Burlingame highlight
Historic downtown
Downtown Burlingame is centered on Burlingame Avenue and Broadway, parallel commercial corridors about a mile apart, anchored by the National Register-listed Burlingame Station and the award-winning Burlingame Library.
The heart of Burlingame's downtown consists of two main retail and commercial corridors: Burlingame Avenue and Broadway, running roughly parallel to each other about a mile apart. Burlingame Avenue has emerged as the primary downtown area, housing major retailers and serving as a civic center. The Burlingame Station, a Caltrain depot building from the early 20th century, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to serve commuters connecting to San Francisco and the broader peninsula.
The community center of Burlingame was profoundly affected by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which damaged the Burlingame Library. The city's response was to commission an award-winning contemporary architecture project that rebuilt the library as a modern civic landmark while honoring the city's heritage. The rebuilt library now serves as a gathering place for the community. Just north of downtown stands the Kohl Mansion, a 63-room Tudor-style estate completed in 1914 that once appeared in the 1921 film adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy and is now home to Mercy High School.
Downtown areas like these—with their mix of century-old structures, commercial districts and civic spaces—are where families make long-term plans. A home mortgage in a downtown or near-downtown location, children in local schools, roots in a specific community: these are the circumstances where a life insurance policy sized to your situation becomes part of your family's financial plan.