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PALO ALTO HISTORIC HOMES By Alex Wilbur DeLeon
Growing up in Palo Alto, I have always admired the distinct architectural styles of homes throughout the various neighborhoods. In my younger days, I grew up in Community Center in a French-inspired 1940s home. I later moved to Professorville and lived in a historic Craftsman, and finally to a Barron Park 1980s Adobeinspired home. Established in 1894, the city of Palo Alto’s rich and storied history is reflected in our architecture. Traveling through Palo Alto, you will notice the distinguishable difference between each neighborhood as the city was essentially built from North to South. For instance, many wonder why Barron Park is so unique and bucolic in contrast to the rest of the city. This is because it was actually annexed to Palo Alto as late as 1975! Comparing neighborhood architectural styles, you will notice a particular distinction among Crescent Park’s Spanish Colonial Revival Birge Clark-designed homes, Professorville’s Craftsman and Queen Anne Victorian style homes, and neighborhoods like Midtown and South Palo Alto, which were originally predominantly post-war built tract housing including tracts built by Joseph Eichler.
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Historic Categories In order to preserve our history, the City of Palo Alto has established categories for historic homes, which are labeled as Category 1 through 4 in the Palo Alto Historic Inventory list. A description of these categories along with a property inventory list can be found on the Palo Alto Stanford Heritage website (www. pastheritage.org). Category 1 and Category 2 homes, per the definition provided by Palo Alto Stanford Heritage, are considered to be “Exceptional Buildings” and “Major Buildings” respectively, meaning that they hold national, statewide, or regional significance. These homes are often designed by famous architects, or were occupied by well-known persons, and they are a good representation of national, state or regional architecture and have typically retained their original character with slight modifications. Perhaps the most famous example of a Category 1 home in Palo Alto would be 367 Addison Avenue in Professorville, which is where Hewlett Packard was founded. This home is also on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
