Town Crier file photo
City workers and contractors study plans for the newly-named Conner Park, located near the corner of San Antonio Road and Edith Avenue on the north rim of downtown Los Altos. The park was named after the first mayor of Los Altos, A. Watson Conner.
Special to the Town Crier
For one park, they honored a city founder. For the other, they kept it simple.
The newly-developed city-owned park at the corner of Edith Avenue and San Antonio Road in Los Altos is now Conner Park. And the 5.5 acres of city land being developed for recreation at 401 Rosita Ave. is now Rosita Park. "It will be so nice not to use the 401 any more," said Councilman Francis La Poll, following the Los Altos City Council's vote at its Sept. 14 meeting.
Some, like Joe Salameda in an early Town Crier article, considered J. Watson Conner to be "a frosty little oldster." But this frosty little oldster, who in 1952 was the first mayor of Los Altos, stands tall in the city's history. Conner died in 1974 at the age of 94. Los Altos resident John Mandle suggested Conner's name since "he was as instrumental in the founding of Los Altos as a city as was Guy Shoup in the early development of Los Altos and deserves recognition as a founding father."
Los Altos residents, including Mandle, submitted 104 suggested to the city for naming the Edith Avenue park.
The top citizen vote-getter was Twin Palms Park, submitted nine times. The city's Recreation Commission reviewed all the citizen submissions and chose three names, Village Park, Village Gateway Park and Village Corners Park, to submit to the council. La Poll added Conner's name to this list. Other council members added Orchard View Park and Poppy Meadow Park, for a total of six names on their ballot.
For the 401 Rosita site, Rosita Park was the first choice of the Recreation Commission and also the name favored by the council. The city received 37 submissions for naming Rosita Park, with three citizen votes for Rosita Park. Mayor Lou Becker favored something not "too complicated. It's a park. Let's give it a name."
City officials said they expect Conner Park to open by the end of October. And they expect the playing fields at Rosita Park to be ready by spring.