by San Felipe Avenue, El Camino Real, San Juan Avenue, and the railroad tracks. Until the annexation, Lomita Park had its own Southern Pacific train station and some community services.
Parkside Intermediate School was opened in 1954, followed by additional elementary schools: Rollingwood, Crestmoor, John Muir, and Carl Sandburg. A second intermediate school, Engvall, was built in Crestmoor Canyon, only to be closed, along with North Brae and Sandburg, when enrollment fell. These were all part of the San Bruno Park School District. Students in northwestern San Bruno were included in the Laguna Salada district. The private school, Highlands Christian School, is also located in San Bruno. Founded in 1966, Highlands Christian School is an interdenominational school, and offers preschool through college preparatory school instruction.
San Bruno considered new annexations in the mid-1950s that would have extended the city limits to the Pacific Ocean. The unincorporated communities west of San Bruno were against annexation, and collectively incorporated as the city of Pacifica in 1957.
On March 22, 1957, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake was centered in the area of the city. It inflicted minor damage throughout the city.
Eitel-McCullough operated a large manufacturing plant in San Bruno for many years. William Eitel and Jack McCullogh formed the company in 1934. It specialized in the manufacture of power grid tubes. Known as Eimac, the company also made vacuum tubes used in communication equipment, as well as other products for military and commercial applications. Due to its work on broadcast transmission parts, Eimac operated an FM radio station, KSBR
KSBR (88.5 FM, "The SoCal Sound") is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Mission Viejo, California and broadcasting to the Orange County area. The station is owned by Saddleback College and airs adult album alternative (AAA) ...
, which transmitted on 100.5 megahertz. The station began operations in 1947 and, that same year, was one of only two in the nation to test Rangertone tape recorders. (The other station was WASH-FM
WASH (97.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by iHeartMedia and located in Washington, D.C. Known on-air as "WASH-FM," the station airs an adult contemporary radio format. Studios and offices are on Rockville Pike ( Mary ...
in Washington, D.C.) The recorders were based on the German Magnetophon. In need of more space, the company moved to San Carlos in 1959. Eimac's San Carlos plant was dedicated on April 16, 1959. In 1965, Eimac merged with Varian Associates
Varian Associates was one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1948 by Russell H. and Sigurd F. Varian, William Webster Hansen, and Edward Ginzton to sell the klystron, the first vacuum tube which could amplif ...
and became known as the Eimac Division. In 1995, Leonard Green & Partners
Leonard Green & Partners ("LGP") is an American private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm specializes in private equity investments. LGP has invested in over 95 companies since its inception, including Petc ...
purchased the entire Electron Devices Business from Varian and formed Communications & Power Industries
CPI International, Inc. is the holding company for Communications & Power Industries, the largest manufacturer and rebuilder of electron devices (primarily vacuum tubes) in the United States. CPI was founded in 1995 when Varian Associates sold its ...
.
Crestmoor High School opened in September 1962, but was closed in June 1980 due to a decline in school enrollment. The city has a two-year community college, Skyline College
Skyline College is a public community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have gr ...
.
A major landmark in San Bruno for many years was Tanforan Racetrack
Tanforan Racetrack, also known as Tanforan Park, was a thoroughbred horse racing facility in San Bruno, on the San Francisco Peninsula, in California. It was in operation from November 4, 1899, to 1964. The horse racing track and buildings were con ...
, which opened in 1899. Such famous racehorses as Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
and Citation raced there. Famed Hollywood director Frank Capra filmed scenes for two of his films, '' Broadway Bill'' and '' Riding High'', at the racetrack. For six months in 1942, it served as one of the main Bay Area centers for those forced into Japanese American internment, processing about 8,000 Japanese before they were sent out to larger facilities in the desert of Utah and Manzanar
Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one ...
in Owens Valley
Owens Valley ( Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Iny ...
. The track closed in 1964 and was about to be demolished when it was destroyed in a major fire on July 31, 1964. The Shops at Tanforan mall was later built on the site; surrounding city streets were named for some of the racehorses who appeared at Tanforan.
The city was the site of the crash of Flying Tiger Line Flight 282
Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 refers to the crash of a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, N6915C, shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 24, 1964. There were 3 crewmen a ...
on December 23, 1964.
During the late 1960s, the I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80:
* Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco
* Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...
( Junipero Serra Freeway), followed by I-380 Interstate 380 may refer to:
* Interstate 380 (California)
Interstate 380 (I-380) is a short east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, connecting I-280 in San Bruno to US Route& ...
, was built through San Bruno. The San Bruno Planning Commission (then chaired by Peter Weinberger, brother of Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
) reviewed and approved plans for two major shopping centers, Bayhill (located on the old U.S. Navy property between San Bruno Avenue and Sneath Lane) and Tanforan. With final approval from the San Bruno City Council, construction proceeded on these major retail developments. Prior to these developments, most of the city's retail businesses were located on San Mateo Avenue and El Camino Real.
San Bruno is one of two cities in the Bay Area that manages its own cable TV and internet system.
The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake (6.9 magnitude) caused some damage in the city. The U.S. Postal Service's Western Regional headquarters, which was then the tallest building in San Bruno, had to be demolished due to severe structural damage. The site was rebuilt as part of an expansion of The Gap The Gap may refer to:
Places Australia
* The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
* The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
* The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
...
clothing company world headquarters campus. The building now houses the headquarters for Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
's online retail services, Walmart.com, and is now the tallest building in the city.
21st century
The San Bruno BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
station opened in 2003, when the transit system was extended to Millbrae
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
and the San Francisco International Airport.
September 2010 explosion and fire
On September 9, 2010, at about 6:15 p.m. PDT, a gas line ruptured leading to a fire that severely damaged a residential neighborhood. Eight people were killed, nearly 60 others were injured, 38 homes were destroyed and 123 additional homes were damaged. The resulting fire "hot spots" were easily detected using meteorological satellite images.
The explosion, which took place two miles (3 km) west of San Francisco International Airport (), was initially thought to have been a plane crash, but the FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
and airport officials confirmed no downed aircraft was reported.
During the days prior to the explosion, some residents reported a strong smell of natural gas in the area.
On September 10, a team from the National Transportation Safety Board began an investigation into the cause of the explosion.
On September 13, PG&E agreed to set aside a $100 million fund to the victims of the explosion. This does not preclude residents from taking any further action against PG&E. Parts of the exploded material were taken to Washington, D.C., a couple of days after the explosion for examination.
YouTube headquarters
In 2007, YouTube had moved its headquarters from San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
to San Bruno, on Cherry Avenue next to Interstate 380. The main building was initially built for Gap Inc. in 1997. It had been designed in 1994, has a green roof
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
, and was built with energy efficient ventilation systems. Across more than six properties, YouTube has over 2,000 employees working in the city, and is San Bruno's largest employer. On April 3, 2018, a shooting took place at the headquarters complex, leaving four wounded and the female shooter dead.
Former Naval Facility San Bruno
During World War II the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
established a base on what was a dairy opened by Richard Sneath. There it operated a Classification Center and a Naval Advance Base Personnel Depot. After the war it continued operation, and became host to the consolidated Western Division of Naval Facilities, supporting the multiple navy bases that were operating in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Due to the 1993 BRAC and its closure of neighboring bases although recommended for realignment, the Navy decided to close the facility, carrying through with its decision in October 1994.
The federal government retained part of the former Naval Facility. The Pacific Region (San Francisco) facility of the National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
was established. One of the buildings became a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center, which hosts the Headquarters Company of the 23rd Marine Regiment, amongst other units. The rest of the facility was sold to a private developer who has since built multi-story apartment buildings on the former base. The area of the former U.S. Navy complex is bounded by San Bruno Avenue, El Camino Real, Sneath Lane, and I-280.
Economy
Top employers
According to San Bruno's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the ''San Mateo Daily Journal
The San Mateo Daily Journal is a daily newspaper published six days a week, Monday through Friday plus a combo weekend edition. The newspaper is distributed throughout San Mateo County, California.
Operations
The Daily Journal's publisher is Jerr ...
'' the top employers in the city were:
Transportation
Roads
Interstate 280, running concurrent with California State Route 1, passes through San Bruno, and Interstate 380, which is entirely located within the city, flanks the northern part of San Bruno and connects with U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
. The town is bisected by California State Route 82
State Route 82 (SR 82) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from Interstate 880 (I-880) in San Jose to I-280 in San Francisco following the San Francisco Peninsula. It is the spinal arterial road of the peninsula and ru ...
.
Public transit
SamTrans
SamTrans (stylized as samTrans; officially the San Mateo County Transit District) is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into port ...
is the dominant operator of bus public transport within San Bruno. Commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
to and from San Bruno is served by Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
, and Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
(BART) has its red line and yellow line serve San Bruno. Both Caltrain and BART have their San Bruno stations located very close to the Shops at Tanforan
The Shops at Tanforan is a regional shopping mall in San Bruno, California, United States. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco city limits.
The site was originally used as a horse racing track from 1899 until ...
, with the latter being adjacent to the mall.
Air transport
San Bruno is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport, which can be accessed using BART or US 101. However, the other major San Francisco Bay Area airports ( Oakland and San Jose) are accessible from San Bruno via BART for the former and Caltrain plus VTA services for the latter.
Notable people
* Wally Bunker
Wallace Edward Bunker (born January 25, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Bunker pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from to and Kansas City Royals from to .
Biography
Bunker pitched for the Capuchino High School ...
, baseball player
* Neal Dahlen
Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...
, football administrator
* Luana DeVol
Luana DeVol (born November 30, 1942 in San Mateo, California, San Mateo, California) is an American operatic soprano who made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Ortrud in April 2006 in Wagner's ''Lohengrin (opera), Lohengrin''. The production was br ...
, soprano
* Keith Hernandez
Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...
, baseball player
* Ky Hollenbeck
Ky Conrad Hollenbeck (born June 17, 1987) is an American Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the middleweight division. He won national and North American titles as an amateur in his teens before turning professional in 2007 and beating Billy ...
, kickboxer
* Ron "Pigpen" McKernan
Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972.
McKernan grew up he ...
, musician
* Ruggiero Ricci
Ruggiero Ricci (24 July 1918 – 5 August 2012) was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini.
Biography
He was born in San Bruno, California, the son of Italian immigrants who first named him Woodrow ...
, violinist
* Suzanne Somers, actress
* The Mummies
The Mummies are an American garage punk band formed in San Bruno, California, in 1988. Exhibiting a defiantly raw and lo-fi sound, dubbed "budget rock", the Mummies' rebellious attitude and distinctive performance costumes exerted a major influe ...
, garage punk
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
band
*Nelson Holderman
Colonel Nelson Miles Holderman (November 10, 1885 – September 3, 1953) was a United States Army officer, most notable for commanding a rifle company of the Lost Battalion during World War I for which he received the Medal of Honor. He was cons ...
, WW1 Medal of Honor recipient
Sister cities
* Narita, Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...
, Japan[Consolidation of Local Governments in Japan and Effects on Sister City Relationships]
", Consulate General of Japan, San Francisco
See also
*List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States Census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabitants and ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority Control
1849 establishments in California
1914 establishments in California
Butterfield Overland Mail in California
Cities in San Mateo County, California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated places established in 1849
Populated places established in 1914