History

“What New Rochelle is to New York, what Evanston is to Chicago, Hayward Park will become to San Francisco, the home town of the class of professional men of refinement and intellect.” Such was developer Baldwin & Howell’s ambition, expressed in a 1907 sales brochure, for the San Mateo neighborhood built on the former deer paddock of banker Alvinia Hayward’s estate. Hayward built his home, also called Hayward Park, in 1880. It later became the Peninsula Hotel, only to burn spectacularly to the ground in 1920.

What Baldwin & Howell envisioned eventually came to life in San Mateo Park. The neighborhood has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity as an alternative to other close-in districts like Baywood and Aragon, though at much more affordable prices.