Along with the housing development, a few businesses had begun in town. Many social events of the 20's and 30's were held at the Devonshire Club, which was located at the top of Club Drive. It "went to war" as the Service Club for the World War II Dog Training Center on the old H.H. Ranch. In 1952, it burned in a spectacular fire that could be seen in the Oakland Hills.

Airport

In 1919, a hangar and a flying field were built between San Carlos Avenue and Brittain Avenue east of the railroad. Near there, the old tower of the 1929 San Carlos Feed and Fuel still stands. Other commercial establishments followed, clustering west of the depot in the first two blocks of Cypress Avenue (as San Carlos Avenue was then called) and spreading out along El Camino Real.

First Mayor of San Carlos

In the 1920's, at the northeast edge of town, was a lumberyard owned by James Hugh Martin, who served as the first mayor of San Carlos from 1927 to 1930. Arroyo Avenue marked the southern edge of development.

Fire Department

In 1923, a volunteer fire department was formed, using a fire truck composed of a white taxicab chassis with a chemical truck body donated by the San Francisco Fire Department. So successful were the fundraising card parties and dinners given by the volunteers and their wives that a firehouse was erected in the same year!

Burton Park

Burton Park was the first public recreation facility established by the City. Along with other community developments, land for a city park was purchased in 1936 and the park was financed in March 1938 when citizens passed a 20 year bond issue for purchase of designated property. A provision in the sale precluded the land from being used for the game of baseball!

In 1938, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) constructed the amphitheater and the adobe brick building. The San Carlos Men's Athletic Club, through it's president, Edward R. Burton Sr., sucessfully argued for the baseball issue, which led to the purchase of an additional 3.38 acres for the park, where the game could be played. The park was dedicated in 1940 and re-dedicated in June 1960 to honor Edward Burton Sr., a councilman for eighteen years and a mayor for four.