Burlingame sits between the bay and the hills about fifteen miles south of San Francisco, and it is where Marisa works from — Keller Williams is on Howard Avenue, a block off the main street. The city was incorporated in 1908 and named after Anson Burlingame, the American ambassador to China, by the banker William Ralston.
It is called the City of Trees, and that is a matter of law rather than atmosphere: the first board of trustees passed an ordinance in 1908 against cutting or injuring trees, and the city looks after some eighteen thousand of them. The other thing people notice first is that there are two shopping streets. Burlingame Avenue is the one with the restaurants and the chains; Broadway, about a mile north, is smaller, older and more independent.
For a commuter it is unusually well served — Caltrain stops twice inside the city, at Burlingame and at Broadway, and the 1894 depot at Burlingame Avenue is a landmark in its own right, built in Mission Revival style with 18th-century tiles from two California missions set into the roof. There is no BART station here; the tracks pass through, and the nearest platform is Millbrae, one town north.
Photo: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Burlingame, in the questions people ask us.
Can I commute by train from Burlingame?
Yes, and from either end of town — Caltrain stops at Burlingame station downtown and again at Broadway, about a mile north.
Is there a BART station in Burlingame?
No. BART runs through the city but does not stop; the nearest station is Millbrae, which is also where BART meets Caltrain.
Is the Burlingame Country Club in Burlingame?
It is not — it is in Hillsborough, on New Place Road, and has been since 1893. It is one of the more common mix-ups on this part of the Peninsula.
Which high school serves Burlingame?
Burlingame High School, part of the San Mateo Union High School District. Elementary and middle schools are a separate district, Burlingame School District, K through 8.
I have held a California real estate license since 1989, and in that time the Bay Area has changed almost beyond recognition. What has not changed is how a good move happens: through someone who knows the neighbourhoods, knows the people, and can make the right introduction at the right moment. I call myself a real estate consultant as well as an agent because most of the job is advice — when to sell, what to fix, which town suits the way you live — and the connections I have made since 1989 are there to be used for my clients.
A consultant, an agent and a connector.
Marisa Roman Wachhorst
