106 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {landmark} words by MARGARET KOENIG san mateo county courthouse In the heart of Redwood City stands the old San Mateo County Courthouse, an imposing Roman Renaissance revival-style sandstone with Corinthian columns and a massive stained glass dome. If you’ve been downtown, it’s almost impossible to miss—but are you acquainted with its rich history? The structure sits on land donated to the county in 1858 by Simon Mezes and the Arguello family, owners of Rancho Las Pulgas. Built in 1910, it’s the fourth courthouse to occupy the spot. Its previous incarnation was destroyed in the catastrophic 1906 earthquake. Only its dome survived, which was incorporated into the current building. The courthouse, dubbed “the Temple of Justice,” opened on the Fourth of July in 1910 as the first Superior Court in San Mateo County. The building once housed all facets of the county government, including the sheriff, coroner, treasurer, tax collector, district attorney, school superintendent and some county engineers. In 1939, its front facade was removed and the Fiscal Building was installed in its place. By the 1990s, it became “the old courthouse” when a modern one was built nearby, but it didn’t stay vacant long. In 1998, the San Mateo County History Museum moved in and set up shop. Established in 1941 by Dr. Frank Stranger, a history professor at the College of San Mateo, its early collections consisted largely of family artifacts and documents donated by students. Today, the museum’s exhibitions cover everything from early entrepreneurship to the native tribes that first occupied the land. You’ll also find the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame, Courtroom A—the oldest courtroom in the county— and a plaque commemorating former Supreme County Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who worked as San Mateo County’s assistant district attorney. In 2006, the Fiscal Building was removed and the original front facade of the old courthouse was restored, enhancing this majestic piece of Redwood City history. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: JERRY PIERCE - SMCHA ARCHIVES / ANNIE BARNETT
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