Courthouse Square - Climate Best by Government Test

A stop on Redwood City History Walk, a free self-guided tour.

You are back where you began, on ground that has been public since the town's earliest days. In 1854 lawyer S. M. Mezes, who defended the Arguello family's land claim, acquired part of the old rancho and laid out a town he called Mezesville. He gave land for a public square, and when San Mateo County was formed in 1856, the town became its seat. Four courthouses have stood here since.

For decades a 1939 courthouse annex blocked the old building's face. It came down in 2005, and Courthouse Square opened in 2006, reopening the historic front doors.

Then there is the slogan. In a 1925 contest, Chamber of Commerce president Wilbur Doxsee won with a line about the climate being best by government test. Shortened to Climate Best by Government Test, it went up on arched signs in 1926, and replicas still carry it downtown. Local lore says Doxsee admitted he simply made it up. Look around and judge the weather for yourself.

Getting here: Walk back northwest to Broadway and west along Broadway to Courthouse Square, about seven minutes.

Did you know?: In 1926 the chamber of commerce also proclaimed Redwood City the Chrysanthemum Center of the World, thanks to the flower farms started by Japanese immigrant growers.

Photo op: Stand at the south edge of the square by Broadway and frame the whole square with the courthouse dome rising behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Redwood City, California · San Mateo County, California

Courthouse Square - Climate Best by Government Test

Stops on this tour