Put up A Sign!

Found a real gem while researching some 1990 newspapers in the library:

Our wonderful little Greyhound Depot, circa 1939 at Howard/California had some serious renovations in the l990. Many suggestions for a new use included moving the building to Washington Park (Mahony) and "its an awfully small building and don't know what it could be used for" (Harrison).

The real doozy is that Mike Harvey, the car man, did not want a business to go in there with alot of parking because "it would make things harder for the nearby auto dealers" but - wait - it gets better ....

Harvey suggests "eliminating the depot so giving a better view of the dealerships - and perhaps put up a sign marking Burlingame's auto row"

What is truly upsetting is that if we could fast forward this from 1990 to 2005, our elected officials of today would probably demolish the building on the sly and allow a garish, illuminated, tasteless piece of tacky auto row trash sign like we have near Broadway.

Thank you to Pride Paint for donating the paint and Shinnyo-En and the Parks for $130,000 to renovate this lovely piece of history and a big big big thank you to Mr. Pagliaro and his fellow officials who back in 1990 valued our Greyhound old lady!

- Written by Fiona

Comments

[Jenn]

This is a great story, Fiona. I must not have been paying attention back then, and missed it. Where is Fred? I miss his comments and wonder what he would think of this one!

[trevor]

Fred must be still examining "the horse"on California drive.Hope he is wearing a kilt,cause if the horse hear's his zipper,it might buck the rider.What a mess that would be.

[Rich Grogan]

Fiona,THANK YOU for a great job of detective work!Without your information we would not have a true feel of just how bad Harvey wants to have his own little kingdom on California Ave.

It is amazing; times have changed but the cast of characters have not.

[fred]

Well, with all the love flowing around these blogs how can I stay away.

Thanks for your kind words Trevor, as always best regards to you as well. Maybe soon in the future you can tell us more about horse love and the love of trees of course.

Don't have much to add to this though. In 1990 there was a car lot on both sides of the depot. Now it is a fabric store, noodle house and salon. Don't know who it belonged to for sure. Obviously Harvey didn't use his "mind-controlling council super-powers" to get the depot torn down.

Didn't he help you guys with getting the Severn mural re-done?

Very glad Sam's is moving in there. Like I said earlier I believe they will be offering hot sandwiches and soup.

[Angela]

Fred, That corner is owned by Karp.

[fred]

The noodle place is Tea plus Noodle and it is good.

[Jenn]

Actually, his son, Glenn, who was very nice, allowed the restoration team full access to the wall, and moved the cars onto the perimeter for the unveiling party. He was very appreciative of the work. It certainly beautifies the lot, so everybody was a winner in that case. Nice to have you back, Fred, and thanks for reminding us what was on the other side of the street, before the Karp building. I am one who does like that (new) building. I think the materials and window design could have been of a bit higher quality, then it would have been a great addition, both in style and feel, giving an architectural nod. However, if we're on "newer" buildings, the one that Mr. Karp built next to the Garden Center, gets thumbs down from me., paricularly also because of the glass block windows that match the also ugly Cashin building. Sorry, I cannot help myself. I love architecture, good architecture and good quality materials, when possible.

[Jim]

I beg to differ - I think that building is stucco yucco at its worst - everything about it is cheap and it is the kind of building you see along the freeway.

And the brick bunker with glass blocks -a shame it is next to the Garden Center which is what "real" bricks look like and true workmanship is all about. It has been around since the 1906 earthquake and it still looks beautiful. Wonder what the glass block bunker will look like 95+ years from now - perhaps it will age well!

[Jenn]

Well, here are the reasons why I think the Calico Corner building was, not too bad of a job. There was at least an attempt to respect the architecture in the area, and the use of spanish tile roof and the red tiles up the sides of the building help, though I agree an upgrade in materials would make a substantial difference. Imagine instead of those cheap, plain tinted windows, there would be more intricate ones, like those on the California side of the Honda building. It is great that the passerby can see what is going on inside the building. It makes it more lively. A plain wall, which is the usual solution, would have destroyed the whole end of the street. Also, attractive doors, like those in the bus depot, aren't expensive and would have been nice. I think the scale, is just perfect for what is currently on the block. A larger version would have been overwhelming and look like a strip mall. The pink calico corner sign is definitely yucco, but that is another issue. It's a chain, and that is their logo. Considering there was no design review in place at its inception, I think the building more or less succeeds. Unlike the Apple building, could be vastly improved upon, just by a few upgrades., and I guess I'm always looking for potential.

[al]

What a great little reminder of the fact that the current situation has progressed some from the old days. Images of Frank Pagliaro and Gloria Barton holding off the likes of old guard Harrison and Lembi abound. I really don't miss Adolph Harrison's misguided thinking on civic process, open dialog, or protecting the neighborhoods. His bragging about bring able to "fix" anything in town was especially sad when coupled with his lack of vision. This is the perfect quotation to show it. At the time I thought he was the worst mayor in the history of Burlingame, but now he's got some real competition for that (dis)honor.

[fred]

Bud is a great man, Al. And a great teacher.

Here is another good quote from the Daily Journal circa last election:

Bud Harrison, a former Burlingame mayor and a close friend of Janney, blamed the negativism of the campaign in part for Janneys loss.

Ive never seen such a negative campaign, said Harrison. Those from the outside said things which brought a stain to the office.

All the candidates agreed with Harrisons assessment about the election being too negative.

[Rosaline]

I also remember an editorial from one of our respected journalists who wrote a long article about the disgusting behavior of the MM's and how instead of critisizing one of the other candidates they should look in the mirror.

Mr. Harrison should take some credit for the negative/positive campaigning.

[Paul .P(Q.C)Quiet candidate]

Just refecting on the Encore theatre's demise.How many would like to see a community bill board like "The Rev's" return.I for one like the idea.It was very personalised,You knew who had the misfortune to continue life's journey under God's care.A happy birthday,a retirement,who was kissing who.But the big one for me personally was when the sign read Welcome to the World.Grace Mary Prendiville.That was 13 year's ago.The enormous amount of pride i felt,sharing these treasured moment's with the community.Oh Jesus,i just got teary eyed,be right back.

[al]

Fred has found a perfect example of exactly what I am talking about with the old newspaper article. When Adolph Harrison talks about "those from the outside" he is clearly identifying himself as the old guard and showing how the old guard thinks. If there is an "outside" then by definition there is an "inside". Bud was an expert at circling the wagons and shutting people out. Thanks Fred.

[fred]

Bud is a nice guy and was very involved in the community. Sure he is old school, I mean c'mon he was born before Adolph was a bad name for a child. Why do you want to trash older people but preserve older buildings?

[Raymond]

Fred, I am confused. You tend to bring up a topic or issue and when there is an opposite response you tend to attach the responderinstead of addressing the issue; is there some logic behind this approach. Several blogs back one of the bloggers brought this to your attention but you continue this approach.

Based upon what I have read in the papers and on the blog this seems to be how Mr. Galligan deals with issues. Success only comes from addressing issues and not individuals.

[fred]

Am I attacking Al? I believe I am defending Bud AC Harrison (who was being attacked by Al).

The AC stands for Adolph Coors. How can I not defend someone named after two beers?

Raymond look at both sides of an issue. Then you will realize this is more about dialogue and understanding and less about attacking. Sure I can keep my mouth shut, but that only lets you see one side of an issue. I am not saying I am right they are wrong, the world is much more complex than that. But open discussion, what is the matter with that?

[Russ]

I agree with Fred, open discussion is paramount and that's what makes The Burlingame Voice so important as a resource for what some in the communitty are thinking. I hope every council member and potential concil member reads it. I hope that someday they will participate in the discussion.

I must remind readers that way back, when The Voice only existed in print form we did a story on the apartment building that was about to be demolished for the psuedo brick building that curently sits on the site on Chapin.

I also must remind Fred that much of the negative campainging in the last election came in the form of literature that were full of distortions. Coffey's handouts made claims about Nagel, myself and Prendeville that were simply false and misleading.

[al]

If Fred is really an old Panther then he has heard some of the same comments that we have all heard about Harrison. It's not at all complementary. I can't go any further than that without breaking the terms of use of this blog, but just ask some of his students and you will get an earful, especially from the women. My opinion here is based on his council performance and it was abysmal. Period. Fred's newspaper reference is just tip of the iceberg but it is very clear. Notice Fred changed the topic again.

[fred]

How did I change topic?