10 Things You Might Not Know About Redwood City, CA

1. "Climate Best by Government Test" — Backed by Actual Science

A pre-WWI government survey gave Redwood City its most famous distinction

The iconic arch over Broadway welcomes visitors with the slogan "Climate Best by Government Test" — and it is not marketing. Before World War I, the U.S. and German governments conducted independent climate surveys to identify the world's most temperate conditions. Redwood City tied for the top spot alongside the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. The city receives an average of 255 sunny days per year, with mild temperatures year-round and almost no fog compared to San Francisco just 25 miles north.

2. The Only Deep-Water Port on the South Bay

A maritime history most residents drive past without knowing

While most assume the Port of Oakland handles all Bay Area cargo, the Port of Redwood City is the only deep-water channel in the South Bay. In the mid-1800s it was the primary export point for redwood lumber harvested from Peninsula forests to rebuild San Francisco after the Gold Rush fires. Today the port remains an active industrial facility and offers a walkable waterfront trail that gives residents a direct connection to the Bay that most Peninsula cities can't match.

3. The Pulgas Water Temple — A Beaux-Arts Monument Hidden in the Hills

One of the Bay Area's most beautiful and least-visited landmarks

On the western edge of Redwood City, largely invisible from the main roads, sits the Pulgas Water Temple — a 1934 Beaux-Arts stone structure built to celebrate the completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which delivers water from the Sierra Nevada to the Bay Area. Its reflective pool, cypress-lined walkways, and Roman-style colonnade create the atmosphere of a European garden. Most Redwood City residents have never visited. It is free, open to the public, and takes about 20 minutes to walk.

4. Huddart Park — A Redwood Forest Fifteen Minutes from Downtown

Board meeting to old-growth forest in under 20 minutes

Huddart Park sits on Redwood City's western border and contains dense groves of second-growth coastal redwoods. At 973 acres, it offers 25 miles of hiking trails through terrain that feels completely disconnected from the urban core just below. The combination of downtown walkability and forest access within a single commute radius is rare anywhere on the Peninsula — and it is one of the most consistent reasons buyers cite for choosing Redwood City over comparable markets.

5. The Fox Theatre — Saved While Others Were Demolished

1929 Spanish Colonial Revival, National Register of Historic Places

The Fox Theatre was built in 1929 in Spanish Colonial Revival style and remains one of the finest examples of that architectural tradition in California. While hundreds of historic theaters across America were torn down during the suburban expansion of the 1960s and 70s, Redwood City's Fox was restored and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now the centerpiece of the downtown cultural calendar — hosting national touring acts, comedians, and community events throughout the year.

6. Shrek Was Made Here

Pacific Data Images, the studio behind the groundbreaking animation, was based in Redwood City

Pacific Data Images (PDI), the animation studio acquired by DreamWorks, operated out of Redwood City. It was here that the team developed the rendering and animation techniques that made Shrek — and by extension modern computer-animated film — possible. Electronic Arts (EA) and Box are among the current tech anchors with significant Redwood City operations, continuing a creative and technological legacy that predates the current tech boom by decades.

7. Union Cemetery — A California Historical Landmark from 1859

Civil War soldiers, early pioneers, and 160 years of Peninsula history

The Union Cemetery on Woodside Road was established in 1859 and is a designated California Historical Landmark. It is the final resting place for Civil War veterans and many of the early settlers who shaped the Peninsula region. The Historic Union Cemetery Association offers guided tours that provide one of the most concrete connections to pre-tech Bay Area history available anywhere on the Peninsula.

8. Downtown Redwood City — 80+ Free Events a Year

The Peninsula's most active downtown for public programming

Redwood City's downtown revitalization produced what is arguably the most active public square on the Peninsula. Courthouse Square hosts more than 80 free public events annually — including the Redwood City Salsa Festival, outdoor movies, Oktoberfest, and a regular farmer's market. The 20-screen Century Theatre, a dense cluster of independently owned restaurants, and the historic courthouse create a street-level energy that neighboring cities like Menlo Park and Palo Alto, with their quieter retail corridors, don't replicate.

9. Edgewood Park — Endangered Wildflowers on Serpentine Soil

A rare ecological pocket that most residents don't know exists

Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve occupies a hillside above Redwood City and is botanically significant because of its serpentine soil — a substrate so mineral-heavy that most plants cannot survive in it. The plants that can are often rare and endemic: Edgewood is one of the few remaining habitats for several endangered wildflower species that bloom spectacularly in March and April. It also provides panoramic views of the entire South Bay and is a consistently undervisited alternative to the more popular Huddart Park trails.

10. The San Mateo County History Museum — and Its Film History

One of California's most beautiful public buildings, and a movie set

The old San Mateo County Courthouse, now the San Mateo County History Museum, anchors the downtown skyline with a grand stained-glass dome and classical columns. The museum covers Peninsula history from the Ohlone era through the tech boom. The rotunda — a particularly ornate space — was used to film the courtroom scenes in Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire, giving the building a layer of pop culture significance that most visitors walking past it have no idea about.

Frequently Asked Questions About Redwood City