Exhibits

The Burlingame Historical Society maintains an exhibit at the Burlingame City Hall, Primrose Road and/or the Library. The exhibits follow the same topic as the quarterly meetings. In addition, we will continue to build our on-line exhibits from our extensive archival collection.You can choose to review the information about the recent exhibits on-line here and read and post memories about the topic in our Memories.

Lights, Camera, Action. We have been the home of many movies houses but we have only one remaining.

Severn Dairy Wallscape.  In June 2000 the Regan Building on California Drive in Burlingame was demolished to make way for a new structure. When the walls came tumbling down on this mid-1920’s building, a surprise was in store. Behind the wall was revealed a beautiful wallscape advertising the long gone Severn Dairy. Read about the discovery and restoration of this important piece of Americana, and enjoy the photos of the recent ceremonies.

The Grocery Stores of Burlingame. Since the first grocery store at Highland and Howard that was started before Burlingame was incorporated as a town, our town has seen many stores come and go. In 1920 there were 14 grocery, dry goods, fruits & vegetable and meat markets listed in the city directory. At the peak, in 1940, there were 39, but there was a steady decline in the 1950’s and 1960’s until by 1980 there were only 24 listed in directory.

Today there are 10 grocery stores, including convenience stores and supermarkets, in Burlingame. Some of the stores have a long history. The Adeline Market and the Oak Grove stores are still going strong after more than seventy years. Others like Piggly Wiggly and Jenny Wren are just memories. You can enjoy the on-line presentation (note not all Internet browsers will be able to view this exhibit) that was used at the May 18th, 2003 quarterly meeting and is now our permanent on-line exhibit, and you can read and post memories about the Burlingame stores in our Memories section.

The Burlingame High School. Opened in 1923 as the San Mateo High School, Burlingame Branch, the current Burlingame High school was designed by prolific school architect William Weeks. Credited with over 45 school designs in California alone, Weeks designed a building for 1,500 students. The first enrolled class had 350 pupils. The original gymnasium was designed by Col. E. Norberg, the architect of other Burlingame landmarks including the public library. The original gymnasium was demolished and replaced in the late 1960’s. In the 1940’s the biology teacher planted the current redwoods that now grace the front lawn of the school.

Easton Library. The Easton Library building was originally the home of the North Burlingame Woman’s Club. It opened on September 23, 1927 and over the next twenty years the club was used as a venue for meetings, dramatic productions, and private parties.In 1943 the Burlingame Library signed a four-year lease to use the building as a local library annex, and four years later the Woman’s Club sold the building to the City. You can read more about the Easton Library and the historic Womans Club in our exhibit.

Pacific City, "The Coney island of the West."  Pacific City was an amusement park promoted by the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce, local businessmen and civic leaders who envisioned the area would rival Coney Island and Atlantic City. Surely the greatest on the West Coast. Mid-peninsula would be transformed in to a resort area. You can read about ’Pacific City in our on-line exhibit.

The Neighborhood News. In 1932 two twelve year old depression era school students started a local newspaper that eventually grew to a circulation of over 3,000. Read more about the Neighborhood News in our permanent on-line exhibit.