History

Early spring is an ideal time to visit Almaden Quicksilver County Park and the adjacent village of New Almaden, for the wildflowers and a reminder of the region's 19th century history. The 4,000-acre park is set against the mountains that mark San Jose’s southern...

Like many small towns in the west, Los Gatos prospered in the late 19th century after the arrival of the railroad. Eager to shed their town’s rustic image, civic-minded citizens and businesspeople sought every opportunity to establish a more cosmopolitan reputation. A performing arts center...

While many of us recognize the name Holy City, the fascinating story of the former mountain community and the eccentric character who founded it has largely been forgotten.  Holy City was built over a period of several years beginning in 1919 by a  charismatic cult...

The office of Harry Ryan was the place Jack London penned his seminal novel “the Call of the Wild,” about a dog that’s taken from the Santa Clara Valley to the Klondike, where he befriends wolves and leads a sled team. Ryan, who met London...

One of my earliest memories is from the early 1970s when I visited my elderly Italian aunt, whom we called Zia Elisa.

Spring has finally arrived! As beautiful as it is today, imagine what spring was like when thousands of acres of fruit and nut trees were in full bloom in the “Valley of Heart's Delight.” Did you know that many of those orchards might not...

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...

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…unless you’re fighting bumper-to-bumper beach traffic on Highway 17. Even navigating from one side of town to another is an ordeal on summer weekends. Multiple attempts to eliminate cut-through traffic haven’t resulted in a permanent fix. But Caltrans is...

Grant awarded to Hakone Estate and Gardens  On June 7, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a County Historical Heritage Grant to Hakone Estate and Gardens in Saratoga. The grant will support the restoration of the 1932 Mon (Main Gate) roof originally...

Heavy rains are a rarity in Los Gatos, but last week saw the community get quite the natural wash. And it put a serious damper on holiday shopping. But by Friday evening, no more droplets were falling—though it was still wet and cool—and hundreds turned...