The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-07
A Quiet Place That NestleS
Amid the Live Oaks and
FIoWer-GardenS.
ITS FUTURE IS PROMISING.
: The Growth of the Stanford Educa-
tional Institution Will Build
Up a Thriving City.

uLedHly aIIernOOuS, quiet lie, MOWERS,
spreading live oaks and climate that one
goes away to talk about characterize the
town of Palo Alto, that was named after a
tall tree.
Palo Alto has the distinctive character
istic of being university town and nothing
else. Stanford University gave it existence
and the university will make it grow and
increase in beauty and prosperity. One
would travel long way to find another
university town that is so purely what 1t
pretends to be. Rarely does anybody who
is not loyal to the cardinal. 1t is a pecu-
liar town, but to the visitor whose soul is
attuned to its life it is alluring.
When the late Senator Stanford, who
was indulgent to his own tastes, came to
build suburban home he chose this neigh
borhood, and when he decided that his
colossal fortune should found an institu-
ton of learning which for breadth of spirit,
extent of facilities and muniicence of en-
dowment should exceed all universities of
the earth, he located it here on his Palo
Alto estate of 1000 acres. The location is
ideal. Climate, richness of valley plain,
the rolling foothills that are green in a
restful way, the sheltering mountains just
beyond, the picturesque scenes that the
eye cannot turn to avoid, and the lowell
ness that nature has given to the sunshine,
the landscape and the things that bloom,
all give Palo Alto and its region a charm
that never wears away.
The Palo Alto estate borders the county
road on the west, and the main university
buildings were erected nearly a mile west
of the road at the end OF beautiful, broad
driveway, The railroad ran close to the
county road, and here across the highway
it was decided that there should be a new
town.
Timothy Hopkins laid it out on some of
his land and from the first the deed to
every lot contained provision that if the
manufacture or sale of Intoxicating liquor
were ever carried on there by any owner
or lessee of the property the property
should be forfeited. The town, like the
big ranch, was called Palo Alto or - tall
tree" after a lofty live redwood that tow
ers beside the neighboring bridge over San
Francisquito Greek.
The university opened in the fall of 1891
and about that time J. F. Parkinson, now
a merchant here, established a lumber
yard and started the town. Houses quickly
began TO go up and in few months, with
the people who came to drink at the Pie
rian spring, sell things or board students,
the population crept up into the hundreds
The town incorporated year ago with a
population of 1000, and one of the ordi-
nances passed by the Trustees was one
rigidly prohibiting the liquor traffic, al
though the deeds were sufficient guaran-
tee that it would remain a temperance
town.
The town now sprawls about the grassy
plain under the trees, as if it were reveling
in its abundance of room. 1t is yet an
open forest of live oaks, and the magnif-
cent trees find themselves undisturbed in
streets, sidewalks and dooryards. They
screen one part of the town from another
and long streets dotted with pretty cot
tages and pretentious residences run in
various directions through the groves
Everything looks neat and new, for even
weather stains have not had time to appear.
About these homes are pretty lawns, with
walks, flowers and shrubs. Tastefulness
appears to be universal, as is to be ex-
pected.
In these attractive homes live many
professors, VINO prefer Palo Alto to the
residence section of the university campus.
In these residences one meets first a charm
ing and perhaps inexpensive display of
artistic furnishing and coziness, and next
books and books. The social life is quietly
delightful. Other homes are for people
who have come here for suburban resi-
dence, or to educate their children. and of
course the tasteful and cultured spirit of
the university town has touched them with
its grace. Lots OF these pretty places are
clearinghouse, for the percentage of
boarding places is remarkably high.
Boarding and sheltering students and
instructors is the chief business of Palo
Alto. None of these people are in hurry
to get rich, for the atmosphere keeps all
boarding rates away down. Their range
is from SIG to $25 a month for board and
room, and is exactly adapted to the de-
mands. Only a quarter of the 1900 stu
dents and many instructors light their
lamps here. Among the larger buildings
are four fraternity houses, where students
live on the club plan.
The business street looks neat and new,
and some quite extensive stores adapt
their window displays of candies, temper
ance drinks, reading matter, stationery,
raw eating material and house wares 10
the modest and well understood tastes OF
professors wives, clearinghouse keepers,
boys with books and goods with soulful
eyes.
r. Next to the boarding houses, the buses
do the biggest business. They swarm
about the depot as each of the numerous
trains come in and carry students and
visitors to the university. The ride costs
a student cents, and visitor 10 or 25
cents. according to his looks and the de-
gree in which he is stranger. Before a
great while an electric road will circle
around the towns of Palo Alto, Mayfeld,
Menlo Park and the university campus,
and then the buses will go.
There are more smart people riding BIZ
cycles here than in any community of its
size on earth. The superb roads, the good
bicycle climate and the fact that it is a
place of mile distances have brought this
about. Most of the professors and an i'm
mense number of the students, both boys
and girls, go fitting about on the noiseless
wheels and stack them about every door
ana building. President Jordan remains