Redwood Shores

Redwood Shores was built up from reclaimed land in the marshes of San Francisco Bay in the 1960s, much like its neighbor, Foster City, but the development almost never came to be. The owner of the land, the Leslie Salt Company, filled in soft ground known as “bay mud” formerly used for salt-evaporation ponds, but a significant controversy developed over fears of its susceptibility to serious earthquake damage because the area is between and close to the San Andreas and Hayward faults. The ensuing battle between various government agencies and business interests eventually made Leslie Salt Lose interest in the project. As a result, Bank of America became the owner of the development in 1972.

It was the home of the Marine World/Africa U.S.A., California theme park from the 1960s to 1986, when the park moved to Vallejo, California (eventually becoming Six Flags Discovery Kingdom). The former location of Marine World has evolved into homes, townhomes, condominiums, apartments, parks, preserved land, and Silicon Valley business parks with headquarters including the former headquarters of Oracle Corporation. In December 2020, Oracle announced that it had relocated its corporate headquarters from Redwood Shores to Austin, Texas.

Redwood Shores is located roughly halfway between San Francisco and San Jose, and is bordered by Belmont and San Carlos to the southwest. Foster City lies to the northwest and Bair Island to the southeast; both are separated from Redwood Shores by sloughs. To the northeast is San Francisco Bay.

Major technology companies maintain headquarters in Redwood Shores, among them Imperva and Electronic Arts. The community also includes a branch of Ernst & Young, the headquarters of Relayware and a hotel (Pullman Hotels and Resorts). For many years, Redwood Shores was the global headquarters of Oracle Corporation, until in December 2020 it announced its relocation to Austin, Texas.

The Redwood Shores Branch of the Redwood City Public Library serves the community. To the south Redwood Shores is bordered by the San Carlos Airport.

Redwood Shores is the setting for college rowing races, including competitions among Pac-12 Conference universities.

The community of Redwood Shores is served by the Belmont – Redwood Shores School District, which maintains the two schools located in Redwood Shores and five more schools in Belmont.

Pacific harbor seals have occasionally been spotted in the waterways and lagoons around Redwood Shores. The areas in and around the community are home to a variety of wildlife, including raccoons, skunks, ducks, geese, egrets, great blue herons, clapper rails, harvest field mice, sting rays, jellyfish, and many other species. Canada geese pose a nuisance and the community is actively working on reducing their presence.