Palo Alto

Named for an ancient redwood tree that was a living landmark for late-1700s Spanish explorers, Palo Alto today is a diverse community, a mixture of high-tech and locally owned companies and more than 26,000 homes

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Since incorporation in 1894, Palo Alto has expanded to encompass the area stretching from San Francisquito Creek to the north to San Antonio Road to the south, from the San Francisco Bay to the Skyline Ridge. It is home to nearly 60,000 residents -- but during weekdays the population swells to nearly 140,000 with the daily flow and ebb of commuters.

Over time, the demographics of Palo Alto have changed dramatically. What once was a homogeneous, mostly blue-collar community, with an enclave of Stanford University professors, has become a diverse, mostly well-to-do, well-educated, but aging, population.

Despite a median household income of $117,574 in 2000, many are challenged to keep up with the ever-rising median home prices -- $1,320,000 (from December 2005 through November 2006).

But people continue to flock to Palo Alto, taking pride in its environmental consciousness, city-owned utilities, support of social services and some firsts, including opening a public Children's Library in 1940 and becoming the first U.S. city to have an Internet home page in 1994.

This publication, like Palo Alto itself, is ever-evolving. If we've missed your neighborhood, or if you have additional tidbits about your neighborhood you'd like to share with the Weekly, please let us know.

--Carol Blitzer, Editor

Menlo Park

Click the map to view a larger image Facts 2006-07 city operating budget: $32.5 million Population (2000): 30,785 Households (2000): 12,387 Single-family housing (2000): 61.1 percent Median home-selling price: $1,395,000 Median condominium price: $725,000 Mean household income (2000): $123,809

Once known as the "Sleepy Hollow of California," Menlo Park did not take off as a community until after World War II. Despite its proximity to Stanford University, Sand Hill Road venture capitalists, dot-com start-ups and research institutions, "Menlo Park still at least seems like a small town," notes Michael Svanevik and Shirley Burgett in their recently published "Menlo Park: Beyond the Gate."

Landowners first incorporated back in 1874, but chose to "disincorporate" a mere two years later. It wasn't until 1927 that today's city was established.

Menlo Park now offers a suburban enclave with many urban amenities: from a bustling downtown and strong public school district, to plenty of parks and recreation facilities.

Astride the San Andreas fault, with views extending from across the Bay to San Francisco, Portola Valley's history begins with the logging town of Searsville. Its most famous 19th-century settler was Andrew Hallidie, inventor of the cable car, who purchased property in 1883, then donated land for a school and post office.

Farming and stock ranching were major enterprises between 1860 and 1920, but as with much of the Peninsula, the real surge for development came after World War II. The town of Portola Valley was incorporated in 1964 with the goals of preserving the beauty of the valley, fostering low-density housing, and limiting services to those necessary for local residents.

To this day, the goal is to maintain a balance between the rural, quiet neighborhoods and the need for modern development.

For more than 100 years -- beginning in the 1830s -- the area now called Woodside was gradually developed, first as sawmills that supplied redwood to build San Francisco, later as farms, small cattle ranches and vineyards. As early as 1852, a regular stagecoach service connected Woodside to San Francisco, and by the 1880s, prosperous San Franciscans began building country estates. Their ranks included coffee tycoon James Folger, lumber baron C.F.A. Talbot, heirs to the H.M. Newhall land and cattle fortune, as well as millionaire spice magnate August Schilling.

But it wasn't until the post World War II building boom brought more than 500 new houses to the area that local residents decided to get together to protect the rural nature of their community. In 1956, the Town of Woodside was incorporated, bringing road maintenance, management, planning and zoning under local control.

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Mountain View

From an early stagecoach stop and agricultural center, Mountain View has grown since its incorporation in 1902 to a thriving city of 71,000+ residents in the heart of Silicon Valley. Internationally known corporations make Mountain View their home, swelling the daytime population to more than 100,000.

Today, Mountain View neighborhoods are as varied as the housing types, with 28 percent single-family, 11 percent townhouses, 57 percent multifamily and 4 percent mobile homes. Nearly 42 percent are owner-occupied.

Encompassing 12 square miles, Mountain View is surrounded by Palo Alto, Los Altos and Sunnyvale. Highways 101, 85 and 237, as well as light rail and Caltrain, offer quick access to the rest of the Bay Area.

Mountain View's diversified population enjoys superb recreation and arts facilities, including Shoreline Park and the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

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Los Altos

What once was a brief stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad evolved after World War II to a tree-lined city providing a quiet housing enclave for Silicon Valley. Since incorporation in 1952, Los Altos has grown to a community of mostly single-family homes, rather than apricot and plum orchards, a winery and ranch land.

Today, Los Altos encompasses seven square miles, stretching from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale and Cupertino, sandwiched between Mountain View and Los Altos Hills. Highways have replaced local railroad service, with easy access via Highway 85 and Interstate 280 to nearby metro centers.

Known for its excellent schools and neighborhoods replete with mature trees, Los Altos supports seven commercial areas serving its close to 30,000 residents. And for those still yearning for apricot orchards, a weekly farmers' market offers a chance for neighbors to interact while shopping for local produce and flowers.

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