Coyote Point Recreation Area
Coyote Point Recreation Area is a park operated by San Mateo County, California in the United States. Located on San Francisco Bay, it is south of San Francisco International Airport on the border of Burlingame and San Mateo. Facilities within the park include a large playground, the CuriOdyssey junior museum, a sandy bathing beach, a marina and yacht club, hiking trails, and picnic areas. In addition, the San Mateo County Sheriff's office has a shooting range on-site for training of law enforcement. It is adjacent to the Peninsula Humane Society and the municipal Poplar  Creek Golf Course. The distinctive point, covered by a grove of eucalyptus trees, can be seen from airplanes approaching San Francisco International Airport and is a good location for aircraft spotting and birdwatching. The site has been used for the large Pacific City amusement park in the early 1920s, as the basic training facility for the Pacific branch of the United States Merchant Marine service during World War II, and as the campus for College of San Mateo during the decade that followed the war. The county completed its acquisition of the park lands in 1962. History. Precolumbian. Coyote Point  was originally an island in San Francisco Bay rising to a height of above mean sea level with a marsh connecting it to the mainland. Because it has no fresh water, it is doubtful that Native Americans lived here, but shell mounds on the point indicate that it was at least occasionally used, possibly for special ceremonies or feasts; skeletal human remains were discovered in 1987 during routine dredging of the marina and dated to be approximately 4,000 years old, indicating a long presence of humans at the Point. Spanish settlement. Coyote Point was part of the Presidio and Mission  lands until it passed to Mexico. The Governor of Mexico then granted the land, then known as Rancho San Mateo, to Cayetano Arenas, from whom the name can probably be traced. The Arenas family sold it to the firm of Mellus and Howard, and William Davis Merry Howard purchased it from the firm in 1850. After his death in 1856, the land passed to his brother George, who ordered a road and pier built on the land. At approximately the same time, Chinese immigrants established a fishing village near Coyote Point to harvest bay shrimp for San Francisco restaurants in  the 1860s. By 1868, the pier at Coyote Point was operating for freight and lumber loading; it also served as a receiving point for sand that would be used in the construction of Crystal Springs Dam from 1888 to 1890. Under the Howard family, the marsh between the island and the mainland (now the Poplar Creek Golf Course) was reclaimed to create dairy pasture. They also built a bathhouse and pool on the beach in 1880, and had eucalyptus, cypress and pine trees planted on the knoll by noted horticulturist John McLaren between 1880 and 1882. By 1890, the beach  at Coyote Point near the pier was famed locally as the best in Burlingame and San Mateo, which made it the target of "sand pirates", who would truck away sand and sell it to artificial stone manufacturers in San Francisco. The land remained in the Howard family until it was sold to the county and the federal government in 1942. Pacific City Amusement Park. On July 1, 1922, a group of promoters opened the "Pacific City Amusement Park", which occupied approximately along the beach leased from the Howard family. Dubbed the "Coney Island of the West", the park included a  beach (with trucked-in sand), boardwalk, children's playground, scenic railway, merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, dancing pavilion, and several food concessions. A crowd estimated at more than 100,000 people visited Pacific City on July 4 of that year, drawing comparisons to Atlantic City. Although it was reputed to have had one million visitors in aggregate over the first season (1922), a fire during the second season destroyed about one quarter of the development, and it opened only briefly for a third season. The reasons given for the closure were strong afternoon winds and sewage contamination in the bay. Genesis . The name and site were first proposed in September 1921 at San Mateo City Hall by Nat Messer, a San Francisco real estate dealer who pitched the idea to the Three Cities Chamber of Commerce (3CCC). The Pacific City Corporation (PCC), which developed the site, was led by a three-member board of directors composed of A.H. Dougall, Jr.; Arnold C. Lackenbach; and David J. Stollery. Stollery was serving as the secretary for PCC's largest creditor, the William H. Howard Estate Company. PCC was supported by the 3CCC, led by manager Daniel C. Imboden for the cities of San  Mateo, Burlingame, and Hillsborough; 3CCC had been organized in 1921 with one of its stated priorities to be "the development of the San Mateo Beach" and was satisfied "that the building of Pacific City would well repay the membership of the Chamber for the money and time expended." At the time, the planned opening date was May 30, 1922, Decoration Day. The land was acquired for from the William H. Howard Estate Company in February 1922; at the time, it was the largest real estate transaction in San Mateo County. The site of Pacific City stretched for north from Coyote  Point, including of land and covered by water. The Pacific City Corporation bragged in April 1922 that an investment of in total had been made so far, including land, construction, and equipment. By late May, it was clear the new park would not be open in time for the holiday, although the work was nearing completion, including a entry gate with an illuminated sign, which would be visible to cars traveling on the Bayshore Highway. D. Wooster Taylor resigned from his position as superintendent of the children's playground at Golden Gate Park (now the Koret Children's Quarter) to  manage Pacific City. Attractions. Visitors to Pacific City rode the Southern Pacific Peninsula Commute trains to Burlingame, where Fageol shuttles would take them to the park for an additional 5 cents, the San Mateo Interurban, or the ferry from San Francisco, which tied up at the pier originally built by the Howard family, rebuilt and extended for Pacific City. The park was open daily until midnight. Parking for 5,000 automobiles was also provided. Rides at Pacific City included The Whip, Dodg-em cars, a Dentzel menagerie carousel, a 22-inch narrow-gauge railway, a Ferris wheel, or a "scenic railroad  (a wooden roller coaster designed by John A. Miller) called The Comet, which included an drop and was billed as the largest, fastest coaster west of Detroit. Ground was broken for Comet on April 21, 1922. When not on rides, visitors could choose from bathing on the beach or dancing in a large wooden pavilion; hunger was satiated by concessionaires vending hot dogs and pigs-in-the-blanket. An old ferry, the , was tied up to the pier to serve as a floating restaurant as well. In addition to regular live music performances, Harry Houdini entertained crowds during the first 	Coyote Point Recreation Area
14391601	season with masterful escapes. Financial peril. The first signs of financial ill-health began in September 1922, when PCC was sued over the failure to pay back a small promisorry note. In December 1922, the Howard Estate filed suit to foreclose on the property over non-payment of a US$90,000 promissory note that had been signed by Dougall and Lackenbach; the first payment of $5,000, due the previous March 22, had not been made as scheduled and the only payment that had been received was $1,000 the preceding October. 3CCC brokered an agreement in which a three	Coyote Point Recreation Area
14391602	-member committee was appointed to investigate and report on the financial status of PCC in February 1923; 3CCC President John J. McGrath, who was one of the appointees, warned that we will not stand for one local creditor or stockholder in Pacific City to lose a penny ... if they jockey and humbug, we are in position to make their investment worth about ten cents [on the dollar]." Lackenbach fired back days later: "... you have unwittingly placed the management of Pacific City in a very unfavorable light by reason of this article. It is not only unjust, but has absolutely no  foundation. The management of Pacific City has at all times strenuously held that any reorganization or refinancing of Pacific City must first contemplate the payment of creditors in full with interest from the maturity of their claims." To calm the situation, 3CCC stated they supported both the Howard Estate and PCCC, but if the foreclosure suit was successful, it would antagonize many investors, who likely would lose their stakes. The resort opened on May 19, 1923, due in part to the uncertainty about the resort's future. By late March 1924, the creditors of Pacific City had assumed control and  announced the company would be reorganized under the leadership of Edmond Levy. Plans were made to open the resort on July 1, 1924, but the opening was delayed until July 4. Admission to the park itself was made free that year, with a small fee for automobile parking. In March 1925, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge George H. Buck granted the Howard Estate's foreclosure petition, forcing the site to liquidate its assets. Legacy. The carousel which operated there, as well as the "little puffer" miniature train ride, can still be enjoyed at the San Francisco Zoo. The Dentzel  Carousel Company built the menagerie carousel for Pacific City, and it was moved to what was then Fleishhacker Zoo in 1925; it has since undergone restoration in 1978, 1994, and 2000. Historians have traced the train back to a class built and operated originally at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition by the Miniature Railway Company. This particular train was known to have run along the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as the "Bay Shore Limited" between 1907 and 1915 before it was sold for scrap to a Ford dealer in San Francisco. After running at Pacific City, it was hidden in  Burlingame for two years to avoid being impounded, then sold to Herbert Fleishhacker for his eponymous zoo in 1925, where it ran until 1978, when it was stored to clear space for a new gorilla exhibit. The train was restored in 1997 by volunteers at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum and resumed passenger service at the zoo. The Pacific City beach is known presently as the Coyote Point Promenade. A informational plaque with a summary of Pacific City history was placed by E Clampus Vitus in October 1999 near the present-day boardsports rental shop. Rehabilitation of the beach is  being performed in two phases; the first phase, covering the western half, was completed in 2014 and rebuilt the portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail that ran along the shoreline, along with placing rock revetment to protect the trail and rebuilding the public access ramps to the Bay. The second phase is scheduled to be completed in spring 2022, and will include parking reconfiguration and a new beach. During the eastern promenade work, the remnants of 35 wooden piers that once supported the Pacific City Boardwalk were removed, as they posed a tripping hazard to beachgoers. Educational use. The  first steps were taken in 1940 to convert the area to a park, when San Mateo County's Parks and Recreation Department purchased from the Howard family, of which were underwater. The purchase included of shoreline. In 1942, the federal government purchased of land on Coyote Point for one of three Merchant Marine Cadet Basic schools, the Pacific Coast Cadet Corps (the other two were for the Atlantic Coast Cadet Corps at Kings Point, New York and the Gulf Coast Cadet Corps at Pass Christian, Mississippi). The merchant marine training program had been shortened from 48 to 18 months, in  three stages: The Pacific Coast Merchant Marine Cadet Basic School had started aboard the ex-riverboat "Delta Queen" on 1 July 1941; enrollment quickly outgrew the ship, and the school moved to land-based facilities on Treasure Island. With the outbreak of war, enrollment exceeded the capacity of facilities on Treasure Island and was appropriated to enlarge the school in May 1942. Plans were swiftly drawn up by Cdr. Ralph M. Sheaf, and construction began on the facilities at Coyote Point on June 25, 1942. The campus was built in a cleared area of the Knoll. The Basic School at  San Mateo Point opened on August 15, 1942 and was officially dedicated on August 21, 1943 with a capacity of 528 cadets. Cadets regularly practiced "abandon ship" drills, climbing to the top of a three-story tower and jumping feet-first into the Bay, sometimes into water deliberately fouled with oil and set afire. By June 1944, 4,111 had completed basic training at San Mateo Point, but budget cuts forced the school's closure by January 1947. In 1946, the Cadet School buildings were purchased by San Mateo Junior College to serve as the main college campus, accommodating the expected  influx of students taking advantage of the GI Bill after the war. The entrance to the Coyote Point campus featured two pillars topped with eagles, leftover from the Cadet School. Under an agreement with the county, when enrollments had decreased to a certain level, the land and buildings would revert to the county. However, Elon Hildreth, who became the new president of San Mateo Junior College in 1952, loved the site and lobbied to have Coyote Point established as the College's permanent site; Hildreth moved into the Commandant's House, which was renamed the President's House, and had  served as the residence for the commanding officer of the Maritime Academy. After Hildreth resigned in 1956, he was replaced by Julio Bortolazzo, who turned the college's efforts to a new campus at its present site in the San Mateo Highlands. The new campus opened in 1963, and Coyote Point reverted to the county. Park. At the time, the county acquired , of which were underwater. A master plan was prepared in 1971. Under Ralph Shaw, Director of Parks and Recreation, and his successor, Harry Dean Jr., the park's trail system was laid out. Dean recounted: "After a while , Coyote Point was my favorite park. When I came to the county, the Point was just a small beach and a few picnic areas ... the park had to be designed around the already existent rifle range, the museum and the marina." By the time Dean retired in 1991, Coyote Point was the most-visited park in the county park system, welcoming more than 500,000 visitors per year. Since the initial acquisitions, an additional have been acquired from the Ideal Cement Company, bringing the present size of the park to , of which are underwater. A large globe and anchor were kept  at the Cadet School and remained during its time as the Junior College as a memorial; the anchor was later moved to a spot near the Marina. In 1974, a new Merchant Marine Memorial was installed at an overlook facing north from the Knoll; it was extensively restored and re-dedicated on December 2, 2011. Improvements included new stone walls, new plaques, a replacement eagle statue, and the addition of a section of chain and anchor, donated from a Victory ship of the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. Facilities. Coyote Point is divided into three sub-areas: The park contains many  trails for walking and bicycling, and includes sections of the San Francisco Bay Trail. The Tour de Peninsula bicycle race starts and ends within the park. In addition, there are many small picnic areas throughout the park, eight larger picnic areas available by registration, the Captains House Conference Facility, the Coyote Point Pistol and Rifle Range, CuriOdyssey, the Magic Mountain Playground and the Coyote Point Marina. Construction of the shooting range began in 1961 and was completed in 1962; the range was initially open to the public and was one of the first safety ranges approved by the National Rifle  Association, but it is presently limited to law enforcement personnel only. The Castaway. The Castaway Restaurant was in the northwest section of the Knoll. It opened in 1964 with nautical theming and featured valet parking due to its location within the park; by the 1970s, The Castaway was advertising its tiki theme. The restaurant shut down in 1997 for a planned renovation to add a second story; however, the building subsequently was vandalized and burned and torn down in February 2008. Coyote Point Marina and Yacht Club. The harbor on the east side of Coyote Point was dredged in the  1930s; the spoils were placed in the middle of the new harbor, forming the divider between the two basins. The Coyote Point Yacht Club (CPYC) was formed on July 20, 1941, and initially held its meetings at the old San Mateo city hall near the downtown railroad station; a permanent clubhouse was built on jetty in the new basin and completed in the mid-1940s. Work on the new CPYC building was started on September 23, 1967, and completed by March 2, 1968. The current building includes a dining room with a seated capacity of 300. CPYC sponsored its first Shark  Derby, a shark-fishing competition, in 1947; the Derby gained fame in 1948 when President Harry S Truman made a fifteen-minute stop at Burlingame to visit. Passengers from Japan Air Lines Flight 2 were ferried to the Yacht Club after the DC-8 made a unscheduled landing in the water nearby. CuriOdyssey. CuriOdyssey, formerly the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education is a hands-on science museum and native animal zoo located in the park at 1651 Coyote Point Drive in San Mateo, California, United States. The museum was incorporated in April 1953 as the San Mateo County Junior Museum  using a surplus Quonset hut.