History

The iconic La Cañada building on the corner of West Main Street and North Santa Cruz Avenue, with its circular bay window and signature “witches hat” turret, has been a prominent feature of our historic downtown business district almost since the day it was...

The old fire station on the corner of Tait Avenue and West Main Street is a familiar sight to those of us who live on the West side of town. The Spanish Revival style building, with its stucco walls, low hip roof clad in...

Have you ever wondered about the little stone house at 15 University Avenue? In the middle of downtown, it seems oddly out of place. In fact, it’s the only residence within the boundaries of the Los Gatos Historic Commercial District. The house is a 1906...

Have you ever wondered how the infamous U-shaped stretch of Highway 17 known as Big Moody Curve got its name? There isn’t much to say about early settler D. B. Moody, who owned the property. But what happened there is one of the most...

During a walk along North Santa Cruz Avenue, it is easy to take for granted the stack of newspapers sitting in Los Gatos Roasting Company and in other local coffee houses. In a town like ours, where debate over housing developments, Town Council budgets...

*Updated Sept. 6, 2022 Daniel Reyes, the founder of Project Gasmask Entertainment (PGM), says he’s excited to be part of a Los Gatos rebirth. Though he lives in Oakland, and grew up in the Fairfield-Suisun area, the promoter says he’s pretty familiar with the community from...

The imminent reopening of the Los Gatos Theater is the perfect time to take a look back at the history of this major downtown site. The Los Gatos Canning Company occupied most of the block for 30 years before the construction of a movie theater....

The Santa Clara County Department of Planning and Development has been preventing a homeowner in the Lexington Hills area of Los Gatos from accessing public documents needed to fix damage caused by the storm that sparked the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire. A Department of...

As we bid farewell to The Palms restaurant, let’s take a look at the history of this landmark Los Gatos property. The stately nine-room Queen Anne Victorian home on what was then a residential section of North Santa Cruz Avenue was built for Mary Barry...

It’s been 40 years since the Lexington Fire tore through the hills above Los Gatos. The blaze, which started near the reservoir, burned nearly 14,000 acres and destroyed 42 structures before it was contained. Fortunately, the flames never reached downtown. Los Gatos was plagued by...