Palo Alto the Price Of

Palo Vol. XLI, Number 1 Q October 11, 2019 Alto In Palo Alto Hills, few lose power Page 5 www.PaloAltoOnline.comwww.PaloAltoOnline.coomm Palo Altans talk about the The price of blessings and burdens of living in the heart of ‘ ’ the Silicon Valley paradise Page 9 Moonlight Run & Walk TonightTo at the Baylands 40 years of news 12 City’s oldest businesses 21 Eating Out 45 Puzzles 63 QArts UN Film Festival tackles themes of justice Page 44 QHome How to avoid heartbreak in your remodeling project Page 48 QSports Full slate of prep football is on tap Page 62 Editor’s note elcome to the 40th anniversary edition of W the Palo Alto Weekly, whose inaugural issue was pub- lished on Oct. 11, 1979. For this issue, the news staff wanted to examine what the city is like today in light of what has happened over the past four decades. We started by reaching out to residents on four blocks in Palo Alto, from north to south: Poe Street, Churchill Avenue, Greer Road and El Cerrito Road. We asked them to tell us what living in the city is like for them and what fills their day-to-day lives. We also asked them to share their observations about the changes happening in their neighborhoods and the city. We’re grateful to them for sharing their stories, which you can read in their neighborhood profiles, starting on page File photo/Veronica Weber photo/Veronica File 29. If this project sounds familiar, it is: In what has become a tradi- tion, we followed in the footsteps of previous Weekly reporters and editors, who for the newspaper’s 10th and 25th anniversaries also A couple walks underneath vibrant gingko trees on Greenwood Avenue in Palo Alto in 2016, one of many streets in the city where researched and produced similar mature trees form a canopy over the road. overviews of Palo Alto. One thing struck us as we re- viewed their work: The most pressing problems of the region The price of ‘paradise’ in 2019 may be more exaggerated today, but they took root decades ago. For the 10th anniversary edi- Palo Altans love their hometown, but the stress of living in the heart of Silicon Valley is growing tion in 1989, journalist Melinda Sacks wrote: “As housing prices by Jocelyn Dong climb astronomically” — refer- ring to the average home price of ast Coast native George Richardson relatively safe neighborhoods. say they won’t hit the road without check- $400,000 in 1988 — “the original arrived 50 years ago to attend Stan- Lately, though, as Silicon Valley has con- ing Google Maps or Waze first; they get residents are finding themselves E ford Law School. Like so many before tinued moving at full throttle, local residents DoorDash to deliver dinner to them at home living side by side with a new kind him, he never left. have also been wondering aloud about some- because they don’t have time to cook; they of neighbors. If not extremely “I always wanted to come to California to thing their predecessors rarely did: the price install Nest to protect (and remotely keep wealthy, they are at least highly see what it was about. My expectation was, of living in “paradise.” tabs on) their most significant financial in- paid, often two-income, career- you know, go to law school, go to New York Four decades into the digital revolution, vestment, their home. oriented professionals who don’t and join a big firm and make lots of money,” Palo Alto residents are feeling a growing The impacts haven’t been limited to time have nearly as much time for said Richardson, who still practices law in sense of dissonance. Like the tectonic plates and money; there are more intangible costs community activities as did the Palo Alto. Upon arriving here, “I did a lot that created the San Andreas Fault, tech has to living in the always-on culture of Silicon families who settled here earlier.” of driving around, and I remember falling in seismically shifted how people live day to day. Valley. Some residents complain of their One local real estate agent at love with ... the rolls of the golden hills and On the one hand, the technology industry frustration with navigating a more complex, the time noted that children who the stark green oaks among them. And I just has pushed the Silicon Valley economy to tech-connected world. Others speak of a grew up in Palo Alto were unable said, ‘Why would anybody leave?’” produce the second highest per capita gross nagging sense of losing control over their to buy homes in the city, even then Richardson’s love of Palo Alto has led him domestic product (GDP) in the country, un- information and their privacy, with every- — a familiar refrain of today’s to volunteer for the school district and get leashing unprecedented prosperity and the one’s data being gathered digitally by face- parents as well. involved in other civic affairs. belief that anything is possible. less corporations. In addition to the profiles of He’s not alone in his passion for the But tech’s rise into the Valley’s dominant Even tech workers warn of the isolation four neighborhood blocks, our community. economic and cultural force has also re- that the digitally connected world, ironically, anniversary coverage includes When talking about their hometown with shaped people’s lives in ways that residents fosters. And longtimers wonder what kind Palo Alto Weekly journalists for this news- are finding stressful, from the long hours of community will be here in 10 years and an editorial by Palo Alto Weekly paper’s 40th anniversary edition, longtime they devote to work, to the times of day they whether it will still be a place for service founder Bill Johnson on the media residents and newcomers alike speak fondly drive (or don’t, to avoid traffic), to skyrocket- workers, artists and others who contribute to business and its future. We also of the attributes that drew them here and ing housing prices. the vibrant fabric of the community. provide a retrospective of the top convinced them to stay: the beautiful homes Whether consciously or not, accommoda- news from every year since 1979. along canopied streets, the strong public edu- tions to this new reality have to be made: And we put the spotlight on local cation system, the vibrant civic culture and Because of traffic congestion, residents now The increase in ... everything small businesses and what they’ve ne need look no further than lo- done to survive over the decades. George and cal statistics to get a sense of how We hope you find our reporting Dianna O much has changed for Palo Altans relatable and valuable. Richardson, since 1979, when the Palo Alto Weekly was —Jocelyn Dong residents of founded. The San Jose Metropolitan area, the Royal once a place of orchards and canneries, now Table of contents Manor has the nation’s second highest per capita neighborhood GDP: $128,300, according to the U.S. Bu- Publisher’s Message ................ 11 in Palo Alto reau of Economic Analysis. The 2018 40 Years of News ..................... 12 since 1989, American Community Survey of the U.S. Profile: Automotive ................... 21 take a walk Census Bureau pegs the median household Profile: Books ........................... 22 outside their income in Palo Alto at $162,319. Profile: Cemetery ...................... 23 home on That wealth has pushed up the cost of Profile: Grocery ........................ 24 Oct. 1. housing, among other things. In 1980, the Profile: Hospitality .................... 25 median price of a home was $148,000; this City’s Oldest Businesses .......... 26 year, it’s $2.9 million, according to Zil- Profile: Churchill Avenue ........... 29 Sammy Dallal Sammy low Research. (The median home value in Profile: El Cerrito Road ............. 35 Profile: Greer Road ................... 37 Profile: Poe Street .................... 40 (continued on page 10) www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 9 40th Anniversary Price of ‘paradise’ (continued from page 9) Monthly rent’s steep climb in Palo Alto The high cost of Palo Alto housing $2,423 Median home value to median household income $2,500 Median rent per month 19.6 to 1 California is $548,700.) Median household Median home $3,182,000 annual income value Renters, who today make up $2,000 $3M 43% of Palo Alto households, $1,723 pay a median gross monthly rent of $2,423. In 1980, it was $363 a $1,500 $1,349 $2.5M month. Over four decades, the ratio of $1,000 $825 $2M median house value to median an- 12 to 1 nual household income has more $500 $363 than tripled: from 6 to 1 in 1980 $1.5M $1,438,900 to 19.6 to 1 in 2018. As one new Palo Alto resident 0 9 to 1 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 opined, “The only way to afford it $1M $811,800 Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey here is if one person (in the family) 8 to 1 Kuruppu Rosanna Graphs by 6 to 1 is working in the tech industry.” $500K $457,800 Paying off the mortgage has be- American Community Survey. today it stands at $148,000 $120,670 $162,319 come a top priority for many who While lower than the county’s 66,655. And all of $24,743 $55,333 $90,377 are staring at years of financial 25.5% rate, it’s higher than cities those people need 0 burden, leading a south Palo Alto with a similar population around to get around, clog- 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 resident to tell the Weekly that the country: 12.7% in Portland, ging roads that Sources: U.S.

Load more