A Map of Hillsborough Park and Vicinity showing the principal roads and other points of interest in the year of 1930.

Description

A scarce 1930 pictorial map of Hillsborough, Burlingame, San Mateo, and nearby communities, discussing the area’s history and contemporary attractions.

The map highlights the neighborhood of Hillsborough Park, north of Crystal Springs Road, characterized by abundant tree cover and quaint, winding roads. At the time, the area was still sparsely populated, with the traced Hillsborough Estates development hinting at future growth. In Hillsborough Park and beyond, the owners of multiple estates are noted, including familiar names of Bay Area high society such as Crocker and Mills. These mansions constituted some of the most splendid estates on the West Coast, if not the entire country, resembling more the homes of European aristocrats than the urban mansions that many of these same families maintained in San Francisco.

Perhaps the most famous of these estates is Carolands, labeled “Harriet Caroland Schermerhorn.” The 98-room mansion, completed in 1916, belonged to Harriet Pullman Carolan, daughter of industrialist George Pullman, and her husband Frank Carolan. However, the couple separated soon after the mansion was completed, and it was generally uninhabited afterward, leading to a proposal that it be bought by the U.S. government to be used as a “Western White House.” Over the following decades, the property’s estate was subdivided to build more homes. The mansion fell into disrepair and was nearly demolished, but in the past 15 years, it has been restored and opened to occasional public tours.

Aside from grand country estates, the view also labels and illustrates waterways, areas of elevation, roads, railways, schools, country clubs, public institutions, hotels, and other features. Historical illustrations also appear, referencing the Native Americans of the region, the explorers, missions, and ranchos of the Spanish and Mexican eras, as well as early developments in the American era. Mills Filed, near the top, is now the site of San Francisco International Airport. The Bay Bridge, referred to at the bottom-right, was the first bridge across the San Francisco Bay, a private toll bridge that was the longest in the world when completed (it was replaced by the current San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in 1967).

Census

This pictorial map or view was drawn by David J. Stollery and designed by Herman Struck (not to be confused with the contemporary German-Israeli artist of the same name). Stollery was a real estate developer and manager of the Howard estate, owner of Coyote Point, seen right here, which he imagined could be turned into an amusement park (today it is home to a golf course and other outdoor space). The map is quite scarce, only being noted among the holdings of the California Historical Society, California State Library, St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, and the San Mateo County Historical Association.