On Thursday, April 9, the city of Burlingame sealed a 50-year time capsule at the Burlingame Community Center. Over the course of several months, a board comprising Jill Goldsmith, Marcia Bauer, Cherie Yu, and Jennifer Pfaff developed a plan to encourage community participation, evaluate submissions, and ensure items were representative of Burlingame.
Yu said the board achieved its goal of bringing the community together.
“In many ways, I feel like this time capsule is a celebration of our community today,” Yu said. “It was really fun to meet a lot of the people that had contributed. The kids, especially, were so excited by it.”
Sophomore Caroline Yeh, who submitted a medal and collage on behalf of the Iron Panthers robotics team, said she wondered what the team would look like in 50 years.
“We actually wrote a letter as well,” Yeh said. “We value community a lot, and we hope that’s still something they value, as well as spreading curiosity for STEM largely.”
Municipal staff, including the Burlingame Public Library and Parks & Recreation staff, attended the vault sealing alongside Mayor Michael Brownrigg and other city council members.
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Following the opening of the 25-year time capsule in 2025, the city sealed a 50-year time capsule on Thursday, April 9.
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Carol Batte, a commissioner on the Burlingame Beautification Commission, places a pickleball into the vault. “I love the fact that we had so many representatives from so many different departments and members of the community come out to celebrate,” Batte said.
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The board that organized the vault stands with Mayor Brownrigg.
The carefully packaged items were displayed on tables for the public to see. Brownrigg and the board members who organized the event gave brief speeches about the vault and its history
Molly Kaplan, a recreation coordinator, worked with the board to ensure that the event ran smoothly.
“This is a really good way to try and do different things,” Kaplan said. “In 50 years, we’re going to keep bringing the community together.”
The vault included a variety of items, such as school newspapers and yearbooks, a library card, photos of Washington Elementary’s “bike bus,” and pictures of online classes from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Recognizing all the contributions and also allowing the community to participate in the final sealing of the capsule ensures it really is a snapshot of everyone who was here and the broader community,” Yu said.
At the end of the event, community members who had submitted an item placed it into the vault. The vault, a historic army locker, is bolted to a bench on the wall of the Community Center.
“Hopefully, many of the younger folks here will be able to see it open,” Yu said. “It was a nice continuation from the 25-year-old capsule that was opened last year.”
