Coyote Point Recreation Area
Coyote Point Recreation Area is a park operated by San Mateo County, California in the United States. Located on San Francisco Bay, it is south of San Francisco International Airport on the border of Burlingame and San Mateo. Facilities within the park include a large playground, the CuriOdyssey junior museum, a sandy bathing beach, a marina and yacht club, hiking trails, and picnic areas. In addition, the San Mateo County Sheriff's office has a shooting range on-site for training of law enforcement. It is adjacent to the Peninsula Humane Society and the municipal Poplar Creek Golf Course.
The distinctive point, covered by a grove of eucalyptus trees, can be seen from airplanes approaching San Francisco International Airport and is a good location for aircraft spotting and birdwatching. The site has been used for the large Pacific City amusement park in the early 1920s, as the basic training facility for the Pacific branch of the United States Merchant Marine service during World War II, and as the campus for College of San Mateo during the decade that followed the war. The county completed its acquisition of the park lands in 1962.
History
Precolumbian
Coyote Point was originally an island in San Francisco Bay rising to a height of above mean sea level with a marsh connecting it to the mainland. Because it has no fresh water, it is doubtful that Native Americans lived here, but shell mounds on the point indicate that it was at least occasionally used, possibly for special ceremonies or feasts; skeletal human remains were discovered in 1987 during routine dredging of the marina and dated to be approximately 4,000 years old, indicating a long presence of humans at the Point.Spanish settlement
Coyote Point, is mentioned on maps before 1895 as San Mateo Point or San Matheo Point, was part of the Presidio and Mission lands until it passed to Mexico. The Governor of Mexico then granted the land, then known as Rancho San Mateo, to Cayetano Arenas, from whom the name can probably be traced. The Arenas family sold it to the firm of Mellus and Howard, and William Davis Merry Howard purchased it from the firm in 1850. After his death in 1856, the land passed to his brother George, who ordered a road and pier built on the land. At approximately the same time, Chinese immigrants established a fishing village near Coyote Point to harvest bay shrimp for San Francisco restaurants in the 1860s.By 1868, the pier at Coyote Point was operating for freight and lumber loading; it also served as a receiving point for sand that would be used in the construction of Crystal Springs Dam from 1888 to 1890. Under the Howard family, the marsh between the island and the mainland was reclaimed to create dairy pasture. They also built a bathhouse and pool on the beach in 1880, and had eucalyptus, cypress and pine trees planted on the knoll by noted horticulturist John McLaren between 1880 and 1882.
By 1890, the beach at Coyote Point near the pier was famed locally as the best in Burlingame and San Mateo, which made it the target of "sand pirates", who would truck away sand and sell it to artificial stone manufacturers in San Francisco. The land remained in the Howard family until it was sold to the county and the federal government in 1942.
Pacific City Amusement Park
On July 1, 1922, a group of promoters opened the "Pacific City Amusement Park", which occupied approximately along the beach leased from the Howard family. Dubbed the "Coney Island of the West", the park included a beach, boardwalk, children's playground, scenic railway, merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, dancing pavilion, and several food concessions. A crowd estimated at more than 100,000 people visited Pacific City on July 4 of that year, drawing comparisons to Atlantic City.Although it was reputed to have had one million visitors in aggregate over the first season, a fire during the second season destroyed about one quarter of the development, and it opened only briefly for a third season. The reasons given for the closure were strong afternoon winds and sewage contamination in the bay.
Genesis
The name and site were first proposed in September 1921 at San Mateo City Hall by Nat Messer, a San Francisco real estate dealer who pitched the idea to the Three Cities Chamber of Commerce. The Pacific City Corporation, which developed the site, was led by a three-member board of directors composed of A.H. Dougall, Jr.; Arnold C. Lackenbach; and David J. Stollery. Stollery was serving as the secretary for PCC's largest creditor, the William H. Howard Estate Company. PCC was supported by the 3CCC, led by manager Daniel C. Imboden for the cities of San Mateo, Burlingame, and Hillsborough; 3CCC had been organized in 1921 with one of its stated priorities to be "the development of the San Mateo Beach" and was satisfied "that the building of Pacific City would well repay the membership of the Chamber for the money and time expended." At the time, the planned opening date was May 30, 1922, Decoration Day.The land was acquired for from the William H. Howard Estate Company in February 1922; at the time, it was the largest real estate transaction in San Mateo County. The site of Pacific City stretched for north from Coyote Point, including of land and covered by water. The Pacific City Corporation bragged in April 1922 that an investment of in total had been made so far, including land, construction, and equipment.
By late May, it was clear the new park would not be open in time for the holiday, although the work was nearing completion, including a entry gate with an illuminated sign, which would be visible to cars traveling on the Bayshore Highway. D. Wooster Taylor resigned from his position as superintendent of the children's playground at Golden Gate Park to manage Pacific City. Opening day was set for Saturday, July 1; that last week of June, workers hurried to put the finishing touches on the new park.
Attractions
Visitors to Pacific City rode the Southern Pacific Peninsula Commute trains to Burlingame, where Fageol shuttles would take them to the park for an additional 5 cents, the San Mateo Interurban, or the ferry from San Francisco, which tied up at the pier originally built by the Howard family, rebuilt and extended for Pacific City. The park was open daily until midnight. Parking for 5,000 automobiles was also provided.Rides at Pacific City included The Whip, Dodg-em cars, a Dentzel menagerie carousel, a 22-inch narrow-gauge railway, a Ferris wheel, a shoot the chutes that ended with a splash in the Bay, and a "scenic railroad" called The Comet, which included an drop and was billed as the largest, fastest coaster west of Detroit. Ground was broken for Comet on April 21, 1922.
When not on rides, visitors could choose from bathing on the beach or dancing in a large wooden pavilion; hunger was satiated by concessionaires vending hot dogs and pigs-in-the-blanket. An old ferry, the, was tied up to the pier to serve as a floating restaurant as well. In addition to regular live music performances, Harry Houdini entertained crowds during the first season with masterful escapes.
The opening weekend, which stretched through Independence Day, was a smashing success. More than 51,000 attended on Sunday, July 2, and more than 100,000 attended on July 4. Daily attendance continued to exceed 20,000 on the weekends. Prominent citizens of Burlingame, Hillsborough, and San Mateo wrote a series of three newspaper articles, published two weeks later in mid-July, outlining their plans to take advantage of the publicity from Pacific City. 3CCC manager Imboden described plans to build temporary housing nearby. San Mateo mayor Thomas J. Brady wrote of that city's plans to acquire the Kohl estate, which would later become Central Park. By the time the season closed, more than one million had visited Pacific City.
Financial peril
The first signs of financial ill-health began in September 1922, when PCC was sued over the failure to pay back a small promisorry note. In December 1922, the Howard Estate filed suit to foreclose on the property over non-payment of a US$90,000 promissory note that had been signed by Dougall and Lackenbach; the first payment of $5,000, due the previous March 22, had not been made as scheduled and the only payment that had been received was $1,000 the preceding October. 3CCC brokered an agreement in which a three-member committee was appointed to investigate and report on the financial status of PCC in February 1923; 3CCC President John J. McGrath, who was one of the appointees, warned "that we will not stand for one local creditor or stockholder in Pacific City to lose a penny... if they jockey and humbug, we are in position to make their investment worth about ten cents ." Lackenbach fired back days later: "... you have unwittingly placed the management of Pacific City in a very unfavorable light by reason of this article. It is not only unjust, but has absolutely no foundation. The management of Pacific City has at all times strenuously held that any reorganization or refinancing of Pacific City must first contemplate the payment of creditors in full with interest from the maturity of their claims."To calm the situation, 3CCC stated they supported both the Howard Estate and PCCC, but if the foreclosure suit was successful, it would antagonize many investors, who likely would lose their stakes. The resort opened on May 19, 1923, due in part to the uncertainty about the resort's future. Despite the cold weather, approximately 135,000 visitors had been recorded by June 2. A fire destroyed "The Canyon", a restaurant, and the "Pig-in-the-Blanket" lunch stand on July 28, 1923. The fire, which started in the lunch stand, blazed out of control as low water pressure on-site and disconnected telephone lines hampered the initial response. Significant confusion regarding the proper jurisdiction also delayed the arrival of firefighters: a messenger was sent to the Burlingame fire department, which informed the messenger that Hillsborough might be responsible; Hillsborough in turn directed the messenger to San Mateo, and by the time firefighters arrived, both structures were fully engulfed in flames.
By late March 1924, the creditors of Pacific City had assumed control and announced the company would be reorganized under the leadership of Edmond Levy. Plans were made to open the resort on July 1, 1924, but the opening was delayed until July 4. Admission to the park itself was made free that year, with a small fee for automobile parking. In March 1925, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge George H. Buck granted the Howard Estate's foreclosure petition, forcing the site to liquidate its assets.