Leland Manor, Embarcadero Oaks, Garland Drive, Palo Alto

One, two, three --Embarcadero Oaks, Leland Manor and Garland Drive stack up from north to south to form a parallelogram in eastern Palo Alto.

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Embarcadero Oaks stacks up on top, Leland Manor in the middle, and Garland Drive with Jordan Middle School garners the southern end. Oregon Expressway, Middlefield, Embarcadero and Louis roads draw the area's peripheral boundary lines.

Residents can walk to Midtown, California Avenue, University Avenue and Stanford University for coffee, restaurants and shopping. Rinconada Park, the Lucie Stern Community Center and the main library are within a stone's throw for recreation and reading.

The neighborhood may be best known to residents for the Christmas Tree Lane that illuminates the neighborhood every December.

Embarcadero Oaks

Christmas trees sparkle with festive rainbow-colored lights during the holidays on Fulton Street. It's a favorite activity for residents who enjoy the thousands of visitors walking along the tree-lined street to admire the homes.

The neighborhood tradition began in 1940 when Judge Edward Hardy conceived of having a "Christmas Fairyland Lane" to promote Christmas joy for neighborhood children throughout the holidays.

Residents who move onto the street inherit lights and decorations from previous owners.

The area once covered with hay fields began growing in the 1930s. Homes styled from Tudor Revival to Monterey Colonial began sprouting. Birge Clark, a well-known Palo Alto architect, designed homes in the neighborhood.

A resurgence of families with young children has re-defined this well-kept neighborhood.

"The new people have come from all over the country and the world ... it's almost like a United Nations," Beatrice†Hubbard, the area's self-declared longest resident, said. She moved into the area the year after Pearl Harbor, built a house in 1951 and raised two children. Many from her generation have moved on. And a new generation of families has begun, she said. "It's interesting for old ones to watch," she said.

Although she also has a condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii, she prefers staying in Palo Alto. "I think we all consider ourselves very lucky to have gotten in this particular area," she said.

Residents have close proximity to many of Palo Alto's recreational facilities: Rinconada Park, the pool, tennis courts and the main library. Residents also live close to midtown and downtown Palo Alto where coffee, restaurants and shopping present lively entertainment.

For the first time this year a new resident hosted a neighborhood potluck. "Volunteer and you will get to know your neighborhood," Hubbard said. "It's just absolutely ideal. I'm just grateful everyday to be here.

Facts: CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): First Congregational Church Nursery School, 1985 Louis Road; Parents Nursery School, 2328 Louis Road; Walter Hays Kids' Club, 1525 Middlefield Road FIRE STATION: No. 3, 799 Embarcadero Road LIBRARY: Main Library, 1213 Newell Road PARK (NEARBY): Rinconada Park, 777 Embarcadero Road POST OFFICE: Cambridge, 265 Cambridge Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOL: Hwa Chin School, 750 N. California Ave.; Stratford School, 870 N. California Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Walter Hays Elementary School, Jordan Middle School, Palo Alto High School SHOPPING: Edgewood Shopping Center; Midtown MEDIAN 2007 HOME PRICE:$2,200,000 ($1,300,000-$2,650,000) # HOMES SOLD: 6

Leland Manor

A Fourth of July parade, an Easter egg tree and a long-time resident who drops Christmas cards in her neighbors' mailboxes makes Leland Manor unique.

In the 1930s builders for Leland Manor put all its electric and telephone lines underground. The wireless streets gave residents a clear view of the sky. Advertisers called the development "an entirely new principle in electric and telephone connections."

Homes on 9,000- to 10,000-square-foot lots were built in classic California design -- ranch style. One home on Newell Road, the area's main thoroughfare, served as a model home in the 1939 San Francisco Exposition and drew more than 25,000 visitors.

Now the neighborhood nestles quietly around a circle formed by Northampton and Southampton drives. Every Fourth of July young children parade on decorated bikes in the center while parents barbecue, talk and share food.

One long-time resident, Lorraine Barry, creates an Easter egg tree in front of her house. She hangs on the branches colorful ribbons and eggs with candy inside for children. At Christmas she also drops cards in her neighbors' mailboxes.

"That's kind of a personal touch," Judy Chang said of Barry. "She's very nice."

Leland Manor also has a community bulletin board one neighbor volunteered to place in her front yard.

"She has a nice garden, veggies and flowers. Now she has a bulletin board." Barry said chuckling. "Everybody can put things up -- announcements, if they lose their dog, and various things that are coming up."

"The neighbors really get along and talk to each other," said Chang, a resident since 1996. "It's a really nice neighborhood.

Garland Drive

Magnolia trees line a quiet and curvaceous road adjacent to Jordan Middle School. Four cul-de-sacs along the drive hallmark a neighborhood where children who grew up 30 years ago return to raise their own families.

"It's nice for us old ladies to see the kids running around," Sonia Kantor, a resident since 1967, said of all the new young families.

Neighbors mow each other's lawns, cook dinners for each other, and trust each other with car keys while on vacation. People care about each other, neighbors say.

"It's a really special place," Rob Henderson, who bought his home on one of the cul-de-sacs in 2000, said. Henderson grew up one block away as a boy. With two young daughters and another child on the way, he came back to Palo Alto to raise his family.

Some of his own childhood friends have also returned to raise their children.

"I was very used to a tightknit neighborhood community," he said, and the neighborhood has become that way again. He sees a return of familiar faces on his block. Henderson's sister played with the twin brother of the neighbor who lives across the street. "We realized we knew each other from years ago and that we had gone to Mexican food years ago," Henderson said. "It's just a small world."

Two of his high-school classmates also live down the street.

"We love that," he said about the lifelong connections he has to his neighbors. "We could probably use a bigger house, but the thing I can't replace is the community," he said. "It's a sense if something happens, people are there for you."

The houses, originally built in California ranch-style, are 1,500 to 2,000 square feet on 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot lots. Over the years many residents added second stories.

On Fourth of July and Labor Day the neighbors on each cul-de-sac bring out their grills and barbecue in the middle of the street. "It's the kind of thing where you have to bring your own meat. And it works out," Kantor said.

"It's kinda like a family," Henderson added. "The family atmosphere is just amazing."

-- Susan Hong