Palo Alto neighborhoods

Palo Alto is small enough to cross by bike in half an hour, yet its neighborhoods feel surprisingly different from one another. A shingled professor's house on Kingsley Avenue, a glass-walled Eichler in Greenmeadow and a ranch house on a lane with no sidewalks in Barron Park all sit inside the same city limits. The differences come from timing. Each part of town was built in a different era, for different people, under different rules.

This guide explains the basic layout first. Then it profiles each neighborhood in a few lines and finishes with a quick way to match a neighborhood to the way you live or travel. For deeper detail, follow the links to the full neighborhood pages.

How Palo Alto is laid out

Picture a long rectangle running from the bay shore in the northeast toward the foothills in the southwest. A handful of long roads and one rail line divide it into bands. Learn these and the rest of the city falls into place.

• San Francisquito Creek forms the northern edge. Across it lie Menlo Park and East Palo Alto in San Mateo County. The creek is also why Crescent Park and Duveneck/St. Francis watch the forecast closely in winter.
• US 101, the Bayshore Freeway, runs along the bay side. East of it are the Baylands, the airport and the golf course. Almost all housing is on the inland side.
• Middlefield Road runs parallel to the bay through the middle of the residential city. It links Crescent Park, the Community Center area, Midtown and the southern Eichler tracts.
• The Caltrain line and Alma Street run side by side. There are two regular stations, Palo Alto at University Avenue and California Avenue. Crossing the tracks is possible only at certain streets, underpasses and bike tunnels, so the rail line is a real divide.
• El Camino Real, State Route 82, is the old mission road. It separates Stanford land and neighborhoods like College Terrace and Barron Park from the rest of town.
• Oregon Expressway, which becomes Page Mill Road west of El Camino, is the line most residents use to split north and south Palo Alto.

North of Oregon Expressway the homes are mostly older. Many date from the 1890s through the 1930s, with Craftsman, Colonial Revival and Spanish Revival styles on gridded, tree-lined streets. South of it most houses went up in the twenty years after World War II, when orchards were subdivided. That is where you find the biggest clusters of the roughly 2,700 Eichler homes built in Palo Alto. Our history of Palo Alto explains how the original town, the older farm town of Mayfield and later annexations stitched the city together.

North Palo Alto neighborhoods

Downtown and Downtown North

Downtown grew along University Avenue from the train station toward Middlefield Road. It holds the Stanford Theatre, the Ramona Street Architectural District, City Hall and most of the city's restaurants. Downtown North is the residential pocket between University Avenue and the creek. Its older blocks near Palo Alto Avenue are full of Craftsman houses and bungalows from roughly 1900 to 1930. El Palo Alto, the redwood that named the city, stands at its western corner. See our full guide to Downtown and University Avenue.

Crescent Park

Crescent Park follows the curve of San Francisquito Creek east of Middlefield Road. It opened as a planned subdivision in the 1920s with large lots, curving streets and strict building rules. Today it has some of the largest homes and highest prices in the city. Read the Crescent Park guide.

Duveneck/St. Francis

East of Crescent Park and toward US 101, this neighborhood takes the first half of its name from Duveneck Elementary School. It mixes 1950s homes with low, nearly flat roofs, ranch houses and newer rebuilds. It includes Green Gables, a postwar tract listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. Like Crescent Park it sits near the creek.

Professorville

Just south of downtown, Professorville is where many of Stanford's first faculty built their homes in the 1890s and early 1900s. Brown shingles, gambrel roofs and deep porches set the tone. The HP Garage is here too. Our Professorville walking guide maps a route.

Old Palo Alto

Between Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway, from Alma Street to Middlefield Road, Old Palo Alto has wide streets, mature trees and some of the grandest houses in town. Gamble Garden sits at its northern edge. Read the Old Palo Alto guide.

Community Center

East of Middlefield Road around Embarcadero, this neighborhood is named for the civic buildings at its center. Rinconada Park, the Junior Museum and Zoo and the Lucie Stern Community Center, designed by Birge Clark in the 1930s, are all here. It is one of the most family-oriented parts of north Palo Alto, with Walter Hays Elementary nearby.

Southgate and Evergreen Park

These two small neighborhoods sit between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks. Southgate, bounded by the railroad, Park Boulevard, El Camino and Churchill Avenue, was laid out from the 1920s by the Palo Alto Development Company. Its stucco houses range from period revival styles to postwar ranch and modern designs. Evergreen Park lies roughly between Southgate and the California Avenue district. Its blocks of cottages and bungalows put residents within a short walk of Cal Ave restaurants and the train.

The middle of the city

California Avenue

California Avenue was the main street of Mayfield, the farm town that joined Palo Alto in 1925. Today it is the city's second downtown, with cafes, restaurants, offices and its own Caltrain station. It feels more relaxed than University Avenue. Visit our California Avenue guide.

College Terrace

Across El Camino Real from Stanford, College Terrace was subdivided in 1887 by Alexander Gordon. Its cross streets carry the names of colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Wellesley. It belonged to Mayfield until the 1925 merger. Small lots, cottages and a 1936 Spanish Revival branch library on Wellesley Street give it a village feel. See the College Terrace guide.

Ventura

Ventura lies between El Camino Real and the tracks south of the California Avenue district, on streets such as Ash, Olive, Pepper and Portage. Its oldest surviving landmark is the former cannery building at 340 Portage Avenue, dating to 1918. Most homes are modest postwar houses. After World War II it had a substantial number of Black and Latino residents and was more open to them than many other parts of the city. The city has been planning new housing for the northern part of Ventura for several years.

Midtown

Midtown is the first neighborhood south of Oregon Expressway on the bay side of Alma Street. It was planned in the postwar housing boom with a regular grid and lots that are mostly 6,000 to 8,000 square feet. Ranch houses and Eichlers line the streets. The Midtown Shopping Center handles everyday errands. Hoover Park and Greer Park are local favorites. Read our Midtown guide.

South Palo Alto neighborhoods

South of Midtown the city becomes a patchwork of postwar tracts, each with its own name and often its own swim club or neighborhood association. Our South Palo Alto guide covers the area in more depth.

Barron Park

Barron Park, on the Stanford side of El Camino Real, joined Palo Alto in 1975. It was the last neighborhood to be annexed and it still feels different. Many streets have no sidewalks, lots are irregular and the Bol Park path runs past a donkey pasture where one of the old volunteer fire department trucks is displayed. Read the Barron Park guide.

Greenmeadow

Greenmeadow is a tract of 243 single-story Eichler homes built in 1954 and 1955 to plans by architects A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons. It was listed on the National Register as a historic district in 2005. Residents share their own community association and swimming pool.

Fairmeadow

Fairmeadow is another Eichler neighborhood, centered on Fairmeadow Elementary School near Mitchell Park and the Mitchell Park Library. Low rooflines, atriums and big windows facing private yards are the norm.

Palo Verde

Palo Verde sits toward US 101 in the southeast. It is a mix of Eichlers and ranch houses around Palo Verde Elementary School. Streets are quiet and mostly residential.

Charleston Meadows

Charleston Meadows is a south Palo Alto tract near Charleston Road with many Eichler homes. It is one of several neighborhoods where midcentury fans hunt for original, unaltered houses.

Green Acres

Green Acres was built on former apricot orchards along Arastradero Road between El Camino Real and Gunn High School. Ranch homes on generous lots, Juana Briones Park and an easy bike ride to the foothills preserves define it.

Which neighborhood suits you

Visitors usually want downtown. It puts you next to the main Caltrain station and the free Stanford Marguerite shuttle. You can also walk to dinner. If downtown hotels are full or expensive, compare hotels across Palo Alto and look along El Camino Real, which connects to both downtowns by bus. Families staying a week or more sometimes prefer a house in a quiet residential area. You can browse vacation rentals in neighborhoods like Midtown or College Terrace. Our where to stay guide compares the options.

Schools and neighborhoods

For many families, the school map matters more than the neighborhood map. Palo Alto Unified School District runs 12 elementary schools, three middle schools and two comprehensive high schools, Palo Alto High and Gunn. North Palo Alto addresses generally feed Palo Alto High, while much of the south feeds Gunn, but boundaries follow specific streets and can change. Always check an exact address with the district's School Finder. Our schools guide covers public and private options.

Getting between neighborhoods

Bikes are the local secret. Bryant Street is a long bike boulevard that runs through the north half of the city and continues south. Tunnels and underpasses carry cyclists under the Caltrain tracks at several points, including near California Avenue. Middlefield Road and El Camino Real carry most of the bus traffic. Driving across town is quick outside rush hours, but Oregon Expressway and Embarcadero Road back up at school times. See getting around Palo Alto for transit, shuttles and parking.

In this section

Frequently asked questions