History

Let’s welcome the newest addition to our vibrant downtown dining scene, Heritage Pub & Chop House, with a brief look at the history of their iconic home. With its second-story circular bay window topped by what’s known in architectural circles as a “witch’s hat” roof,...

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...

Los Gatos has had a public library since 1898, with the Carnegie Library opening in 1903 and the current library built in 2012, each providing valuable resources and amenities to the community.

When I was a child in the 70s, Los Gatos was filled with Italians. I remember seeing the older women walking in town, dragging behind them their wire utility carts filled with groceries down Santa Cruz Avenue. My grandparents, Adam and Albina Contardo, were...

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...

The former Hotel Lyndon may be the most notable Los Gatos landmark lost to history. This magnificent hotel was built by one of our town’s earliest and most prominent citizens John Weldon Lyndon who many consider to be the “Father of Los Gatos.”  With velvet...

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...

*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...

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...

On Aug. 10, 1887—135 years ago today—a newly created Board of Trustees voted to officially incorporate the Town of Los Gatos. Let’s mark the occasion with a quiz about our beloved town’s history. 1. Who was awarded a land grant for El Rancho Rinconada de...