Redwood City's archway sign and slogan were based on two earlier archway signs that once spanned El Camino Real at the city's northern and southern entryways. In 1925, a slogan contest was held to promote Redwood City, and Wilbur H. Doxsee submitted the winning entry, “By Government Test, Our Climate is Best,” which was later revised and shortened to “Climate Best by Government Test.” The origin of the “test” is uncertain, but the most popular theory holds that in 1912 German consular agents, commissioned by the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, traveled throughout the world to gather meteorological data and concluded that the ideal climate existed in three regions: the Canary Islands, a point on the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and within a 20 mile radius surrounding Redwood City.
