San Mateo downtown historic walking tours highlight architecture

The free, milelong tour, is hosted once a month this summer is popular, with their 25 slots filling up quickly, often requiring a waitlist. Vande Voorde has been leading the two-hour walks since 2023, and finds many participants aren’t aware that they’ve been walking through layers of history. Murals, figurines and coats of arms decorate the buildings that are so often passed without being given much thought.

“It’s invisible to most people who visit downtown, but once they go on the tour it creates an awareness,” Vande Voorde said.

Development in the commercial district grew rapidly when the city’s first train station was built in 1863 as a midpoint on the San Francisco to San Jose railroad. From there, buildings rose and development never stopped. San Mateo’s downtown was officially recognized as a historic district in 1993. 

“We have so many different styles because the downtown historic district was developed over several decades,” Vande Voorde said.

Today, the district features colonial, classical, Greek revival, Spanish colonial, Mission, Tudor revival and art deco architecture. 

Some of the oldest standing structures are from the late 1890s during the Victorian era, however, the 1906 earthquake destroyed much of what we could have seen today. One highlight on the tour is the original City Hall building at 215-227 S. B St. Built in 1914, it stands true to the art deco-style and has served as a police station, fire station and office buildings. B Street Boxing now leases the basement level of the building and uses an old jail cell as a storage closet.

The Heritage Alliance is a nonprofit established in 2022 with the purpose of protecting historic areas and resources throughout the city. Soon after its establishment, the late Keith Weber designed a walking tour using research from “San Mateo: A Centennial History,” written by Mitch Postel, San Mateo County Historical Association president. A year later, Vande Voorde took over the position of organizing and leading the tours.

“Every tour I do is really in Keith’s honor,” Vande Voorde said. “It has his thumbprint all over it.” 

Downtown historic tours are scheduled to take place continuously throughout the year with the Victorian Days walking tour on Aug. 2, and the next one on Sept. 20. Those who are interested can register by contacting tour@smheritage.org.