North Bayshore District History

The Levin House

Agricultural Era (1850-1950)

The North Bayshore District, separated from Mountain View for decades by acres of agricultural land, and in modern times, by the busy Bayshore Freeway, has always been isolated from the rest of Mountain View. The area was first settled in the 1860s, when early pioneers set up ship landings on the sloughs of what is now Shoreline Park. One of the most prominent people to set up a landing was Henry Rengstorff, a German Immigrant who originally came to California because of the Gold Rush. Soon the land of the North Bayshore district was subdivided and put into agricultural production. Homes began to be built in the area, one of the most ornate homes was the Rengstorff House, built in 1867. Other early settlers in the area included the Huff family, Stierlin family, and Levin family. These names should sound familiar to modern day residents of Mountain View, because roads and schools still bear these early families' names.

The Stierlin House

The Huff House

The First Whisman School (1871)

Whisman School

By the 1870s, enough families had settled in the district to warrant the creation of a school district. So, in 1869, Henry Rengstorff set up the Whisman School district, the second public school district in the Mountain View area. The Whisman School district was named after pioneer stage coach line operator, John W. Whisman. By 1871 the first Whisman School had been built on land donated by Rengstorff at 1895 Stierlin Road (now Shoreline Blvd.). Increased enrollment by 1912 lead to the construction of a new school. This school building burnt down in 1928 and was rebuilt at the same location.

The Second Whisman School (1912)

The Third Whisman School (1928)

Farm on Charleston Road

Trapped in Time (1950-1980)

Through the early half of the 20th century, the North Bayshore district remained a quiet, pastoral area. It was hardly influenced by the growth that was occurring in Mountain View. When the Bayshore Highway (US 101) was constructed in the 1950s, it gave the district a defined southern border, and cut it off physically, and in some ways socially, from the rest of Mountain View.

Starting in the late 1950s, Mountain View's city leaders began to plan for the development of the North Bayshore District. One constant of all the plans was the creation of a large park along the bay. However, what would happen with the rest of the land became a debate that would last 30 years. Originally a "city within a city" was envisioned for the district. High density housing, a shopping mall, and a community college would all be built here by one developer of the city's choosing. But in the 1970s, the city began to worry that it would become a bedroom community without any jobs (and the resulting tax revenue) to maintain city services. At that time, the city had a surplus of housing due to the large amounts of apartment complexes which were being constructed. So the debate went back and forth on whether or not to turn the North Bayshore district into a housing or office area.

Meanwhile, the existing residents of the North Bayshore district continued on with their rural way of life. Near the freeway, some development had occurred, including the Moffett Park Drive-in movie theater at the site of today's Century Theaters. But for the most part, the city's indecisiveness over the future of land use in the area kept development out. As a result, a drive from Mountain View to the North Bayshore district was a surreal experience in the 1980s. The growth of the Silicon Valley had pushed development in Mountain View all the way to the Bayshore Freeway, but once your car made it over a freeway overpass, you descended into an area that still looked like the agricultural Mountain View of the 1930s.

The Rengstorff House on Stierlin Road

Early Development & Changes

The value of the land in the North Bayshore district had diminished greatly since its agricultural heyday in the earlier part of the century. The city purchased huge tracts of land and opened up a landfill to raise land for the construction of Shoreline Park. The landfill dropped the value of the surrounding land, and also cut the district off from its views of the San Francisco Bay. Whisman School left the district in the 1960s and moved to a location closer to where most residents now lived, on the other side of the freeway on Easy Street. The area was held in low regard by Mountain View residents on the other side of the freeway who were afraid to venture into the area due to packs of stray dogs and motorcycle gangs of Hells Angels which frequented it. The once stately Rengstorff Mansion fell into disrepair, and every kid who lived in Mountain View knew it was haunted. But nevertheless, many small farms and greenhouse operations still existed in the area and about 2,000 scattered district residents still called the district home.

The City Spreads

By the 1980s, the leaders of the city decided that they wanted to develop the land as a high-tech campus district. However, residents of the city had grown to truly appreciate the scenic and open feeling of the district and called for the preservation of some of those qualities. As a result, the city incorporated design guidelines for the district which saved scenic vistas, incorporated public art, and incorporated large amounts of public and private open space into the design of every new development.

In the late 1980s the city bought the district's oldest building, the Rengstorff House, and moved it to Shoreline Park where it was later restored. The farms and greenhouses of the district were quickly replaced by a series of office parks. The old Moffitt Drive-In gave way to a brand new Century Theaters complex, and just down the road Shoreline Amphitheater was built, turning the district into an entertainment center for Mountain View. By the late 1990s, the last few acres of land in the district were being developed with some of the most ambitious architectural designs ever seen in the Silicon Valley. Silicon Graphics and Alza built landmark headquarter campuses in the center of the district.

Closing

Today, hardly any undeveloped land is left in the North Bayshore District. The area has become one of Silicon Valley's most desirable office areas, and has also grown to become a place where Mountain View residents go for some entertainment. On the last large parcel of undeveloped land, the city plans on developing a first class resort hotel, and a building devoted to some type of cultural-community use.