The impending closure of Draeger’s Market in downtown San Mateo has generated angst among some shoppers and others. It’s understandable. It’s been a large, upscale grocery outlet in that commercial center since the late 1990s.
Its shutdown will leave a significant hole in the overall downtown economic ecosystem. It’s also worth pointing out that Draeger’s original San Mateo location was on 25th Avenue adjacent to what was the Manor Theater.
We’ve been down this road before. This isn’t new. San Mateo’s original prime retail district, its downtown, was once a thriving buffet of attractive options.
The rise of the Hillsdale Shopping Center and, later, Fashion Island (now Bridgepointe) challenged downtown severely. Take a look back some 70 or so years and gaze at what once graced that area.
For all practical purposes, downtown served just about every suburban need. For young people, it had it all. Well, almost all.
Within a five-block stretch from First to Fifth avenues, and extending from El Camino Real to just east of what was then the Southern Pacific Railroad line, there was much to satisfy residents and visitors alike.
The examples include:
• City Hall and the headquarters of the Police Department, including a jail.
• Darcy’s Sport Shop, Hubbard’s Bike Shop, Ross Radio and the multifaceted House of Merkel.
• Talbot’s Toyland, Knockenhauer Stationers.
• JJ Newberry (a five-and-dime), Levy Bros., the fashionable City of Paris and Jud Green, Byron’s Shoes and Foreman’s Cameras.
• The Baywood and San Mateo single-screen theaters.
• Blum’s Confectionery, Borden’s Fountain, Carter’s Creamery, See’s Candies and Blum’s.
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• The Benjamin Franklin Hotel, the San Mateo Times, St. Matthew’s Catholic Church and Collins Pharmacy.
• Safeway and Benny’s Market.
• Shadows and Claramar restaurants and the House of Blimp, a hot dog haven.
Coincidentally, the steady decline of San Mateo’s downtown hub began as 1955 came into view. The Hillsdale Shopping Center, three dozen blocks to the south, had made its much-anticipated debut in December of 1954. Sears and Macy’s were the anchor tenants.
Suddenly, downtown was not the only go-to place in the growing town. Competition had ramped up. Then, it got worse. The Fashion Island Shopping Center on the Foster City border opened in 1982. To fight back, the owners of the Hillsdale Shopping Center invested huge sums to enclose their property and upgrade it.
By the 1990s, online shopping, another dagger for traditional downtowns, had commenced as well. San Mateo’s downtown, like most others along the Peninsula, suffered serious declines in sales and foot traffic.
The days of a small-town vibe were gone. Change, of course, was inevitable. But something is absent now, a more basic, low-key human touch perhaps. It’s hard to define.
Then again, relatively recent arrivals to San Mateo can’t know what they may have missed. For them, the very idea of a trolley line from San Francisco to downtown San Mateo (which ended in 1947) is an anomaly.
The shifts are perfectly normal. And it’s certainly not all bad, of course. It is what it is. Time goes on. Very little stays the same. For decades, San Mateo planners have worked on efforts to revitalize their downtown. Some have borne fruit. All is not lost, despite the imminent shuttering of Draeger’s.
The latest proposal to replace the market site involves a large amount of offices, a scaled-back market space and a handful of housing units. Not a surprise. Will that be the ticket for a fresh revival in this commercial core?
The Hillsdale Shopping Center’s future appears to be much the same as the Draeger’s site; new development on a major portion of that property too. At Hillsdale, the vision is for more housing. Is that a viable solution for either retail area? We’re going to have to wait to find out. In spite of pleasant memories of what once was here, the suburbs are ever-evolving — like it or loathe it.
DOCUMENTARY FILM HAS PREMIER: KCSM, the College of San Mateo’s FM radio station, is observing its 60th anniversary. A documentary film about its history as a reliable provider of jazz, R&B and blues music has been created to mark that significant milestone. “KCSM 91.1: The Bay Area’s Jazz Station to the World” had its premier recently. The aim is to have the movie available for sale as a DVD in time for the station’s next pledge drive. A streaming option has yet to be announced.
John Horgan has been writing about San Mateo County’s ins and outs, to the tune of an estimated 7 million words since 1963, beginning at the now-defunct Burlingame Advance Star. Contact him by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.
(1) comment
With the rise of on-line shopping and remote work, the entire premise of a "city" is open to question.
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