Introduction

We have a number of miscellaneous images and text files with historic value that are worth archiving, but for which we may not have a physical "hard copy" counterpart. Also because there may not be enough of any type/subject to form their own cohesive grouping in a separate album, they have been collected here in this "Grab Bag" to assure there is a copy in the archives - rather than loose track of them.

 

Link	Date	Key Words or Digest
Miscellaneous Photos (un-categorized)
PurissimaSchool.jpg	Unknwn	Photo of original one-room schoolhouse - Purissima School - Where first Town Meetings were held - extended and modified to become St Luke's Chapel in The Hills
School_1935.jpg	04/01/35	Class photo of Grades 1-5 Purissima School - 1935
School_1936.jpg	05/01/36	Class photo of Grades 1-5 Purissima School - 1936
CommunityHouse.JPG	01/28/98	Photo of Community House (home of the Los Altos Community Foundation) - with simulated landscaping
TownHall.jpg	Mar-56	Photo of Town Hall in Apricot Orchard
ShoolProspectus.jpg	1968	School Prospectus for The Ford Country Day School
SchoolReport.jpg	1968	School Reports from The Ford Country Day School
HoraceHillWineCellar.jpg	1915	Photo of Doorway into Horace Hill Wine Cellar - dug into hillside, dated 1915
Horace_Hill_Silo_Painting.jpg	1981	Painting of Horace Hill silos by Marjorie Kellog
Horace_Hill_Silo_Inscription.jpg	1981	Detail of caption inscription of Horace Hill silos painting
Crane_Water_Tower.jpg	1976	Photo of Dr. Crane Water Tower
Lynne_Water_Tower.jpg	1976	Photo of Martha K. Lynne Water Tower dated 1906
LAH_Airport.jpg	Unknwn	Photo of Biplane at "Senberg's Airfield, Eisenberg Property, corner of Fremont and Old Trace Road"
Eschenbruecher1.jpg	Unknwn	The Eschenbruecher House in Los Altos - became The Heritage House next to Town Hall
LAH_Birthplace_Location.jpg	11/17/2015	The first organizational meetings to incorporate the Town of Los Altos Hills were held here. (Dori Lane and Robleda). Structure was destroyed by the overhanging oak limb a few years after this picture was taken.
Mesa_Advertisement.jpg	1906?	Advertisement for sale of lots in the Mesa Tract sub-division - located at the North end of today's Manuella and Miranda Avenues (or where Arastradero crosses Foothill Expressway) and stretching over into Palo Alto.
Mesa_Ad_Detail.jpg	1906?	More detailed view of Photo and Text of previous entry (Mesa Tract advertisment).
Eclipse.htm	04/08/2024	Sequence of images of Partial Solar Eclipse as seen in Los Altos Hills.
Short Histories, Personal Memoirs, and Important Documents
Greensheets	1955	The original founding documents of our Town. Presented in multiple formats, both as photo images of the original six sheets as well as textually encoded files. Also includes the "Platform for Incorporation", derived from the Green Sheets as the formal statement in support of the ballot measure to incorporate the Town of Los Altos Hills.
LAH-Thumbnail.htm	2023	Brief overview description of The Town of Los Altos Hills - useful as a template from which to draw when such info is needed.
PHWD01.htm	11/2/2012	Brief history of Purissima Hills Water District on 50th anniversary by Ernie Solomon, Board Director
Irma_Goldsmith.pdf	Unknwn	Irma Goldsmith biography (Instigator of Town's Pathway System)
Lachenbruch_1.pdf	1967	Original 4-page document by Art Lachenbruch where he explains and defines the "Slope Density" formula adopted by the town to control development density and including an extra page of tables to demonstrate the effect on different average slope values
Lachenbruch_2.pdf	1980	Subsequent document by Art Lachenbruch discussing proposed ordinance changes to do with slope density and their effects with some pen annotations adjusting some numbers to reflect code changes in 2001
Lachenbruch_3.htm	2002	A formal paper by Art Lachenbruch and some colleagues at USGS discussing urban development on hilly or sloped land - and which was adopted as an Appendix to the Land Use Element of the General Plan for Los Altos Hills
Lachenbruch_NAS_Bio.pdf	2024	A Biographical Memoir of Art Lachenbruch, as published by the National Academy of Sciences, to which he was elected in 1975
H_Johnson_Editorial.htm	06/19/2002	Guest Editorial Opinion (S.J. Mercury News) by Huey Johnson, on the importance of preserving Open Space
OpenSpaceInitiative.htm	12/20/2002	Residents "Open Space Initiative" as accepted and incorporated into the Town's General Plan
CGF_OpenSpaceInitiative	03/01/2003	Article in the Magazine of The Committe For Green Foothills (CGF) tells the story behind The Open Space Initiative
Cranstons_of_LAH_Slides.pdf	09/11/2016	Slide presentation "The Cranstons of LAH, 1914-Present" by Kim Cranston. Sponsored by LAH History Committee
Gardiner_Open_Space/index.htm	09/20/2016	Dedication of Rex Gardiner Open Space (Located on Moody Road at intersection with Old Snakey)
First_Fifty_Years.pdf	10/9/2019	Slideshow (57 slides) outlining the major issues that went into the formation and evolution of Los Altos Hills in its first half-century. (PDF File)
Lemes	2019	“Memories of Hidden Villa” - Materials collected and assembled by Karen Lemes in preparation for a panel presentation by early Moody Road Residents”
Bredo-Growing_up_in_LAH.pdf	2020	Memoirs about growing up in Los Altos Hills by Eric Bredo - written version of presentation prepared for "Tales of Page Mill Road"
Peek_into_the_Past.pdf	03/17/2021	A slide show that takes a look at some of the stories in the History of Los Altos Hills
Morgan_Stele.htm	5/10/2021	A old Gravestone Memorial is found on the former Morgan property known as "Little Gables"
Liddicoat	7/1/1985	A collection of Newspaper articles about the Liddicoat Fire in Los Altos Hills
StLukesFlagPole	8/15/2021	Deciphering the words on a brass plaque at the base of the flagpole at St. Lukes Little Chapel in The Hills
Perspectives_of_Los_Altos.pdf	11/09/2021	Talk given by Kim Cranston at a meeting of the LAH Club
FremontAve.htm	05/07/1914	The convoluted history of West Fremont Avenue - The primary artery of The Town of Los Altos Hills
Annex_Failure	01/07/1959	Northernmost tip of Los Altos Hills is missing. Failure to annex.
Moody_Walk_History/index.htm	1904-2023	Historic anecdotes, notes, and maps, accompanying a set of walks in the vicinity of Lower Moody Road that ere sponsored by the History Committee
History_Walk	2024	Some pictures taken during a "Historic Walk" sponsored by the History Committee starting at The Heritage House and ending at the Ball Fields on Purissima.
Maps and Deeds
Morgan01.jpg	12/14/1908	Percy and Fanny Morgan (of Morgan Manor) Map of the Oneonta sub-division - corner of Stonebrook and Magdalena
Morgan02.jpg	1/20/1909	Contract where Fanny and Percy Morgan sell lots 5,6,12 of the Oneonta sub-division to Laura Morgan (wife of Cosmo Morgan) for $10 in gold coin
Morgan03.jpg	4/21/1949	Contract (Quitclaim deed) where John and Charlotte Held sell two parcels in the Oneonta sub-division to Max and Marion Twentier for $10 in hand
TaaffeMap.jpg	7/15/1897	Map of subdivision of parcel 4 of the Taaffe Partition, recorded 7/15/1897 (around where Adobe Creek encounters original Edith Avenue)
TaaffeMap_IM72.jpg	7/15/1897	A center-fold spread (i.e. two pages) of a larger and cleaner map of the Taaffe Subdivision (i.e Lot 4) in the Rancho La Purissima Concepcion as recorded in Map Book I Pages 72 and 73. Note that at this point in history, Fremont Ave is depicted as continuing all the way South to intersect with Moody, A further discussion of this can be seen here.
Mesa_Tract_Map.jpg	11/8/1899	Subdivision Map of the Mesa Tract, recorded 11/8/1899 (Originaly part of the Rancho Purissima Concepcion) located along Manuela Avenue up to where it meets Arastradero. An advertisement offering lots in this tract for sale may be seen here.
Oak_Hill_Tract_Map.jpg	8/1906	Subdivision Map of the Oak Hill Tract (Originaly lots 1 and 2 of the Mesa Tract), located at the Northern end of thee Mesa Tract where it abuts Arastradero Road and the planned route of the Interurban Railroad, which later became Foothill Expressway
RanchoBlancoMap.jpg	1905	Map of The Rancho Blanco section of Town (Upper Moody Road up to where it joins Page Mill Road)
1952Map.jpg	1952	Road map of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills
Los_Altos_Map_1947	1947	Brochure and Road Map map of Los Altos and Vicinity extolling the area as a place to live
LAMap1947Medium.htm	1947	Medium sized version with improved detail - Road Map map of Los Altos and Vicinity from brochure shown in previous entry
LAMap1947Large.jpg	1947	Large sized version with improved detail - Road Map map of Los Altos and Vicinity from brochure shown in previous entry
Documents containing historical descriptions of houses within Los Altos Hills. (A few of these were created as part of an evaluation process to determine eligibility for some kind of official historic status, others were created by interested residents who were researching the history of their property.)
13651_Burke_Rd.pdf	8/4/2014	Historical Report prepared for application to subdivide property at 13651 Burke Road (18 Mb PDF File)
12355_Stonebrook.pdf	1/1/2019	Historic Resource Evaluation of 12355 Stonebrook Drive (George Cosmo Morgan "Little Gables") (17 Mb PDF File)
14120_Miranda.pdf	4/1/1997	A History of the Charles Henry Blake House (aka Sunnyhill Farm) 14120 Miranda (10 Mb PDF File)
14700_Manuella.pdf	8/1/2022	Request for Landmark designation for 14700 Manuella Rd (Hills Brothers Coffee)
Bridgman-Stephens	8/1/2022	Historic notes about the Bridgman-Stephens home on Robleda Road. (Designed by Lilian Bridgman - colleague of Berkley Architects Bernard Maybeck and William Knowles)
Carriage_House	4/11/2023	A series of pictures documenting the evolution of the original Carriage House located on today's Foothill College Campus.
Griffin House - Nomination National Register	4/13/1977	A PDF File (38 Mbytes) of the Nomination form submitted to place the Griffin House (and associated Carriage House) in the inventory of the National Register of Historic Places.
Aerial Photographs
LAHills_Locality.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of Los Altos Hills - extending from Page Mill to Moody Road, and Cupertino border. (Large 15 Mb jpg file, 9000-by-8000 px)
LAHills_Locality_Small_.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of Los Altos Hills - same as previous but lower resolution with reduced file size (5.45 Mb jpg file, 5000-by-4500 px)
LAHills_Locality_Annotated.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of Los Altos Hills - same as previous (lower resolution) with notation added showing Town Border, Highway 280 and Area in cultivation as orchards)
TownHallAerial.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of Town Hall Neighborhood believed to have been taken around 1947 (from California Aerial Survey)
WestwindAerial1947.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of Westwind Barn neighborhood believed to have been taken around 1947 (from California Aerial Survey)
ElMonte1.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of where El Monte turns into Moody Road - approx area where Foothill College is today
ElMonte2.jpg	1947	Aerial photo of where El Monte turns into Moody Road - same as previous image but with annotations showing current landmarks
El_Monte_280.jpg	± 1964	From Brochure about proposed new Hiway 280 - Location of proposed El Monte Intersection
El_Monte_280_Annotated.jpg	± 1964	From Brochure about proposed new Hiway 280 - same as previous image but with annotations showing current landmarks
El_Monte_Interchange_280.jpg	± 1964	From Brochure about proposed new Hiway 280 - Artist's impression of proposed El Monte Intersection
SaddleMountain_280.jpg	± 1964	From Brochure about proposed new Hiway 280 - Proposed Hiway algnment along Purissima and SaddleMountain
SaddleMountain_280_Annotated.jpg	± 1964	From Brochure about proposed new Hiway 280 - same as previous image but with annotations showing current landmarks
PageMill-280-to-ThreeForks.jpg	3/23/1966	Aerial of the section of Page Mill Road between 280 (where the intersection is under construction) and Three Forks Lane (Large file - click on image to zoom in)
Aerial_280_Construction.jpg	3/23/1966	Aerial of 280 under construction near Robleda and Purissima (Chapel In The Hills) (Large file - click on image to zoom in)