SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

SAN MATEO, CA

PXL_20240427_231944998 Credit: Liz Henry

The San Mateo County Historical Museum (SMCHM) is located in the heart of San Mateo, California. Founded in 1951, the museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of San Mateo County. The museum is housed in the historic San Mateo County Courthouse, which was built in 1894.

The museum's permanent collection contains artifacts from the county's history, including clothing, tools, photographs, documents, furniture, and other artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, the museum offers a variety of temporary exhibits and educational programs, such as lectures, workshops, and field trips.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, with a research library and archives open Tuesday through Thursday. The library houses a variety of collections, including newspaper clippings, maps, books, and photographs. The archives contain more than 10,000 images, as well as diaries, letters, and other documents.

The museum also offers a variety of public events, including concerts, lectures, film screenings, and hands-on activities. Special events include the annual Founder’s Day celebration, which honors the county's founder, George Barbour.

The museum’s mission is to preserve and promote San Mateo County’s rich and diverse history. Through its exhibits, educational programs, and events, it encourages visitors to discover the unique stories of the people, places, and events that have shaped the county’s history.

SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM is a Historical Societies, Historic Preservation in SAN MATEO CA. US MID #8400600118

The museum is classed as HSC (Historical Societies, Historic Preservation). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Western (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington).

SF / Buena Vista (nerd) view – La Grande Tank? (# 2621) From Buena Vista Park, the Castro neighborhood is the nearest, the <u><a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/LtqmVoQStLTFi2gX7" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Blue Tower</a></u> is the furthest, and there’s some other stuff…..

What other stuff? And, where’s the Blue Tower? Well...we’re looking mostly south and just a little east, with the late Fall sun hitting the western-facing houses. The fairly wide street running sort of up the middle of the picture is Eureka in the Castro, which actually runs pretty close to exactly north-south. If you’re as nerdish as me about locations, the first visibly very large building on the west side of Eureka (and thus no sun on it) going south, is close to 20th St.

So, the Blue Tower? Apparently it’s fairly famous landmark, mostly for commuters headed south. It’s a tall blue tower just a little right of center on the west (right) side of McLaren Park which is the second two the furthest tree ridge stretching left-right in the picture. “Blue Tower” is not its official name – this ode to <u><a href="https://www.clifftsang.com/news/heres-why-the-la-grande-tank-is-the-greatest-unofficial-landmark-of-sf/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">La Grande Tank</a></u> tells all.

If you’re really nerdish, the hill furthest away (not counting the very distant hills) with three visible radio towers is San Bruno Mountain, which is a San Mateo county park.

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Part of a series of photos of San Francisco through the trees of Buena Vista Park -- an effort to capture how apart from the city one feels while in the park, while still in the middle of it all.

ceremony attendees around 20 in person, 30+ on zoom (you can see the zoom folks on the laptop on mel's bed)

Contact SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
1700 WEST HILLSDALE BLVD.
SAN MATEO
CA
94402

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SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM Information

MID #	8400600118
Name	SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Alternate Name	SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Classification	Historical Societies, Historic Preservation, , Western
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)
INCOME	0
REVENUE	0
LAT/LONG	37.531698, -122.333506
CODES	FIPS State Code: 06 FIPS County Code: 081 US Census Tract: 606800 US Census Block: 2000