Burlingame opens 25-year-old time capsule 

The reopening, which occurred Dec. 2, gave the community a blast of nostalgia, Pfaff said. 

“Everyone was smiling, because you have memories from that period of time when you were around,” she said. “Everything brings back a memory of some sort and some is, ‘Oh, I wonder why they put that in?’ It was so much fun.” 

Among the items was a pair of contact lenses, which Pfaff theorized may have been included because it was expected they’d be obsolete by the year 2025. 

There were a variety of electronic items included in the capsule, including an old cellphone and audio contact discs, as well as physical media, like a copy of The Burlingame B — Burlingame High School’s newspaper — and the now-defunct San Mateo Daily News about the capsule project itself. 

Various photos and letters from Burlingame residents, a Beanie Baby and a first-edition copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” were also included. 

“It’s a nice collection of things that represent key events, key themes, key trends at the time,” said Burlingame Mayor Peter Stevenson, who opened the capsule. 

Four months ago, Burlingame Historical Society member Jim Kelly reminded Pfaff of the capsule’s existence, she said, and thus began the process of planning its uprooting. 

“He remembered that this thing was in the ground and he wrote and asked me is somebody gonna open that thing up? It’s ready,” she said. “I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t even know it was there.” 

A time capsule presents an opportunity for one generation to understand and communicate with another, Pfaff said. 

“You won’t necessarily be there to see the joy it brings to another generation that’s going to be looking through it,” she said. “It’s a long time capsule. You can only imagine what the next few generations will think when they open it.” 

The tradition will continue on in the next few months, when Burlingame will solicit suggestions and form a committee to create a new, 50-year time capsule, to be opened in 2076. There’s also plans for a 100-year time capsule in the works when Caltrans breaks ground on the El Camino Real project.