Burlingame's Pacific City didn't last

First, it had to be made accessible for the thousands of expected customers. Howard Avenue was extended so automobiles from the El Camino Real could get there. East of the SP railroad station facilities were improved and shuttle buses were planned that could transfer 2,000 customers an hour from the station and the #40 trolley line to the amusement park. A 500-foot pier was built out into the Bay to facilitate the thousands expected to ride chartered ferry boats that would leave San Francisco and Oakland.

The amusement park, now named Pacific City, was the brainchild of David Stollery, a Hillsborough Realtor and manager of the Howard estate property that included this marshland and Coyote Point. After much talking and persuasion, he raised the $100,000 from a group of San Francisco investors to purchase the 90-acre site. It was now ready to build an entertainment center that would rival Coney Island and Playland by the Sea. He had the land and all he needed now was the biggest attraction on the coast and the floods of people needed to support it. The Hillsborough, Burlingame and San Mateo Chambers of Commerce were whole-heartedly and enthusiastically behind the project and ready to handle the thousands who might buy land and decide to settle on the Peninsula once the beauty and favorable climate around here were recognized.

In the spring of 1921, more than $500,000 had been spent on improvements to the marshes and construction of a giant Ferris wheel, scenic railway, a $60,000 dance pavilion, several restaurants, game booths, dozens of rides and concessions. A 3,200-foot boardwalk was constructed along the Bay overlook with many tons of white sand imported from Santa Cruz beaches spread along the new beach. This artificial beach would attract thousands of bathers who could be watched by the boardwalkers who chose to spend a day in the sun on the Peninsula.

The grand opening on July 1, 1922, attracted nearly 27,000 visitors. Another 50,000 came the next day. The Pacific Coast Corp. investors knew they had made a wise investment and were already counting their profits. By July 4, more than 100,000 visitors had paid to visit the Coney Island of the West.

To open the 1923 season, the Comet, the second largest roller coaster in the United States, was built in anticipation of another million-patron season. Disaster, however, was about to overcome the grandiose amusement park. Revenue was disappointing due to a decrease in attendance, and in August a fire destroyed one-fourth of the midway. Also bad weather kept many people away.

What started out as a rosy project suddenly became a nightmare. Competition from the Playland by the Sea in San Francisco and Neptune Beach in Oakland finally became too much for Pacific City. Bankruptcy was the only way out.

By 1925, the 90-acre site was sold back to the Howard estate. The Comet roller coaster was torn down in 1933, but the dance pavilion and a roller-skating rink continued in operation for many years. In 1946, the dance hall was torn down. The area is now bisected by the Bayshore Highway which was built in the late 1920s and by housing tracts built in the 1950s and ’60s.