History

Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion for a love story But even though Los Gatos was the setting of a legendary romance that once captivated the nation, the story of Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Sara Bard Field has largely been forgotten by our community. C.E.S....

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,...

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...

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...

—This is the first in a two-part series. Summer is here, accompanied by the usual traffic gridlock, so let’s all take a deep breath while I share the mostly forgotten history of our much maligned Highway 17.  If you think traveling over the hill is an...

Untouched for millennia, the hills above Los Gatos underwent a rapid transformation in the mid-19th century. Timber had become the new gold for fortune seekers, and loggers were attracted to the area by the seemingly endless groves of massive redwoods. Sawmills popped up along the...

There’s no shortage of live entertainment for us to take in this time of year, from Jazz on the Plazz and Music in the Park to Chamber of Commerce street festivals. Los Gatos has a long history of outdoor summer entertainment. On June 21, 1919,...

Amid the minutiae of General Plan deliberations on Monday, the Los Gatos Town Council voted to move forward with a plan to consider a tax break for owners of historic properties. Mayor Rob Rennie—who said the Mills Act provision “seems like a subsidy for rich...

After five years of meetings, proposals, compromises, and design revisions, the Town Council has unanimously approved the new Los Gatos Meadows development. It’ll be situated on an 11 acre property that was the home of one of our earliest and most prominent citizens, John Weldon...