Baywood celebrates historic status

A San Mateo elementary school celebrated gaining historic status to protect its classic style and original mural work.

Baywood Elementary School was listed in the California Register of Historical Resources by the State Historic Resources Commission in August 2007. Members of the Baywood community presented photographs of Baywood since 1939 while recognizing the effort of being included in the state register. The school boasts a classic style and building, which was maintained throughout renovations over the past 69 years as well as a colorful mural painted during the New Deal age. The new status will not have any financial gain for the district or the school, but would give a bit of protection to the school.

"We are very proud of our school’s place in local history and its continuing contribution to the city of San Mateo,” said Joan Rosas, associate superintendent of student services.

Students kicked off the Founders’ Day event with top songs from 1939 including "Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which was number one that year, and "When the Saints go Marching In.”

Baywood opened in 1939, but the idea began in 1927. Until 1939, children in the area had to travel to Hillsborough or across El Camino Real to go to school. The first special meeting to deal with the issue was called on Aug. 3, 1934, according to "San Mateo County Elementary Schools 100-year history.”

The idea started in 1999 when there was talk of putting in a furnace and taking out part of a mural in the original kindergarten classroom, said Site Council co-Chair Ellen Ulrich. The mural, which depicts a jungle-like theme with a couple children mixed in, lines the top four feet of the classroom walls covering about 400 feet. It was painted from 1939 to 1940 by George Gaethke, an artist employed by the Work Projects Administration. The WPA was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935 as part of the New Deal program to put millions of unemployed Americans back to work. Through the project, 2,566 murals were produced, including the one still displayed in the kindergarten classroom at Baywood.

The mural was actually painted on canvas at a pickle factory in San Mateo, then rolled up and glued onto the walls like a roll of wallpaper at Baywood, said Ulrich.

The San Mateo County Historical Association has supported the application for some time now.

The buildings hark back to pre-World War II San Mateo, Mitch Postel, executive director of the San Mateo County Historical Association, previously explained.

The front building, including a tower, is also included in historical status. It was built by architect William Toepke and is an example of Spanish colonial revival, which was a style prominently used because of the Mexican ties to the area.

Principal Joanne Day had to get special approval when improvements such as putting in new ramps were made to the school to maintain the historical value of the school.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.