Tanforan's long and colorful history

San Francisco had passed an anti-gambling ordinance that caused their Ingleside Racetrack to close. There was thus a need for a new racetrack outside San Francisco's city limits, but within easy access. This need was satisfied in 1899 by the opening of Tanforan Racetrack, named for the former owners with a slight alteration of the spelling.

Grandstands were built close to the railroad station and the electric trolley line that was soon to open. The track could also be reached by ferryboat from San Francisco. Horse and dog races were held at this facility and the wealthy horse fanciers like Adolph Spreckles, Leland Stanford and George Hearst ran their favorites here.

Auto and motorcycle races soon became popular in the off season. The inner field of the track, called Selfridge Field, was used for airplane takeoffs and landings after 1910. In 1911, pilot Eugene Ely took off from Selfridge Field and landed on the deck of a Navy ship in the Bay and then took off and returned to Tanforan. This was the first time a plane had ever landed on or taken off from a ship. A wooden platform 130 by 32 feet had been constructed on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania.

The major problem was how to stop the plane. They decided to string a series of ropes across the deck, secured with sandbags. The plane was then equipped with a grappling hook to hopefully catch one of the ropes.

That original plan is amazingly similar to methods still used.

Tanforan was used in World War I when the track was converted to a military training center in 1917. After the war it reopened as a racetrack, but California had outlawed public betting by then. Not surprisingly, the non-betting track failed. Several flying schools continued to use the landing field. In 1933, the track reopened when the state approved pari-mutuel betting.

World War II again interrupted the race business when the Navy bought the site. On May 1, 1942, Tanforan became an Assembly Center for people of Japanese ancestry who were interned under federal order. Around 8,000 people stayed at Tanforan on the way to Relocation Camps. These families were housed in the horse stalls of the stables.

After 1945, the Navy sold the land and the racetrack reopened and flourished. In the 1950s, the larger races moved to Bay Meadows and the Tanforan track went into decline. The inner field was used as a golf course. In the 1960s it was sold to land developers. The buildings were to be demolished when, on July 31, 1964, a fire broke out. In 12 hours 48 acres burned to the ground. The fire was spectacular. It razed the buildings cheaper than conventional demolition could have.

Since the Grand Opening in 1971 as the "Only Enclosed Mall of the San Francisco Peninsula," Tanforan has been a shopping center. Only the statue in the parking lot of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit reminds us of its earlier life. Now with a BART Station and a new renovation, Tanforan is about to enter yet another phase.

For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City. History column Rediscovering the Peninsula runs twice a month on Mondays in the San Mateo Daily Journal. Comments or suggestions can be submitted to news@smdailyjournal.com. <