The
block bounded by Calderon, El Camino, Centre, and Montgomery was
once home to Mountain View's schools. It is now the site of one of
the earliest modern "mixed-use" developments, Two
Worlds.
The
stretch of El Camino Real between Highway 85 and Calderon Avenue
doesn't look much different from the rest of the strip-mall lined
roadway that runs through Mountain View and most other towns on the Peninsula
and northern Santa Clara Valley.
But
this particular stretch of the old mission road has a history that is
hidden underneath the shopping centers, gas stations, and fast food
joints that line it today. It's hard to believe, but in the 1850s
through 1880s, this was the bustling center of the first settlement of
Mountain View.
The
first Mountain View, later referred to as Old Mountain View when the
train shifted development a few miles north and made Castro Street our
city's downtown, was a frontier town built around a stage coach stop.
The town had a post office, hotels, saloons, general stores,
blacksmiths, a lumber yard, schools, homes, a church, and a meeting
hall. It served as the commercial center of the growing number of
ranches, orchards, and farms that were carved out of the
Mexican-Ranchos immediately after the Gold Rush.
Old
Mountain View was a place you could visit into the 1950s. However, the
continued growth of 'new' Mountain View's near Castro Street stunted
Old Mountain View's growth. Piece by piece the old town disappeared,
until the last traces of it were replaced by suburban outgrowth from
the expanding town of 'new' Mountain View in the 1950s. Except for the
streets, a few old trees, and a house that was relocated to the other
side of town, Old Mountain View does not exist anymore. Even the name
has been lost. This may sound confusing, but today, when someone
refers to Old Mountain View, they are usually talking about the now
historic residential neighborhoods of the town that up till the early
1900s was known as 'New' Mountain View.
Luckily,
photos from this era have been saved to help tell the story of the
earliest era of Mountain View's history. The interactive map below
offers a glimpse of Old Mountain View's landmarks. Just click on the
area of the map you'd like to visit, or use the map key on the left.
