The Flickr Sanmateocentralpark Image Generatr

Leon, the giraffe, stands vigil over a gaggle of girls at Central Park in San Mateo, California. Leon the Giraffe is more than a statue—to the residents of San Mateo, he’s one of their own. Internationally renowned sculptor Albert Guibara gifted Leon to the city in 1978 and this genial giraffe has brightened people’s days with his whimsical presence in Central Park ever since.

Bronze statue of a shaggy Italian guard dog located by the rose garden in Central Park, San Mateo, California. Dogs aren’t usually welcomed unleashed in city parks, but San Mateo’s Central Park makes an exception for one special canine. If you enter the park at the south entrance, you will be greeted by this handsome fellow, steadfast and quiet, so mellow that children can climb onto his back, so venerable he is older than the park itself. His is a heart of gold in a body of bronze.

Captain William H. Kohl (1820-1893) of Alaska fur trade fame bought what is now Central Park from Margaret Austin in 1880. He placed two big Italian dogs to guard the entrance to his large home. The land was purchased by the people of San Mateo in 1922...a bronze statue of one of his two dogs remains.

The imaginative artistry of this little garden in San Mateo's Central Park (California) is a whimsical place of charm and wonder. The little village is home to the fairies....make a wish and you will become part of their magical community.

An outdoor potting area at the garden shop run by The San Mateo Arboretum Society located next to the Kohl Pumphouse in Central Park, San Mateo, California.

Central Park was the first public park in San Mateo, California. It was established in 1922 on land originally owned by Charles B. Polhemus. Among other amenities, the park currently hosts Fitzgerald Field, a large sports area that includes a baseball diamond with this uncomfortable bleacher seating.

Located in the temperate winter climate of San Mateo, in central California, this outdoor ice rink, set up for skaters each winter season (known as "San Mateo On-Ice'), features 11,000 square feet of real ice. Skaters are able to skate in the sunshine during the day or under the stars at night.

It might seem easy to make an ice rink – pour some water, wait for it to freeze and then get your skates on but in fact, there is an art to getting that smooth ice surface that is perfect for ice skating. Most ice rinks are made by freezing fresh water in a large, flat area. In this photograph an ice resurfacer lays down a layer of clean water, which will freeze to form a smooth ice surface. The first ice resurfacer was developed by American inventor and engineer Frank Zamboni (1901-1988) in 1949 in Paramount, California. The ice resurfacer is often referred to as a "Zamboni".

Making massive bubbles in San Mateo's 'Central Park' that float through the air with their beautiful play of color. And, listening to the delight and awe on the childrens' faces and the giggles when they try to catch one and it pops.

The city of San Mateo in central California recently constructed and dedicated this Memorial in Central Park to its "Fallen Heroes" who made the "ultimate sacrifice" and lost their lives while in the line of duty and service in the Armed Forces, the San Mateo Police Department and San Mateo Fire Department.

The red color of the Memorial was inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" in which the opening lines refer to red poppies as the first flowers to grow in the soil from soldier's graves in the Flanders region of Belgium.
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"In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
that mark our place; and in the sky
the larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below".

* poem by John McCrae (1872-1918)

Sculpture of a family of three bears located in Central Park, San Mateo, California.