Living in Palo Alto

I live and work a little farther up the Peninsula in Burlingame, but Palo Alto is a city I love helping clients explore. It has historic streets near downtown, Eichler tracts in the south and open hillsides out by Foothills, all in one city. Here is a neighborhood by neighborhood look to help you find your fit.

Palo Alto incorporated in 1894 and is home to about 68,600 people according to the 2020 census, across roughly 26 square miles that run from the Baylands on San Francisco Bay to the foothills west of Interstate 280. The city takes its name from El Palo Alto, Spanish for tall stick, a coast redwood where the Portolá expedition camped in November 1769.

The town began as University Park, a temperance townsite Timothy Hopkins bought in 1887 next to the new university Leland and Jane Stanford founded in memory of their son. Neighboring Mayfield joined Palo Alto in 1925. Today the city is known for the HP Garage at 367 Addison Avenue, where Hewlett Packard began in 1939, along with the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve and the historic Stanford Theatre.

68,572residents, per the 2020 census

1894year Palo Alto incorporated

1925year Mayfield joined Palo Alto

26square miles, from bay to foothills

Palo Alto Neighborhood Map

Palo Alto neighborhoods, numbered and outlined. Tap an area to jump to its description.

Disclaimer: neighborhood borders shown on this map are approximate. They follow the City of Palo Alto neighborhood map, fitted to Palo Alto parcel lines, with a few smaller enclaves traced from their streets. Numbers circled with a dashed line mark smaller enclaves without a mapped border. Gray areas are other parts of the city. They are for general reference only and are not official school or MLS boundaries, so please confirm the neighborhood, school assignment and jurisdiction for any specific address. City limits and roads come from City of Palo Alto GIS. Tap any area to jump to its description below.

Neighborhood by Neighborhood

Numbers match the map above.

Downtown North

One of Palo Alto's oldest residential areas, between San Francisquito Creek and University Avenue from Alma Street to Middlefield Road, with cottages on 50 foot lots alongside duplexes and apartments. Johnson Park, Cogswell Plaza, El Camino Park and Hopkins Creekside Park are all close, as is the downtown Caltrain station.

University South

The blocks between Homer Avenue and Embarcadero Road, from Alma Street to Middlefield Road, just south of the University Avenue shops and restaurants. Scott Park and Heritage Park are nearby, and the Museum of American Heritage occupies the historic Williams House on Homer Avenue.

Professorville

Palo Alto's oldest residential neighborhood, where homes went up from the 1890s for early Stanford faculty; its core is a National Register historic district listed in 1980. Brown shingle houses with gambrel roofs, Craftsman bungalows and Colonial Revival homes line Kingsley, Bryant and Addison, near the HP Garage at 367 Addison Avenue.

Crescent Park

Named for its curving streets that follow San Francisquito Creek, Crescent Park was subdivided in the 1920s on former farmland once owned by Dr. William Newell. Spanish Colonial Revival homes, many by architect Birge Clark, sit on large lots, with Eleanor Pardee Park and its community garden nearby.

Community Center

Bounded by Middlefield and Newell roads and Channing Avenue and Embarcadero Road, with early 20th century bungalows, Victorians, Mission style houses and newer homes. It is named for the civic campus here: Rinconada Park, established in 1922, the Lucie Stern Community Center, Rinconada Library and the Junior Museum and Zoo.

Duveneck/St. Francis

Mostly single story 1950s tract homes, many updated, built on a former vegetable farm between San Francisquito Creek and Embarcadero Road east of Newell. Eleanor Pardee Park and Duveneck Elementary anchor the area, with Rinconada Park a short walk away.

Green Gables

An Eichler tract whose first 63 homes went up in 1950, designed by Anshen and Allen and named Subdivision of the Year by Architectural Forum. The tract was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 as the Green Gables Historic District.

Triple El

A 1955 subdivision of about 68 homes, mostly single story Eichlers, named for Elsinore Drive, Elsinore Court and El Cajon Way between North California Avenue and Oregon Expressway. A single story overlay protects the rooflines, and a row of Chinese elms planted when the tract was built still lines the street.

Leland Manor/Garland

Three small pockets between Middlefield and Louis roads, Leland Manor, Garland Drive and Embarcadero Oaks, with homes from the 1940s onward mixed with rebuilt and remodeled houses. Leland Manor has four cul de sacs, and nearby Fulton Street has lit up as Christmas Tree Lane every December since 1940.

Old Palo Alto

Individually built homes from the early 1900s onward in English, Tudor, Spanish Colonial and Moorish styles, between Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway from Alma Street to Middlefield Road. The Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, Bowden Park and the Lawn Bowling Green are here, with a tunnel under the tracks to California Avenue.

Southgate

About 230 single family homes on a former Stanford family orchard, first built in the 1920s between El Camino Real, Park Boulevard, the Caltrain tracks and Churchill Avenue. Early homes still line Madrono Avenue, and Peers Park, Town and Country Village and California Avenue are close by.

Evergreen Park

Marketed in 1907 as part of the old town of Mayfield and built out in the 1920s, with single family homes in varied sizes and styles alongside apartments. Peers Park, with the city's largest off leash dog area, and the California Avenue shops and Caltrain stop are steps away.

College Terrace

Subdivided by Alexander Gordon in 1887, before Stanford opened, with cross streets named for colleges such as Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale. Queen Anne, English cottage and bungalow homes surround four small parks and the 1936 College Terrace Library, a WPA project.

Ventura

A mix of older and newer single family homes, apartments and multifamily housing on narrow streets and small lots, between Oregon Expressway, Alma Street, West Meadow Drive and El Camino Real. Boulware Park and the Ventura Community Center sit here, near the former Fry's site on Portage Avenue and the site of the 1918 Bayside Canning Company.

Midtown

Built largely in the post World War II boom on a street grid, with ranch homes and Eichlers on lots of about 6,000 to 8,000 square feet, many since remodeled or rebuilt. Midtown Shopping Center, Greer, Hoover and Seale parks and the Winter Lodge ice rink on Middlefield Road are local anchors.

St. Claire Gardens

A small enclave around St. Claire Drive, St. Michaels Drive and St. Michaels Court, with tree lined streets and its own neighborhood park. Hoover Park, Mitchell Park and Midtown Shopping Center are all nearby.

Palo Verde

Eichler and Eichler inspired homes on narrow roads and cul de sacs between Middlefield Road and West Bayshore Road, from Loma Verde Avenue to East Meadow Drive. Ramos and Seale parks, the Eichler Swim and Tennis Club, the Palo Alto Family YMCA and Mitchell Park are close by.

Adobe Meadow

Built from 1956 on the former Piers Dairy site, with Eichler homes between Middlefield and Louis roads from East Meadow Drive to Adobe Creek, including the adjacent Meadow Park association. Don Jesus Ramos Park and Mitchell Park are nearby.

Fairmeadow

Known for concentric circle streets such as Carlson Circle and Ramona Circle, laid out in the early 1950s with Joseph Eichler, between Alma Street, East Meadow Drive and East Charleston Road. Mitchell Park, with its library and community center, borders the neighborhood, as do Fairmeadow Elementary and JLS Middle School.

Charleston Gardens

Ranch homes begun in 1951 and 78 Eichlers completed in 1954 on Seminole Way, Maplewood Avenue and nearby streets on the south side of East Charleston Road. Cubberley Community Center, the Oshman Family JCC and Charleston Shopping Center are close by.

Greenmeadow

About 270 Eichler homes from 1954, designed by A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons, on 22 blocks between Alma, East Charleston, Middlefield and San Antonio roads. The tract is a National Register historic district with its own community center, pool and central park.

Charleston Meadows

Mostly Eichler style homes on wide streets and cul de sacs between West Meadow Drive, Alma Street, Adobe Creek and El Camino Real. Robles Park and the Ventura Community Center are nearby, and the Wilkie Way bike bridge crosses Adobe Creek toward San Antonio Shopping Center.

Monroe Park

A small neighborhood at the Mountain View border, named for L.G. Monroe, the original owner of the land, with the 0.55 acre Monroe Park on Monroe Drive. Unlike most of Palo Alto, it is served by the Los Altos School District and the Mountain View Los Altos high school district.

Barron Park

Named for Edward Barron, who bought the old Mayfield Farm in 1878, this area grew as a summer colony in the 1920s and stayed unincorporated until residents voted to join Palo Alto in 1975. Some streets still lack sidewalks, and 13 acre Bol Park, once the Bol family's donkey pasture, is home to the neighborhood donkeys.

Green Acres

Two sections of single family homes with underground utilities, Green Acres I off Arastradero Road and the larger Green Acres II between Maybell Avenue and Arastradero. Juana Briones Park and Terman Park are nearby, and a bike path leads to Bol Park.

Esther Clark Park

Spanish style villas and ranch homes on lots of at least an acre along Old Adobe Road, Old Trace Road and Manuela Avenue off Arastradero Road. The land was sold by Dr. Esther Clark, founder of the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, and the 21 acre Esther Clark Park covers oak studded hills on Old Trace Road.

Palo Alto Hills

Hillside homes on lots averaging over an acre, some with views and small vineyards, between Arastradero Road, Page Mill Road and the Arastradero Preserve. The Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club sits at the neighborhood's edge, with Foothills Nature Preserve up Page Mill Road.

A Short History of Palo Alto

The Puichon Ohlone lived along the creeks here long before the Portolá expedition camped beside El Palo Alto in 1769, and the land later fell within Mission Santa Clara and then Mexican era ranchos. The township of Mayfield formed around a stagecoach stop in 1855, and in 1876 Leland Stanford began buying land for a horse farm that later became Stanford University. When Mayfield would not accept the Stanfords' ban on alcohol, Timothy Hopkins bought 740 acres in 1887 for a new townsite called University Park, which incorporated as Palo Alto in 1894. Voters approved annexing Mayfield in 1925, and Barron Park, long an unincorporated island, voted to join the city in 1975.

Schools

Most of Palo Alto is served by the Palo Alto Unified School District, which runs the city's public elementary, middle and high schools, including Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School. The Monroe Park neighborhood near the Mountain View border is the exception, served by the Los Altos School District and the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District.

School assignments depend on the exact address, so please confirm with the district before you buy.

Getting Around

Palo Alto sits between US 101 and Interstate 280, with two Caltrain stops and El Camino Real running through the middle of town.

Caltrain stops at the Palo Alto station on University Avenue and at California Avenue, with the Stanford station used for special events. US 101 runs along the bay side and Interstate 280 through the foothills, linked by Oregon Expressway and Page Mill Road, while El Camino Real, Alma Street, Middlefield Road, Embarcadero Road and Foothill Expressway carry local traffic.

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Palo Alto FAQ

What neighborhoods are in Palo Alto?

This guide covers 27 Palo Alto neighborhoods, from Downtown North, Professorville and Crescent Park near downtown to Midtown, Greenmeadow, Barron Park and Palo Alto Hills. See the map above for where each one sits.

What schools serve Palo Alto?

Is there Caltrain service in Palo Alto?

Yes. Caltrain stops at the Palo Alto station on University Avenue and at California Avenue, and the Stanford station is used for special events.

What is my Palo Alto home worth?

Every Palo Alto street prices a little differently. Request a free home valuation and Joseph will send a local estimate based on recent nearby sales. Request a free home valuation

How can I hear about Palo Alto homes before they hit the market?

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Sources

The facts on this page come from the public sources below. Neighborhood names and borders vary by source, and details like school assignments change, so please confirm anything important for a specific address.

Header photo: University Avenue at Waverley Street, Palo Alto by Brian Sterling, Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Palo Alto

Named for the tall redwood on San Francisquito Creek.