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Discover LOST Gatos: Lost stories of local schools
As a new school year begins, let’s take a look at what a typical school day was like in our community years ago. You’ll be astonished by how much has changed!
In 1863, a one-room schoolhouse was built to accommodate 25 or more students from...
Discover LOST Gatos: The Los Gatos Hotel and Soda Works story
It seems that hardly a month goes by without the launch of a new restaurant in our historic downtown. The latest addition to the dining scene is Dar Restaurant and Bar, located in the little house that formerly housed 11 College Avenue and Nick’s...
Discover LOST Gatos: A classic American success
Did you celebrate Groundhog Day last week? Me neither. But it’s a major media event back East, especially in Punxsutawney, Penn. where the tradition (based on an early European legend and immortalized in the classic comedy film by the same name) originated in 1887.
At...
Eclectic electronic event incoming at home of the historic Cats Saloon
*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...
Discover LOST Gatos: The Historic Tait Avenue Fire Station
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...
DISCOVER LOST GATOS: The historic Rankin Block
The long-awaited arrival of the Parkside restaurant on the downtown dining scene is the perfect time for a story about the landmark building they’ll be calling home.
The Rankin Block was built in 1902 as income property by Clara and William Rankin who arrived in...
The stone house at 15 University Ave tells its tale
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...
Discover LOST Gatos: How the ‘Almond Grove Historic District’ emerged from a scary chapter in our history
Strolling through the Almond Grove neighborhood is a real treat this time of year, when you can see carefully restored Victorian homes adorned with elaborate Halloween decorations. Yet these charming tree-lined streets once faced something even more menacing than ghosts and goblins. Progress.
During the...
Discover LOST Gatos: The railroad era pt. 1
Of all the events in Los Gatos’ history, none had a more lasting impact than the arrival of the railroad. In this two part series, we’ll explore how the “iron horse” became the driving force behind the transformation of our town from an obscure...
Gridlock and Ghosts: Tales from the serpentine route to the sea
—This is the second in a two part series.
Last month, I explored what traveling “over the hill” was like in the second half of the 19th century, when stagecoach passengers faced long, bone-rattling, and often dangerous trips along dusty or muddy dirt roads.
Change came...


















