Downtown Neighborhood Palo Alto CA

Downtown Palo Alto, CA

Defined roughly by Alma Street and Middlefield Road and by Lytton and Addison Avenues, downtown Palo Alto is a charming combination of small-town accessibility and urban ambiance. Outdoor cafes, tiny coffee shops, bookstores, mom-and-pop specialty shops, national chains, art galleries, two movie theaters, and numerous restaurants attract shoppers, eaters, and entertainment-seekers of all ages. Parking along University Avenue can be difficult during peak restaurant hours, but several large garages are available to the public.

The downtown area had its first big development at the time Stanford University was started. Lots were created and marketed with the intent of turning Palo Alto into one of the most significant towns in the area. The typical residential lot is not very large, having been created for town residents. The homes and buildings are of great variety. With the growth of Silicon Valley, the downtown business district has transformed from a small town that typically closed up at 6:30 pm on weekday evenings into a small active city with activity continuing into the evening after many people have gone to bed. During this transformation, some of the older buildings were preserved, some replaced by rather utilitarian buildings, and later some were replaced by quite elegant buildings. Some of the more recent prominent changes were the construction of several large luxury condominium complexes in the south.

Palo Alto attracts many people wanting to start their own companies. The ease of meeting like-minded people, sharing ideas, and finding help, attracts even more like-minded people. At times it seems like everyone is either working on a startup company or working at one that has grown and become very highly valued

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Downtown Residential Parking Permits

Unlike Caltrain, Stanford, and other nearby employers, downtown Palo Alto and the surrounding residential area, has free parking. Before the residential parking permit program, commuters and employees would overwhelm the residential parking. The permit program was implemented to allow residents to be again able to park in front of their own homes.

The Downtown Preferential Parking (RPP) Program requires all vehicles to have a permit to park on designated streets for more than 2 hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. If parking for less than two hours, a permit is not needed.

Source: cityofpaloalto.org

Downtown Palo Alto Farmers' Market

The Downtown Palo Alto Farmers’ Market is open every Saturday 8 am-12 pm starting May 15th and running through October 31st. It is located on Gilman Street between Hamilton Ave and Forest Ave. Come shop for local produce, meat, eggs, dairy products, honey, baked goods, jams and jellies, flowers, plants, herbs, spices, nuts and seeds, and more.

The Downtown Palo Alto Farmers' Market is entirely a volunteer nonprofit organization, donating all proceeds to Avenidas Senior Services as part of its 40-year community partnership. Why Avenidas? Back in 1981, the heart of downtown Palo Alto became food empty as the last grocery store quit. Community-minded members of the Avenidas board and staff took charge and created the Market to address the critical need of bringing fresh food to downtown residents. Although the Market was spun out as an independent non-profit in 1986, the Market and Avenidas have continued their relationship for 40+ years.

The History Of Downtown Palo Alto

In 1884, Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, lost their only child Leland Stanford Jr. when he died of typhoid fever at age 15. They decided to create Stanford University in his memory. In 1886, they proposed having the university's gateway be the town of Mayfield. However, they had one condition: alcohol had to be banned from the town. Mayfield, which had 13 saloons, rejected his request. The Stanfords chose to create a new temperance town with the help of their friend Timothy Hopkins of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Hopkins bought 740 acres of private land for the new townsite in 1887. The Hopkins Tract, was bounded by El Camino Real, San Francisquito Creek, Boyce, Channing, Melville, Hopkins Avenues, and Embarcadero Road.

On July 2, 1925, Palo Alto voters approved the annexation of Mayfield, and the two communities were officially combined on July 6, 1925. As a result, Palo Alto has two "downtown" areas: one along University Avenue and one along California Avenue in the College Terrace neighborhood.

Source: en.wikipedia.org