| Woodside Highlands
The sense of community is what makes Woodside Highlands special, longtime resident Jean Isaacson says. "This is a neighborhood in the best sense of the word."
And she should have a feel for the place by now -- she's lived
here since 1968.
In the 1940s, social networking and neighborhood improvement were galvanized through the Woodside Highlands Improvement Association. More than 60 years later, the association is still going strong. It's the annual picnic, spring egg hunt, visit from Santa, and road clean-ups that get the neighbors together.
In the 1920's this woodland retreat started life as just that -- a getaway with
summer cottages for San Franciscans eager to escape the cold of the city's fog.
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Woodside Highlands facts:
CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOLS: Windmill Preschool, 4141 Alpine Road, Portola Valley; Ladera Community Church Preschool, 3300 Alpine Road, Portola Valley; Carillon Preschool at Christ Church, 815 Portola Road, Portola Valley; New Horizons (after school care), 200 Shawnee Pass, Portola Valley
FIRE STATION: Woodside Fire Protection District, Portola Valley Station, 135 Portola Road, Portola Valley
PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Portola Valley School District -- Ormondale School (K-3), 200 Shawnee Pass, Portola Valley; Corte Madera School (4-8), 4575 Alpine Road, Portola Valley Sequoia Union High School District -- Woodside High School, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside
SHOPPING: Nathhorst Triangle, Portola Road at Alpine Road; Village Square, 884 Portola Road; Ladera Shopping Center, 3130 Alpine Road, Portola Valley
MEDIAN HOME PRICE: $1,152,500 ($980,000-$1,701,000)
NO. OF HOMES SOLD: 4
Neighborhood association: Woodside Highlands Improvement Association, Craig Taylor, president, 650-851-1032 |
Woodside Highlands begins at Portola Road with Santa Maria Road winding up and around to the Hayfields pastures. Many of the homes, situated on 1/4- and-1/2-acre lots, have views of the bay or surrounding mountains and fields.
Lee Stafford has lived in the neighborhood since 1947. Back then, local roads were gravel. In the 1950s, young homeowners would tar the roads, when older residents couldn't maintain them anymore.
His home had no hot water or cabinets in the 1940s -- a stark contrast to the expansion and renovations taking place today, as families with small children move in.
But the charm of the neighborhood has been maintained. This is a country neighborhood where no two houses are exactly alike.
"This is a great neighborhood," Craig Taylor, president of the home improvement association and a 23-year resident, says. Through the years, he's seen a shift in the neighborhood, with more professionals moving in, and more families with young children, he says.
The small, tight-knit community is active in emergency preparedness and maintains an online neighborhood directory, he says.
A big draw to the neighborhood is the combination of reasonably priced homes and an outstanding school system, according to Isaacson. Another major asset is the adjacent open space hiking trail that winds through native oak woods and provides views over San Francisco Bay.
-- Sharon Driscoll |
