Live In Los Gatos

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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Live In Los Gatos

A Place for Strolling in Los Gatos:
Historic Almond Grove District in Los Gatos

May. 25, 2007
Categorized in: Los Gatos Neighborhoods

Home on Tait Avenue, built appx 1890.
The Almond Grove District is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Los Gatos.

The subdivision was created in 1887 by town fathers John Bean, Alphonse Wilder, Augustine Nicholson, Fen Massol and Captain Magnus Tait. The borders were from Bean Avenue to Saratoga-Los Gatos Road and North Santa Cruz and Glen Ridge Avenue. (Streets in this district include Beat Ave., Wilder Ave., Nicholson Ave., Massol Ave. and Tait Ave.)

Almond Grove home with Royal Palms, Los Gatos, CAWhat is really amazing about this neighborhood is the way it was originally sold, the incredibly enthusiastic response it had right from the very beginning. In September of that year, 1887, an orchardist named Harvey Wilcox had a land auction of the subdivision.  He sold 121 out of 170 lots for sale - all in one day!! 

(That same orchardist also sold the Jesuits 40 acres that would become the Novitiate up on the hill.)

The popularity of the Almond Grove District continues to this day, more than a century later.
Almond Grove Home in Los GatosToday the area is known for being very, very highly decorated at Halloween and Christmas. In fact, on October 31st, many children are brought in from other areas to "Trick or Treat" in this historical area with tons of (spooky) ambiance on Halloween.


Almendra is a street whose name in Spanish means "almond" and this road was the home of many mayors and important personages in Los Gatos history. It also boasts
a six-sided house (which was recently home to a law office and is currently a pending sale, listed just a bit under 1.5 mil) that was built in 1895.

What folks love about the Almond Grove is that it's "walk to town" (or "close to town"), it's full of old-style charm (in a valley full to the brim with tract housing), there are wide, tree-lined streets, and of course great Los Gatos schools. But even more, it seems that the Almond Grove district exudes an immense pride in keeping the flavor of the area alive. And there seems to be a lot of community spirit too. There's no other neighborhood like this one for holiday decorating.

Almond Grove homeAre there challenges living in the Almond Grove area? Sure. Parking can be a problem - many of these homes were built before garages were a consideration!  Older construction can impact remodeling (historical preservation rules) too.

Being able to stroll to world-class restaurants, enjoy fantastic shopping or stop in at a spa for the royal treatment just blocks away is a huge plus. Living in a neighborhood full of character and history, and getting neighbors who all care about taking care of their homes is a big plus too.

I'd live there in a heartbeat.

Broadway Area: the First Subdivision in Los Gatos

May. 6, 2007
Categorized in: Los Gatos Neighborhoods
Tagged with: history, homes, subdivision

Cute older home in Los Gatos on BroadwayIf you have read much of this blog, you know that the first European settlers, Peralta and Hernandez, made their adobe home on the land which is now Vasona Lake County Park. There was no lake there at the time, of course, but the Los Gatos Creek wove through the meadow and the surroundings were scenic and lush.

Broadway Avenue with the mountain, El Sereno, in the distance. Los Gatos, CACloser to the mountains, a mill was founded - Forbes Mill - and the town grew up around it. Wooden buildings and sidewalks popped up, with homes scattered nearby. Eventually, someone got the idea to build a neighborhood of homes in Los Gatos. That insightful fellow was John Weldon Lyndon, the same gentleman who bought the Los Gatos Hotel and later moved and renamed it the Lyndon Hotel in 1878. At the same time, he had greater visions for the Lots of color in this 1890 built home on Broadway in Los Gatos, CAneighborhood.

John Lyndon developed Broadway and put 48 lots on it and offered the first of them for sale in 1881 (6 years before the Almond Grove area was developed). Some homes may have been built there before this division took place - there are indicators that a few of the homes in the area pre-date 1881.

Waterman House, Los Gatos, CALyndon moved his hotel to the location of today's Lyndon Plaza in 1878. This is the town's very oldest subdivision. As of now there are 12 pre-1900 homes remaining. Other developments in the 1880's include the nearby Almond Grove, Fairview, and the Edelen Districts.

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