Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos real estate, neighborhoods, condos, houses, homes, market trends, history, events, lifestyle, parks, events, businesses, home, Mary Pope-Handy
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Oct. 17, 2008
While trying to find an old map of Los Gatos online, I stumbled upon some interesting and historic topographical maps of San Jose, Los Gatos, Gilroy, Santa Clara, and other areas nearby care of the USGS. I will place a tiny segment of one here so that you can get the idea and visit the site yourself:
My husband, Jim, loves maps and he tells me that each one of those "dots" visible on the map represents a house. Amazing! Another surprise, to me anyway, is that Kennedy Road looks like it used to be called Rinconada. Other, nearby parts of the map reveal that Camden Avenue was where the rail line used to run to the mines in Almaden and Guadalupe. Cool stuff - hope you enjoy it!
http://bard.wr.usgs.gov/historical/subindex/hist-sanjose.html#NEW%20ALMADEN
Feb. 22, 2008
This isn't just about Los Gatos, but rather about all of Silicon Valley and its history. I thought this was a very interesting talk. It's not short - so grab your popcorn and settle into a comfy chair. (Remember: FMC began as Food Machinery Corp right here in the Almond Grove District of Los Gatos. It's all connected.)
Jul. 16, 2007
Long-time Bay Area reporter Brian Hackney is the host for Eye on the Bay as the focus is Highway 17, the weavy windy road connecting Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. With snippets of colorful local history and some of the equally colorful current mountain residents, this video is a must-see. Enjoy!
Jun. 1, 2007
Forbes Mill. Truthfully, it just sounds boring. Doesn't it?
But actually the place has got an interesting bit of history to it. A little intrigue. A little scandal. And our town was once (briefly) named after it, first Forbes Mill, then Forbestown, then finally, Los Gatos.
Thank goodness that changed!
 Built along the Los Gatos Creek, Forbes Mill was started early in the town's history (1854) and basically the town sprung up around it. Alexander Forbes thought that having a flour mill would be a great idea since the 49'ers gold rush was on.
The owner of the mill, however, never seems to have made a single mortgage payment to Hernandez and Peralta on his debt for it, though.
 So it was off to a rocky start and was never profiltable with the original owner, Forbes. Under other ownership, things fared better, By creating and using a reservoir up near the current Holy Names Convent (on Reservoir Road), later owners enabled the water to flow year-round, and not just in winter. So the mill did better - though by then there was no monopoly on flour mills for feeding the forty-niners.
The mill was last used to produce flour in 1887 and it was demolished in 1916 (it was damaged in the 1906 earthquake).
What remains now is an annex that had been added on. Today it is a museum, one of two in Los Gatos..
 Oh, and I almost forgot to add: it appears that this is yet another one of the town's many haunted spots. I know, you won't read that anywhere but here, but I had a conversation with a gal who works at Forbes Mill and she told me of a couple of stories that indicate the ongoing presence of an unseen resident.
Maybe Mr. Forbes is still trying to make his old mill profitable?
Location: 75 Church Street, which is off Main Street and close to Los Gatos High. Or if you are visiting Old Town Los Gatos, there's a footbridge that traverses the creek and the freeway and you can walk across it to reach the mill.
Hours: The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 12 noon to 4pm. Parking is free. 408 395-7375.
Final note: Forbes Mill is located very close to Los Gatos High. It can be a little difficult to get in and out of the area due to school traffic at 2 or 2:30pm, so I would suggest avoiding this one window of time for arriving to or leaving from Forbes Mill.
May. 31, 2007
Categorized in: LG Lifestyle
Los Gatos Boulevard doesn't get the holiday carriage rides or parade in December. It doesn't get the huge quantities of pedestrian traffic. In a lot of ways, it's not the same kind of destination as North Santa Cruz or Main Streets in downtown Los Gatos, areas which are densely populated with cute boutiques, upscale restaurants, art galleries, and shopper-bait.. Los Gatos Boulevard often just doesn't get the same "respect" as downtown Los Gatos.
The Boulevard does, though, have a historical and contemporary place in the story of Los Gatos. It has some great restaurants (Crimson and Viva are top of mind), shops (where would any parent be without Affordable Treasures?), auto dealerships (I'm on my way to the Acura dealer shortly), grocery stores (Lunardi's, Whole Foods, Nob Hill, Jiffy), drug stores, banks and more. Los Gatos Boulevard is where you'll find the funky oil well, the friendly folks at the Los Gatos Ace Hardware Store, where you can take your toddlers for a happy meal or a romp in the Carl's indoor play structure on a rainy day, or get some great buys at Trader Joe's. Los Gatos Boulevard has both an old-fashioned hot dog stand and an old-fashioned hamburger shack - both independently owned - in addition to the Jack-in-the-Box and other fast food places. It does look like an "All American" road with room to stretch out and do the ordinary shopping the people need to do. And it has a gorgeous backdrop of the Santa Cruz Mountains so does look distinctly like Los Gatos.
Jason Sweeney of the Los Gatos Weekly Times (now owned by the San Jose Mercury News and this article is published there) did an excellent feature piece on Los Gatos Boulevard and I wanted to bring your attention to it. He does a wonderful job of discussing current issues and events as well as the history of this important road. You can read his fine piece here: http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_6018059 Jason also discusses how it all began with Forbes Mill.
To learn more about Forbes Mill, please check back here at Live In Los Gatos tomorrow. The Mill will be the subject of tomorrow's post. See you then!
May. 30, 2007
Categorized in: LG Lifestyle
 The town of Los Gatos was orignally named after the Spanish land grant, "El Rancho de la Rinconada de los Gatos", the Cat's Corner Ranch. But how did the town get Leo and Leona, the ubiquitous cats, as its logo?
 Residing today where they were originally placed in 1922, the cats sit proudly at the entrance to 17525 Santa Cruz Highway, just a stone's throw south of town en route over the Santa Cruz Mountains. They sit guard at the gate of Poet's Canyon.
Poet's Canyon is aptly named for a fascinating married couple, Charles Erskin Scott Wood (a poet, PhD, lawyer, Civil War Vet and West Point Grad) and Sara Bard Field (poet and suffragist), who built their home back in this 34 acre nook in the hills. They commissioned a sculptor named Robert Paine to make these 8' tall cement cats at the gateway to their home.
All three of these people are interesting in their own right, and diverse in their talents and abilities.
To see the cat sculptures today, take South Santa Cruz Avenue out of town and onto highway 17 (going toward Santa Cruz). They will be on your right hand side just before you reach the old roadhouse tavern, The Cats (which will be the subject of another blog entry on another day).
Bring your camera. Enjoy!
May. 21, 2007
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce has a delightful, self-guided walking tour of downtown Los Gatos with places of historical note highlighted. It's an ideal thing to do on a warm spring evening - like tonight!
http://www.losgatosweb.com/lgwalkingtour.html
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