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Published on 05/26/1997 All articles from this issue

Beautiful to behold - a top 10

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By Town Crier Staff Writers

Town Crier offers its list of favorite community sites

Let's face it - we're an attractive community. Sure, beauty is a relative concept, but who could deny the quaint, quiet beauty of Los Altos nature haunts like Redwood Grove and Shoup Park? It would take a real scrooge to argue that the lovingly crafted floral arrangements downtown are not a pleasantly conspicuous sight. Keeping in mind that our top 10 selections for most beautiful sites in Los Altos-Los Altos Hills are subject to intense scrutiny and debate, we present them anyway! You may or may not agree with the following choices, but feel free to let us know your personal favorites. We may publish a compilation of reader selections in a future issue. And now, drum roll please, our top 10 most beautiful sites:

Rinconada Court

First-time visitors invariably say things like, "Wow! Oooo! Oh my gosh!," when they turn off El Monte Avenue onto Rinconada Court.

It's not a long street. It's not a through street. But it's a lovely street.

We agree there are many lovely streets in the Los Altos area. But, thanks to former Los Altos mayor Marge Bruno, we were made aware of one that has it all: velvet lawns in front of 1960s ranch homes; an ancient oak growing proudly from the street; a grand touch, from elegantly trimmed, historic palms lining one side; a restored 19th century home and garden at the end of the court; new homes, carefully sited to blend with the older ones, on the sub-divided land behind the old house.

"I think it's a great street," said resident Stephen J. Larson, who said he's the newest kid on the block. He moved in last July.

Resident Connie Abbott, with her gardener, tends the oak tree in the middle of the road.

"The last thing I do every night is look at the sky and that tree - it's so lovely."

Downtown flowers

They've been written up so many times in the Town Crier they are almost a cliché.

But we still think the city's downtown flower gardens, especially the islands at each end of Main Street, are among the top 10 beautiful sites in the area.

Deep pink carpet roses line the planted island at the top of Main Street at Foothill Expressway. The garden also blooms with white petunias, candy tuft and fortnight lilies.

At the other end of Main Street, at San Antonio Road, cosmos, in many shades of pink and red, and Icelandic poppies create a rainbow of welcome to those visiting the village.

The city spends about $600 per year on the flowers, said Brian McCarthy, a Los Altos City public works supervisor. The city has been planting the downtown islands for 20-years plus.

He and Public Works Superintendent Ken Haukom give Carol McKee, a maintenance worker with Los Altos, full credit.

"She takes such a personal interest in the way the islands look, and that's reflected in how pretty they are. It's more than just a job for her."

Orange Avenue

Pre-1915 cottages and craftsman bungalows line Orange Avenue, along with an eclectic mix of other houses. We chose this area as one of the most beautiful sites in town because of its historical beauty.

Four homes, in particular, "probably are the oldest in the original residential area" of Los Altos, according to "The Birth of a Town," a Los Altos History House Museum Publication.

White picket fences enclose many front yards. An oval, beveled-glass window reflects from an oak front door in a craftsman bungalow.

Lacy-leafed pepper trees provided dappled shade. Shingle cottages nestle between small Spanish-style stucco homes with red-tile roofs.

Geraniums, in reds and pinks, trail from window boxes on second story windows on one historic house.

Redwood Grove - nature's gift to Los Altos

Redwood Grove, at 482 University Ave. in Los Altos, invites users to explore a natural, pastoral setting, observe wildlife, explore the Ohlone Indians hunting ground and wade in Adobe Creek.

This beautiful place in Los Altos is a six-acre nature preserve that includes majestic redwood trees, a hillside trail, observation decks and a rose and herb garden.

In 1919, a San Francisco businessman purchased the site for a summer home, and planted 200 young redwood trees on the property. The City of Los Altos purchased the property in 1974 and in 1980 began the Redwood Grove Summer Camp in which more than 4,000 children visit each year for birthday parties, scout programs and field trips.

The Redwood Grove includes a Nature Center which holds a large Fava Indian artifact collection and a chronicle of the history of the Ohlones Indians as they lived in the area many years ago.

Westwind Barn and Byrne Preserve

Along Altamont Road in Los Altos Hills, at the top of the headland, visitors can look down the bluff and see a large open expanse with horses grazing and nature's pathways leading into Byrne Park. It's a beautiful area of green pastures and rolling hillsides natural to California.

At the crest of the hill is Westwind 4-H barn, the home of a non-profit organization supported by numerous volunteers offering free programs of horseback riding to children with physical disabilities. A large riding area overlooks the green forests that surround the 15-acre property.

The barn was built in the 1940s and in 1975, the Town of Los Altos Hills purchased a portion of the property for $25,000. Countess Margit Bessenjey gave Los Altos Hills the remaining 13.5 acres, including the 24,000 square foot "U" shaped barn.

Los Altos Golf & Country Club

The natural beauty of the Los Altos Golf & Country Club grounds is one of the treasures a person encounters when playing the 18-hole golf course.

In 1839, Mexican Governor Alvarado rewarded Sgt. Mesa, a hero in the campaigns against the Ohlone Indians, with a square league of land in Santa Clara Valley. The area became Rancho San Antonio. In 1902, an advertisement for sale of the land stated this is "fine fruit and wheat land." The golf and country club's Articles of Incorporation are dated Oct. 29,1923. The club, according to those articles, was organized "to furnish pleasure, happiness and health to all its members."

In 1959, a Dr. Lee Shahinian became president and made improvements by planting 1,000 redwood trees that border the 9th and 18th holes by hand. He also dug the lakes at the 9th and 18th holes and fenced the golf course.

Rugged and challenging, the course is patterned after the Scottish tradition in harmony with nature. The rolling lands of the golf course has hosted numerous state and regional tournaments. Surrounded by its majestic beauty, hackers can still feel good about a bad day on the course.

View from the Echo

The view from the patio and the enclosed back dining room at The Echo of Los Altos, 1579 Miramonte Ave., offers tranquillity and natural beauty. The Echo has looked over the wooded banks of Permanente Creek since 1942, when it started as a small hamburger place. John Bikakis, former owner of the popular San Francisco restaurant and entertainment spot, The Village, expanded The Echo to include windows opening onto the creek when he purchased the restaurant in 1960.

Arlene Bonnet added the popular outdoor patio after she bought The Echo from Bikakis in 1988.

Bonnet opens the patio in early spring and keeps it open as late in the year as weather permits. It's become a wedding location. And inside the restaurant, everyone wants a window table, Bonnet said.

Foothill College Observatory

The observatory at Foothill College offers panoramic views of the Santa Cruz mountains, down into the Santa Clara Valley, and on a clear day, off into the mountains east of Santa Clara and San Jose. Twilight is an especially lovely time to catch the sun's last rays spreading across the landscape.

The observatory offers celestial views as well, thanks to the efforts of the Peninsula Astronomical Society. Every clear Friday night from 8:30-11 p.m., the observatory is open to the public for star gazing. There is solar gazing every clear Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. There is no charge, but you need $2.00 in quarters to park in nearby parking lot T. For more information, call the Peninsula Astronomical Society at P.O. Box 4542, Mountain View 94040.

Foothills Congregational Church

Serenely surrounded by towering redwoods and feathery-leafed pepper trees, Foothills Congregational Church was built in 1914 under the direction of Coxhead & Coxhead, Architects of San Francisco. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the church original housed the Episcopal Christ Church Mission.

The church courtyard, with its picturesque swath of wisteria draping the door to the sanctuary, appears in the wedding photos of many area couples. A drawing of the wisteria-covered portico appears as the logo on the church newsletter. The courtyard is a lovely, peaceful place to sit, relax and contemplate on a sunny day.

Tree lights, downtown Los Altos

Generations of Los Altos residents and visitors to town have enjoyed the sparkling tree lights decorating downtown streets at Christmastime.

Los Altos was a pioneer in holiday white lighting for area downtown commercial districts, according to Kathleen Byrne, executive director of the Los Altos Village Association, underwriters of the event since its beginnings more than 20 years ago. It takes some 70,000 lights to decorate more than 200 trees along Main and State streets, said Kevin Kornegay of TAG Associates, who actually handles the light stringing as well as the downtown holiday decorations.

This year, the trees stayed lit until the start of daylight savings time in April, creating the illusion of fireflies flitting through town on warm summer evenings. "We hope to able to continue that next year," Byrne said.

Send your favorite beautiful sites to Bruce Barton at the Los Altos Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, or e-mail him at: bruceb@latc.com