Los Altos, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Los Altos, California
City
A City of Los Altos entrance marker, located in Lincoln Park just off of Main Street
Flag Seal
Location in Santa Clara County and the state of California
Los Altos, California Location in California Show map of California Los Altos, California Location in San Francisco Bay Area Show map of San Francisco Bay Area Los Altos, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Clara
Incorporated	December 1, 1952
Government
• Type	Council/Manager
Area
• Total	6.54 sq mi (16.94 km2)
• Land	6.54 sq mi (16.94 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	157 ft (48 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	31,625
• Density	4,836/sq mi (1,866.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	94022–94024
Area code	650
FIPS code	06-43280
GNIS feature IDs	1659745, 2410876

Los Altos is a city in Santa Clara County, California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its name means "The Heights" in Spanish. In 2020, about 31,625 people lived there.

Los Altos grew a lot between 1950 and 1980. It used to be a farming town with many summer homes and apricot orchards. Now, it's a "bedroom community" on the edge of Silicon Valley. This means many people who live in Los Altos travel to other parts of Silicon Valley for work. The city keeps most of its shops and offices in the downtown area and along major roads like Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real.

History of Los Altos

The area where Los Altos is now was first called Fremont Judicial Township in 1853. Later, people unofficially called it "Banks and Braes."

How Los Altos Began

In 1906, Paul Shoup, who worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad, and his friends started the Altos Land Company. They bought land to develop Los Altos. Shoup wanted to connect Palo Alto and Los Gatos by making Los Altos a town where people could live and easily travel to work. Trains ran daily to and from San Francisco.

On April 19, 1908, steam trains began running through Los Altos. The first train station was made from two freight cars. Soon after, the first store, Eschenbruecher's Hardware, opened downtown. In 1913, a proper craftsman-style train station was built.

Becoming a City

By 1949, many people in Los Altos were unhappy with the county's rules about building. They were also worried that nearby cities like Palo Alto and Mountain View might try to take over their land. So, they decided to make Los Altos its own city. Los Altos officially became the eleventh city in Santa Clara County on December 1, 1952.

Train service stopped in January 1964. The old train tracks were then turned into Foothill Expressway, a major road. In 1970, Los Altos may have been one of the first places to use a special sound baffle (a wall to block noise) to reduce traffic noise for homes along the new road.

Los Altos and Technology

Los Altos has a cool connection to the tech world! In 1976, Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built the first 50 Apple I computers in Jobs's garage right here in Los Altos.

Years later, in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg rented a home in Los Altos, which became known as "Casa Facebook." From this house, he and his team helped Facebook grow from 200,000 members to 2.5 million!

More recently, on April 15, 2021, Los Altos became home to the world's first showroom for consumer flying cars.

Earthquakes in Los Altos

Los Altos is located near the San Andreas Fault, which means it can experience earthquakes.

• 1906 San Francisco Earthquake: Los Altos was hit hard by this earthquake. However, people in Los Altos focused on helping to rebuild nearby Santa Cruz, which was almost completely destroyed.
• 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake: On October 17, 1989, Los Altos felt the Loma Prieta earthquake. Luckily, the city did not suffer major damage.

A store in disarray following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

Geography of Los Altos

Los Altos is surrounded by other cities and towns. To its west is Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto. To the northwest and northeast is Mountain View. Sunnyvale is to the east, and Cupertino is to the southeast.

Three creeks flow through Los Altos towards San Francisco Bay: Adobe Creek on the west side, Stevens Creek on the east side, and Permanente Creek in the middle. All these creeks start in the hills of Black Mountain.

Population and Homes

Los Altos has grown steadily over the years. In 1960, its population was about 19,696, and by 2020, it had grown to 31,625 people.

Most people in Los Altos live in houses they own. In 2010, about 85% of the population lived in homes owned by their families. The city is known for its expensive homes. In 2017, Forbes magazine listed some Los Altos ZIP codes among the most expensive in the United States.

Los Altos tries to keep a natural, "semi-rural" feel. You won't find many sidewalks outside of shopping areas. Most streets have wide dirt areas on the sides and no streetlights. The city's main center is even in the middle of an orchard, reminding everyone of its farming past.

Economy and Jobs

Since the mid-1990s, the downtown area of Los Altos has faced some challenges from bigger shopping centers nearby. The city is working to make its downtown more lively.

Top Employers in Los Altos

Here are some of the biggest employers in Los Altos:

Education in Los Altos

Los Altos has excellent schools, both public and private.

Public Schools

Younger students attend elementary and middle schools in the Los Altos School District or the Cupertino Union School District. The Los Altos School District is known for having very high test scores in California.

For high school, students usually go to schools in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District or the Fremont Union High School District. Many students from Los Altos high schools go on to attend well-known universities.

Private Schools

There are also many respected private and religious schools in and near Los Altos. Some examples within the city are St. Nicholas School, St. Simon School, and Pinewood School. Other private schools nearby include St. Francis High School and The Harker School.

Public Libraries

The Santa Clara County Library system runs two libraries in Los Altos: the Los Altos Library and the Woodland Branch Library. If you have a library card, you can use it at any branch in the county!

Parks and Recreation

Dead and diseased trees in the Redwood Grove were cut down in 2017, to be milled on-site in 2018.

A Mallard duck in May 2010, in Adobe Creek. This creek often dries up in the summer.

Los Altos has some lovely natural spaces. Redwood Grove is a nature preserve that the city bought in 1974. It has redwood trees, oak woodlands, and areas along the creek. The city works to keep this area healthy for plants and wildlife. The historic Halsey House, built in the 1920s, is also in Redwood Grove.

In 2010, Los Altos bought more land to create a safe path connecting Shoup Park and Redwood Grove. This helps people enjoy both parks easily.

Sports for Kids

Los Altos offers many sports programs and activities for young people:

• Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club (MVLASC): This club has offered competitive soccer since 1972. They have won many state and national championships.
• Los Altos–Mountain View Pony Baseball: This is a large youth baseball program for boys and girls aged 5 to 19.
• West Valley Pop Warner: This program offers cheerleading and football for local youth.
• El Camino YMCA Youth Basketball League: This league teaches basic basketball skills and important values.

Media

The main newspaper for Los Altos is the Los Altos Town Crier, which comes out every week. It has been serving the community since 1947. The San Jose Mercury News is the daily newspaper that covers news for Los Altos and the surrounding areas.

An intersection in downtown Los Altos, showing tree-lined sidewalks, diagonal parking, small shops, and banners for community events.

Notable People from Los Altos

Many interesting people have lived in Los Altos, including:

• Sergey Brin, who helped start Google.
• Jon M. Chu, a famous director who directed Crazy Rich Asians.
• Charles Geschke and John Warnock, who co-founded Adobe Systems.
• Andrew Grove, a co-founder and former CEO of Intel.
• John Lee Hooker, a world-famous blues guitarist.
• Juli Inkster, a professional golfer.
• Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple Inc..
• William E. Moerner, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014.
• Robert Noyce, who co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel Corporation.
• Sundar Pichai, the current Chief Executive Officer of Google.
• Shirley Temple, a famous actress who started as a child star.
• Alejandro Toledo, who was the 63rd President of Peru.

Sister Cities

Los Altos used to have "sister cities" around the world. These are cities that partner with each other to promote cultural understanding and exchanges. Los Altos had four sister cities:

• Bendigo, Australia
• Syktyvkar, Russia
• Shilin, Taiwan
• Rustington, England

However, the organization that ran this program in Los Altos decided to stop participating, so Los Altos no longer has sister cities.

Images for kids

• 

  A City of Los Altos entrance marker, located in Lincoln Park just off of Main Street

• 

  Flag of Los Altos, California

• 

  Seal of Los Altos, California

• 

  Location in Santa Clara County and the state of California

See also

In Spanish: Los Altos (California) para niños