Merry Christmas, you band of friends!

I won't assert that the Blooming Vase window display is the best in B'game this year--merely that it is very, very good.  Check it out and Merry Christmas one and all.

Who does that reindeer remind you of?

Comments

[tom bach]

CPUC's Michael Peevey (retired)??

[hillsider]

Mike Coffey?

[Jennifer]

Time for some fresh air. Forgive the long post that follows:

Burlingame's Best: Has anyone else besides me tried RASA?? WOW, what amazing food. The SF Chron food critic Bauer was spot on, it is a gem and we'll be back.

Also to John Horgan, SM Times, my sincerest condolences regarding the recent passing of your mother.

Today, you've written about the one-time amusement folly known as Pacific City, that lived for a short while on Coyote Point Beach. http://www.mercurynews.com/john-horgan

You might be interested to know that the scheme was hatched to a large degree by the executor of the William H. Howard Estate.

Here is a section from an oral history (2000) we just transcribed, that contains lots of detail regarding the story of Pacific City of yore......

"Let me take you back about 80 years, in 1920 when there was great optimism on finances. People were buying stocks and the land developers were just making all sorts of money. Seemed like an endless cash cow. David Stollery, a realtor in Hillsborough and manager of the Howard Estate, had proposed that an amusement part be built at Coyote Point. Of course, the time was right for an amusement park. People had lots of money, and the concept of a park was also promoted by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. This is an unusual—Burlingame, San Mateo, and Hillsborough were in the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce; likewise, the Mosquito Abatement first that you had was a Tri-Cities Mosquito Abatement of Burlingame-San Mateo-Hillsborough.

West of the area where Coyote Point and Pacific City was eventually built was the Pacific Studios that was constructed in 1920; and this was a very popular venture. They had movie studios in Niles, and they decided to build this studio on Peninsula Ave. One of their first movies was White Hands—it was a melodrama and followed by Beloved Unknown, followed by A Modern Madonna, and then The Great Alone. The Great Alone was an Alaskan judge that was snowed in and they couldn’t get out, and they had dog teams. They were running dog teams in the studio out at Coyote Point, so this was quite amusing to see the Alaskan Huskies out there.

But September 1921 some investors from SF, San Mateo, and local businessmen had the money to purchase 90 acres of land at Coyote Point and 250 acres of submerged land. This was a period of real awakening in California. December 1921 Burlingame and San Mateo were advertised as the resort communities of the peninsula. It was speculated that we have an eastside highway, which we now call the Bayshore Freeway, and the Dumbarton Bridge that was still being planned, and they were going to build a hotel on Burlingame Ave. and El Camino. And of course, Burl. High School bonds were being promoted at that time.

In January 15, 1922, the construction of the Pacific City was started. Roads were improved. As I was talking with Emmet Hayes and Ed Arnold, you could get out to the beach. It was a popular area for the residents to go swimming, but it was rocky, and the road was full of chuck holes, and very difficult to maneuver with a car. Also, Burlingame promised to take care of the sewage problem. They were dumping sewage out into the Bay, raw sewage, which was not considered important at that time. And of course, as it developed in Burlingame and San Mateo, you have the studios, you have the construction out at Coyote Point, housing became a big problem. It was in very short supply.

Finally March 1922 the Boardwalk was open—it was completed—3200’ of boardwalk. This was a reason for celebration. Mayor Rolfe of SF, through his enthusiasm for the peninsula and Burlingame, had thrown 3 gold spikes down peninsula to have a spike dragging contest between the mayors of Burlingame, San Mateo and Hillsborough. And as he flew over the Boardwalk, they dropped the spikes, and the mayors picked up the spikes and proceeded to have their spike dragging contest.

It was speculated that the Park would open on Decoration Day, the 30th of May, which would have been a fitting time; however, in the newspapers they recorded May 26 opening was going to be delayed because there was a labor shortage—there weren’t enough carpenters; there weren’t enough skilled laborers to complete the project that they wanted to have. Finally July 1st, Pacific City opened.

The Broadway Arch, which we so fondly enjoy, was up at Howard & El Camino, and it said To Pacific City, and it directed people down Howard Ave. to the arches of and the entrance of Pacific City. You can see some of the photographs over here that show the arches and the entrance way to Pacific City. Some of these pictures I have that I’ve borrowed from Ed Arnold…you’ve been an important resource.

Opening day at Pacific City was a glorious event. They had a beautiful ferris wheel, a very popular merry-go-round, a Denzel merry-go-round that was attractive for all the children who came to the park. Dodging cars, a Wick, and an area called The Zone which was a concession area. And of course there was a 480’ pleasure pier that was really designed for bringing the ferries down from SF where they’d bring passengers from the foot of Mission St. down to the pier and let them off. There’s a photograph over here of the Pleasure Pier, and tied up at the Bush Pier is a boat called the Ocean Wave. And this was a restaurant with gourmet dining and it was advertised as the most beautiful setting in northern California, as it looked out onto the water.

Probably one of the most frightening rides was The Comet. Emmet Hayes remembers The Comet, and he said it was the most scary adventure he’d ever had! It had a thrilling ride. It was the second largest and it was the fastest and largest west of Detroit. They had a beach dressing room that accommodated 1,000 people. And of course the beach—they brought 2,000 tons of sand, white sand from Monterey, and it made the most beautiful beach in northern California, as they had advertised.

And last but not least, they had a dance pavilion, the largest in California and the west. It was 125’x80’; it could accommodate 2,000 couples. It had the most outstanding bands, the finest bands that you could get. So opening day they had 27,000 revelers that passed through the gates into Pacific City. Then Sunday they had 45,000—the number continued to grow—and July 4th they had a costume parade from the City Hall in Burl. Captain Norberg was in charge of it. Was Capt. Norberg responsible for designing the Library? Yes. (Colonel.) Colonel—I guess he was elevated from the newspapers afterwards. And this was the costume parade. And in it, Ed told me that Walter Ricci’s dad—Ricci’s Bike Shop is just west of old Wirick’s Fountain on the corner of California Dr. & Burl. Ave.—Walter Ricci’s dad rode the big wheel bike in the parade from the City Hall down to the gates of Coyote Point. And of course the costumes that they had: Dolly Madison, Martha Washington, Abe Lincoln, and people were judged on their costumes when they got there.

Transportation to get to the park—they could come by the electric railway from SF—the cars were running every 5 minutes. Buses from SF ran as fast as they could make the roundtrip, go up to SF, bring people back again. And then they had the steam trains. So there was quite a bit of transportation for people besides their own private cars. Cost 25 cents to take a steam train from SF. A bus from the Burl. Depot to Pacific City cost a nickel. Now some people didn’t want to pay the nickel, so they walked. The admission to the Park cost a dime. Auto parking out there was 15 cents, and hot dogs were a dime also.

Well, it was a thrilled day for them on the Fourth of July. The weather was great, and as they were approaching sundown they were expecting a show of fireworks. They had a big fireworks display prepared, and unfortunately the cold fog started rolling in over from the Bay; and by the time they set the fireworks off from the Pleasure Pier, they couldn’t see the fireworks—they could just see the glare on the fog. So this was a bit of a disappointment for them, but they did have 100,000 people that came through the gates on the Fourth of July. This is quite thrilled for them.

July 7th in the newspapers it was reported that the crowds were so large that transportation was not adequate, the boardwalk not big enough, dance pavilion was too small, and the hot dog emporiums ran out of food! Numerous groups had their conventions and gatherings at Pacific City. And of course young people it was important for them to have their birthday parties out there because it was the place to be seen with your friends.

The main entertainers were features in Pacific City including the renowned Harry Houdini. October 27, as the park was about to prepare to close for the season, they said they have 2 days of carnivals, and the celebration—the American Legion celebrated Armistice Day and there was a parade. They all liked their parades and the floats and the athletic events, and they had fireworks then also. However as the crowds dwindled and the takes for the concessionaires started to drop below opening records and finally below their level of maintenance, they became a little bit doubtful whether they wanted to continue on.

Feb. 7 of the following year 1923 the park was supposed to open April 1st. They were planning the construction of the Bay Bridge, Bayshore Highway. The electric railway was going to put an extension down to Pacific City as well as Southern Pacific. However, March 28 it was delayed so they weren’t going to be able to open in time. Arrangements were to be made with the creditors. It finally came out that they were having financial problems, and the Howard Estate—David Stollery, remember, he was the realtor from Hillsborough—he managed to have himself appointed the Sec.-Treas. for Pacific City, and he was also the manager of the Howard Estate that sold this property to the investors of Pacific City. So there was a bit of a conflict, I think, but the Howard Estate drew David’s Stollery pressed for their claims of money—there was money that they wanted to be reimbursed for. They concessionaires, they had proposed new additions to the park. They were going to have a miniature steam train; they were going to have a captive airplane with cars on it that would swing out over the water. They were going to have a new roller coaster device to travel through tunnels and over mountains; were going to have a fun house, a swimming tank, an outdoor theater and seaplanes. Also, they were going to have a series of comedies that would be produced there at Pacific City and also at the Studios. This was going to be the Atlantic City of the West. People thought it was going to be the Coney Island of the West, too.

August 1st, 1923, fire destroyed 2 of the concessions—one called the Canyon Inn, which I think was a restaurant, and a Pig in a Blanket, which I know was a restaurant. These were operated by Burl. people. The fire protection at Pacific City was not adequate; and a messenger was sent out to Burlingame. They had tried to call San Mateo, but the lines were down; so they sent a messenger out to Burlingame to the Fire Dept. and said We’ve got a fire out here—come out and help us! And he said Pacific City?—that’s outside of our city limits—we can’t help. So the messenger went back to San Mateo, and he said We’ve got the fire—come help us. And they went to Pacific City, they put the hoses out into the water, and they sucked water out of the Bay, and they put the fire out.

Aug. 8, 1923, they had a meeting here at the Burlingame Woman’s Club. They planned to discuss 3 hotels. Remember, this is a period of enthusiasm. Burlingame is going to have a hotel, Pacific City is going to have a hotel, and San Mateo. Just a week after that it was announced in the newspaper that Pacific City had been purchased by Iverson & Lessner—these were the owners of the dance pavilion that was so popular at that time. A week later they planned their grand opening with movie stars. They were going to have a Motion Picture Display Day.

And then they also threw something else in in September. They had special entertainment of boxing matches. And then Oct. 3, 1923, they had a mammoth car show, antique cars, and with bathing beauties. Now, when we had our dedication out at Coyote Point, the Clampers, we tried to emulate this—we had an antique cars show, but we didn’t have the bathing beauties.

April 16, 1924, the Park had closed. The lights went out in 1923, and some of the investors were trying to get this back in operation again; assurances were made that the park would reopen. There were lack of funds responsible for closing this; only a few concessions remained. The dance hall continued to operate Wed., Sat., and Sunday evenings. And then finally in 1925 the Howard Estate, David Stollery the manager, bought the property for $188,000. And then eventually in the 30s the dances declined and shortly after they converted it to a roller skating rink. Some of you may remember roller skating out at the dance pavilion.

The dance pavilion in 1946 was torn down, and that time Stollery was operating the roller skating rink. He moved across to the other side of the freeway and opened the Rolladium. A little old candy man and ice cream maker, Mr. Spitzer, had a concession at Pacific City, and he operated there for 1 year, then he moved closer to the front gate as attendance was dropping off, and then finally the park closed. He opened his shop on Broadway—a little competition for Art, not much. But this was 2 blocks west of Art Preston’s—it was called Spitzer’s Fountain, and he made candy and ice cream, he and his wife.

Now, what caused Pacific City to fail? Well, most of the people speculate that it was the wind, the cold fogs, and most of all the sewage pollution from the city of Burlingame. Some of the reminders of Pacific City—if you look out at the Humane Society, just before you enter the Humane Society is a palm tree. That’s the lone reminder that is on the property of Pacific City.

Now, the carousel was purchased in 1925 by Herbert Fleischacker, and it was restored in 1978 and 1994; so when you go out to the zoo and you see that carousel, remember, it’s from Pacific City. Now the steam train, the Little Puffer, that, too, was purchased by Herbert Fleischacker in 1925. It was originally built in 1907 and operated on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk til 1914 by Fred Swanton. The town was named after Fred Swanton—a town along the coast. Later on it was discovered in the SF Scrapyard, and it was restored. It was purchased in 1923 by the Pacific City people, the investors, and was put into operation through The Zone area. There’s a photograph here that Martha showed me that shows some tracks, and I speculate that this may be the tracks of the Little Puffer, the steam train that operated in Pacific City. There’s another photograph here, given to me by the SF Examiner and I’m giving it to the Hist. Soc., of The Zone people walking through the concession areas.

And of course the last remaining art is the Broadway Arch—remember, that was across the entrance to, directing people down Howard Ave. Sometime when you’re out at Coyote Point, make a point of walking along the path along the beach. About midway is the plaque that the Eclampus Vitus put up to commemorate Pacific City. Here’s a brochure: A 3-day Festival at Pacific City. They described what they were going to have. Quite interesting. They were going to have a tug of war between the capital of labor, they were going to have a hot cherry contest, and a tire changing race. Things were a little different than they are now."

[Joe]

Jennifer, this is a fantastic oral history. Thank you so much. Just think--we had a housing shortage and congested transportation in the 1920's.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

--Santayana

[Bruce Dickinson]

Joe, *the* Bruce Dickinson* (1) wonders what prompted that Santayana quote *ahem, ahem*

(1) *the* Bruce Dickinson, aka *the Cock of the Walk* resides in Burlingame California; all comments made by him that bear any resemblance to other actual events or locales, or persons (including, but not limited to, other individuals or corporations also named Bruce Dickinson), living or dead, is entirely coincidental.