San Mateo

San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the western shore of San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and San Jose. It takes its name from Saint Matthew, after the Spanish outpost that once stood on San Mateo Creek.

The Ohlone lived along the creeks of the peninsula, and in 1793 the Spanish founded the San Mateo hospice as an outpost of Mission San Francisco de Asís. Wealthy San Francisco families built country estates on the hills in the 19th century, among them the Howard family, whose house El Cerrito stood above Crystal Springs Road. The railroad down the peninsula brought commuters, and San Mateo was incorporated in 1894. The Bay Meadows racetrack held horse races in the city for most of the 20th century before it was replaced by homes and offices.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the maker of the PlayStation consoles, runs its American business from San Mateo. Roblox, the online game platform, also has its head office in the city. The Hillsdale Shopping Center, opened in the 1950s, is the main retail center of the city.

Central Park, enclosed by the iron and stone fence that William Kohl built around his estate, has a Japanese Tea Garden with koi ponds and a teahouse. The De Sabla Japanese Teahouse and Garden was laid out in the 1890s by Makoto Hagiwara, who also designed the Japanese garden in Golden Gate Park. Coyote Point Park, a rocky point on the bay, has a beach, a marina and the CuriOdyssey science museum for children.