Millbrae, California
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Millbrae is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, just west of San Francisco Bay, with San Bruno on the north and Burlingame on the south. The population was 20,718 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
Darius Ogden Mills purchased land in the 1860s from the Sanchez family to build a country estate. The former Mills estate was bordered by what is now: Skyline Boulevard, Bayshore Highway U.S. Route 101, Millbrae Avenue and Trousdale Drive. The estate became known as "Millbrae" from "Mills" and the Scottish word "brae," which means "rolling hills." Children swam in three lakes situated on the estate and sold acacias to tourists before the Mills family began to sell the land for development. The estate's spectacular mansion burned down during a realistic "fire drill" in 1954.
Millbrae used a private patrol financed by fees from merchants and residents until 1941, when the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors created the Millbrae Police District. Records of the Internal Revenue Service document the licensing of several Millbrae bars for gambling; only after incorporation were gambling laws enforced in Millbrae and not until the 1950's was gambling defeated. In 1931, citizens organized a volunteer fire department, which remained entirely volunteer until 1938. The police and fire departments were housed together for several years at Hillcrest Boulevard and El Camino Real before the vital services moved to their permanent location in Millbrae's civic center, a few blocks west of El Camino.
For many Millbrae residents the original Sixteen Mile House was a direct link to Millbrae's early days. The rest stop was built in 1872 by members of the Sanchez family, the original landholders of the Buri Buri Rancho, which at one time comprised parts of present-day Millbrae and Burlingame. Today, the building is under renovation.
Spurred largely by the desire to secure the Mills' estate for residential use and by the efforts of the Millbrae's weekly newspaper, the Millbrae Sun, residents heatedly discussed incorporation for over a decade before voting to incorporate. Finally, on January 14, 1948, residents of Millbrae traveled to Sacramento to present their new City's charter. W.F. Leutenegger was elected mayor to represent Millbrae's nearly 8,000 residents. That year, Green Hills Elementary School opened as Millbrae's first new school in over 25 years, in anticipation of the educational needs of the post-war "baby boom" children. The new City's chief industries were agriculture, floriculture, dairy, and porcelain manufacturing. Many families that built the new City have never left.
In the 1950's, Millbrae residents united to resist efforts to divide the City by the planned Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280), which was later routed parallel to Junipero Serra Boulevard, then through a canyon in San Bruno up to Skyline Boulevard. An unsuccessful effort to save the original Sixteen Mile House in the 1970's led to the birth of the Millbrae Historical Society and eventual successful crusades to save the Millbrae train station and the historic building that has become the Millbrae Historical Museum. Such challenges, though inevitable, have only strengthened Millbrae's resolve to preserve the City's unique character and rich history.
Transportation has shaped Millbrae's growth. From the turn of the century, the #40 "interurban" streetcar traveled through Millbrae, linking the City with San Francisco and San Mateo. Millbrae's high school children rode the streetcar to attend Burlingame High School until Capuchino High School opened on September 11, 1950. The streetcar line was dismantled just after Millbrae's incorporation, leaving the Southern Pacific Railroad as the only railway linking Millbrae with surrounding areas. The Sixteen Mile House marked Millbrae along the railroad route, located where Millbrae's first Corner Frame Shop stands today. In the 1940's, as long-time residents vividly recall, a hilltop literally was shaved away to produce landfill for expanding San Francisco Airport, which received an "international" designation in 1954 with the completion of the Central Terminal.
Today, Millbrae boasts over 21,000 residents of diverse ethnic, national, and cultural backgrounds. Residents are employed in various industries throughout the Bay Area and children attend one of five public elementary schools, or private schools. The City's senior citizen community, with the eager generosity of the City's many service clubs and private donations, recently dedicated an attractive new senior wing within the Millbrae community center. Millbrae's approach is demarcated by a picturesque new overpass over the Caltrain tracks. A small city with global vision, Millbrae proudly nurtures Sister City relationships with La Serena, Chile, and Mosta, Malta.[1]
Millbrae is run by a city council/manager government.
[edit] Geography
Millbrae is located at (37.600735, -122.401354)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.62%) is water.
[edit] Climate
According to the National Weather Service, Millbrae enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate featuring cool, wet winters and dry, mild summers. Night and morning fog are common during the summer months. Frequent, westerly sea breezes keep temperatures relatively mild throughout the year with highs in the middle fifties (~15°C) and lows in the lower forties (~8°C) during the winter and highs in the lower seventies (~22°C) and lows in the lower fifties (~13°C) during the summer. Annual precipitation ranges from 20 inches (51 cm) in the lowlands to 32 inches (81 cm) in the hills near Skyline Boulevard and I-280; most of the rain falls from November through April. Snow is very rare; the last measurable occurrence was on February 5, 1976. The nearest National Weather Service station is at the nearby San Francisco International Airport, where records go back to early 1927. For more details, see San Bruno, California.
[edit] Environmental features
A wetland area in the eastern part of the city adjacent to U.S. highway 101 is habitat to the endangered species San Francisco garter snake, a species endemic to San Mateo County. At the western edge of the city Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir and the San Andreas Fault may be found.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 20,718 people, 7,956 households, and 5,513 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,492.0/km² (6,446.4/mi²). There were 8,113 housing units at an average density of 975.8/km² (2,524.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.04% White, 27.28% Asian, 11.47% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.15% Pacific Islander, 0.80% African American, 0.23% Native American, 3.60% from other races, and 3.91% from two or more races.
There were 7,956 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $68,404, and the median income for a family was $82,061. Males had a median income of $51,867 versus $40,249 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,193. About 2.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.[2]
[edit] Education
Millbrae has a reputation for having one of the best schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Parents are actively involved in their children's scores and school functions.[3]
Millbrae's school district oversees four elementary schools (Meadows, Green Hills, Spring Valley, and Lomita Park) and one middle school (Taylor Middle School, named after the family that owned land along Taylor Blvd prior to the city being laid out).
Millbrae has one public high school, Mills High School, which is part of the San Mateo Union High School District. Mills High School is considered to be one of the top high schools in all of San Mateo County (see Mills High School). Although surrounded by land that is part of Millbrae, nearby Capuchino High School in fact belongs to San Bruno; this leads many to assume Millbrae has two high schools. The Mills High School is situated at the southern most edge of Millbrae, with Burlingame literally across the street; it is not uncommon for people to believe the high school is associated with the city of Burlingame.
[edit] Transportation
Millbrae, is located between San Francisco and San Jose. U.S. Route 101 and Interstate 280 (California) run along the eastern and western boundaries of the city, respectively. San Francisco International Airport is adjacent to the city.
The Millbrae Transit Station serves as a major transit hub for the Peninsula, connecting the BART, CalTrain, and SamTrans networks. The BART Dublin/Pleasanton - SFO/Millbrae Line serves Millbrae and SamTrans 342 connects the rest of Millbrae to the station. A SamTrans local line 43 also serves Millbrae as well. Unfortunately, the transportation hub has been underutilized and has not had the expected use that it was thought to have.
[edit] Economy
Millbrae's economy is driven mainly by its long strips of hotels. Because of it close proximity to San Francisco International Airport and to San Francisco, California many tourists opt to stay in Millbrae. Its downtown is mainly along El Camino Real and Broadway Avenue. There are many small shops, restaurants, a Safeway, Walgreens, Trader Joe's, Children's Place, Dress Barn, and OSH
[edit] Sister Cities
Millbrae has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- History of Millbrae
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
