Fashion and Finds in the City of Souls

The town of Colma, California, is more renowned for those who don’t live there than for those that do. But Kohl’s Colma, from its location at the center of town, offers a spirited shopping experience to the more than 1,500 residents of the City of Souls and its neighbors in San Mateo County.

Colma, also referred to as the City of the Silent and the City of the Dead, got its nicknames thanks to a series of early 20th century laws. Burial limitations and evictions caused many of San Francisco’s cemeteries to be relocated here. The city developed around the niche economy, and today underground inhabitants of the 2.2-square mile city outnumber the upwardly mobile nearly 1,000 to 1.

Kohl’s Colma sits at the corner of El Camino Real (Route 82) and Serramonte Boulevard, horseshoed by the city’s 16 cemeteries at the foot of San Bruno Mountain. The store’s location allows for easy access from Daly City, West Lake, San Bruno, Millbrae and Pacifica.

Colma has developed a reputation beyond reinternment and its beautiful memorial parks and gardens. The smallest city in San Mateo is a great place to see examples of Spanish-inspired architecture. Colma Town Hall, a fine example, is situated across Serramonte Boulevard from Kohl’s.

Pay Kohl’s a visit today. To paraphrase the saying, it’s great to be alive (and to shop) in Colma.