History
Palo Alto was named after the 110.8 feet El Palo Alto tree. Palo Alto is a city within Santa Clara County and borders San Mateo County. It is situated in San Francisco Metropolitan Bay Area and in Silicon Valley. Specifically, it is 14 miles north of San Jose and 35 miles south of San Francisco. Palo Alto, as a high technology city, is renowned worldwide as a leader in progressive and advanced technological development. The borders of the city broaden from San Francisco Bay on the east to the Skyline Ridge of the coastal mountains on the west, Menlo Park to the north and Mountain View to the south.
The history of Palo Alto started during November 1769, when the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, together with his group, camped under a very tall double redwood tree situated on the side of San Francisquito Creek. His exploring group discovered San Francisco Bay and the redwood tree served as their landmark which guided them safely back to the camp. Palo Alto has two downtown areas which include one along California Avenue, known as the downtown of Mayfield, and one along University Avenue.
By 1855 South Palo Alto, formerly known as the township of Mayfield, was formed. Amasa Leland Stanford, a politician and a business tycoon requests for reform and was rejected due to rowdy saloons. This led him to drive the formation of Palo Alto by 1895.
By July 6, 1925, the two downtown communities were officially consolidated. Palo Alto has a historic district known as the Professorville, where Stanford University’s first faculties settled. There are also numerous conserved residences since 1890 which include 345 Lincoln and 833 Kingsley. Located at 218 Channing is the Lee DeForest laboratory site which is a California Historical Landmark owing to DeForest invention of the first vacuum tube and oscillator in 1911.
Palo Alto has a population of 58, 598 according to the data of the year 2000 United States Census Bureau. The thoroughfares of Palo Alto includes Interstate 280, Highway 101, Highway 84 - the Dumbarton Bridge, and Highway 92 - the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge. Palo Alto is a complete service municipality which operates its own gas, sewer, and water, electric, refuse and storm drainage services.
Schools
The City of Palo Alto values education. Palo Alto’s residents are highly educated. The Palo Alto Unified School District is committed in improving student achievement and development. The following shows the address of Palo Alto Unified School District:
Palo Alto Unified School District
District Office
25 Churchill Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1099
Palo Alto also has Albert L. Schutlz Jewish Community Center, which was intended to enhance the lives of everyone. The place which is a social, cultural, educational and recreational agency is family-oriented. Castilleja School, which was established in 1907, is dedicated to providing a rigorous college preparatory education for young women in grades six through twelve. Foothill College provides students of all ages and skills levels with more than 1,000 spring course offerings at the Foothill Main Campus in Los Altos Hills and Middlefield Campus in Palo Alto.
Palo Alto educational services have much to offer. The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology is a private, non-sectarian graduate school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Another school is the Palo Alto Montessori School, an accredited preschool which has been educating 2-6 year olds since 1977.
Founded by Amasa Leland Stanford, the Stanford University offers graduate admission applications for the schools of Humanities & Sciences, Engineering, Earth Sciences as well as Business, Education, Law and Medicine. Stanford also offers valuable opportunities for lifelong learning. Continuing Studies schedules a wide range of courses for people in the Bay Area. The Stanford Center for Professional Development provides degree and non-degree distance-learning courses. The Graduate School of Business and Law School offer executive education. Summer Session provides high school, undergraduate, and graduate students unique access to Stanford's outstanding faculty. Furthermore, the Education Program for Gifted Youth delivers e-learning courses for K-12 students. Other educational services provided by Palo Alto include California K-12, Early Learning Institute, Language Studies Institute, Language Pacifica, Living Wisdom School, Palo Alto Adult School, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology Clinic and Palo Alto French Education Association.
The community features the cultural legacy of its history. The museums that can be found in Palo Alto include Center for Visual Arts which showcases 27 galleries, special exhibitions, and stimulating educational programs and events. Museum of American Heritage, located in 351 Homer Avenue Palo Alto combined elements of history, technology and design to feature the evolution of technology, how and why it has influenced society from beginning to the current time, and a glimpse of future expectations.
From its humble beginnings as a mere storefront in 1893, Palo Alto has grown considerably. It is currently operating five branches maintaining an annual circulation of more than 1.2 million, from a collection of 267,000 items. Moreover, the library welcomes more than 900, 000 in-person visits and tackles more than 90, 000 reference queries.
Dynix is the world leader in the sales of novel library management systems and has the widest customer base compared to other library technology vendors around the world. Having a commitment of exemplary service to the library community, Dynix has been serving academic, special, school, public, and consortium libraries in over 40 countries; employing more than 100 professional staff librarians with proven experience in software leadership. Visionary technology solutions, intuitive functionality and latest industry standards are a few innovations provided by Dynix to its customers.
Library
The Palo Alto City Library Director, Paula Simpson, once said "In terms of technology use and expectations, Palo Alto is a very sophisticated community, so we wanted to make the most of Web-based resources to meet the demands of our customers." She added, “New technology was required in the library to better serve our customers and satisfy their needs." All these are in concurrence with the library’s Mission Statement--To enable people to explore library resources to enrich their lives with knowledge, information and enjoyment.
The following shows the address of Palo Alto City Library:
Palo Alto City Library
1213 Newell Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
There are other notable locations in Palo Alto:
- Foothills Park Nature Interpretive Center
- Welch Road Professional Center
- Veterans Golf Course
- Los Altos Sewage Disposal Plant
- Palo Alto Yacht Club
- Palo Alto Office Center
- Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course
- Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club
- Stanford Industrial Park
- Shotgun Bend
- Rinconada Fire Station
- Chinese Community Center
- Institute of Molecular Medical Sciences
- Womens Club of Palo Alto
- Museum of American Heritage
- Center for Continuing Study of California Economy Library
- Barbie Hall of Fame
- Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation Library
- Mitchell Park Branch Palo Alto City Library
- Baylands Athletic Center
Shopping Centers:
- Palo Alto Square Shopping Center
- Town and Country Shopping Center
- Charleston Shopping Center
- Stanford Shopping Center
- Edgewood Plaza Shopping Center
Churches in Palo Alto include:
- All Saints Episcopal Church
- Ananda Church of Self-Realization
- Trinity Lutheran Church
- University Lutheran Church
- Wesley United Methodist Church
- Seventh Day Adventist Church
- First Baptist Church
- First Church of Christ Scientist
Palo Alto has a remarkable blend of business and residential areas. Palo Alto’s residents are politically aware, culturally sophisticated and highly educated. Palo Alto is a mixed paradise of old and new. Its historic buildings and tree-lined streets mirror its California heritage. The traditions and innovations make Palo Alto an exceptional place. |
