The Natural History of Foster City, California

by James K. Sayre

a draft manuscript

12 May 2005

Chapter 24: Places to go for further information

The San Francisco Peninsula has several excellent places to go for further information on natural history and social history.

The .i.Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education; is located in the Coyote Point County Recreational Area in San Mateo off the extension of Peninsula Avenue, a 101 Freeway exit going north. It has undergone extensive renovation in recent years and now features a mini-zoo of sorts with some of the indigenous California animals on display. There are small mammals, reptiles and amphibians in traditional display areas. The birds including a raven, a turkey vulture, and a red-tailed hawk have larger aviaries to fly about in. It also has a regular displays about the nature history and the environment of the San Mateo area. It is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday - Saturday, and Noon - 5 PM on Sunday. The current admission fee of $3/adult. Free to all on the first Wednesday of each month. The rest of the park includes picnic areas set in groves of old blue gum eucalyptus trees. There is a rare swimming beach on the bay for those brave enough to plunge into water that sometimes goes above 70° F in the summer. There also is a municipal golf course next door. There is a yacht harbor just to the east of the golf course. Admission to the park itself is supposedly $4/car, but recently there has not been anyone manning the entrance gates to collect the fees on weekdays.

Historically, Coyote Point was an island, separated from the Peninsula by 0.3 miles of marsh [Dreisbach]. This marsh was filled at an early date. About a hundred years ago, many blue gum trees (Eucalyptus globulus) were planted around Coyote Point. These trees have matured to a fine stand of tall, graceful trees that shade the picnic groves at the Point. From the tip of the point near the Museum one has an excellent view of airplanes landing at the San Francisco International Airport, which lies just to the north. Pelicans and cormorants are sometimes visible from this bluff.

Coyote Point was the home of San Mateo Junior College from 1947 to 1963. The school was housed in some buildings that had been used by the United States Merchant Marine Cadet School. There were many problems with the old buildings that were used for the Junior College, so a County Bond Measure was passed in 1957 to provide funds to construct the presence campus, which is located just north of Route 92 in the hills of San Mateo. The college was renamed the College of San Mateo [Svanevik].

The .i.San Mateo County Historical Museum; is located on the campus of the College of San Mateo on West Hillsdale Avenue off of Route 92 in San Mateo. It has a fine library that is a grand repository of all sorts of information about the past history of the County. It is open from 9:30 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Thursday and on Sunday from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The library is staffed only during the week. Admission is free, but be sure to pickup a free visitor parking permit at the front desk, to avoid tickets from the campus police patrols.

The .i.Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo; is located at 1451 Middlefield Road, off of Embarcadero Road, off of 101 freeway. It has a variety of permanent educational and historical displays as well as some outdoor cages holding Crows and Ravens, a Bobcat, and a Raccoon; two Geese and two Mallards share a small pond. There is also a common iguana in an Astroturf-lined cage. It is open 10 AM to 5 PM, on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; from 1 PM to 8 PM on Wednesday and on Sunday afternoons from 1 PM to 4 PM. Free admission.

The .i.Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve; is located at the eastern end of Embarcadero Road, east of the 101 freeway. It has many acres of marsh and wetlands for public exploration and observation. The interpretive center is presently open limited hours: Tuesday through Friday, 2 PM to 5 PM; Saturday and Sunday afternoon, 1 PM to 5 PM. Free admission.

The San Francisco Peninsula has two fine county library systems, the .i.San Mateo County Library system; and the .i.Santa Clara County Library system;. In addition, some cities have their own excellent public libraries, including Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto. Anyone can obtain a library card at any library with proof of street address.

.i.Stanford University; is world-class university located on the western edge of Palo Alto. It is located on a beautiful part of the Peninsula flatlands and low oak-covered hills. It has the .i.Stanford Museum; on the eastern side of the campus, located off the northern side of Palm Drive. The Museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday - Friday and 1 PM - 5 PM, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. The also is the Quadrangle, the older academic center of the campus, with the Memorial Church located on the inner courtyard. West of the Quadrangle is Tresidder Student Union, the Post Office, the Bookstore and many other newer buildings. There is a small lake on campus, located to the northwest of Student Union. It was created about 100 years ago by scraping out the low natural depression and hardening the lake bottom, reportedly by running mules over it. It is called, ".i.Lake Lagunita;" (lake lake) and sometimes offers swimming and sailing to students in years of significant rainfall. Traditionally, in midsummer, the lake is drained and the water is used to water University lawns.

End.

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