Evergreen Park

Evergreen Park is the residential neighborhood that wraps around the back of the California Avenue business district. It is small, flat and close to almost everything a resident needs on a normal day. A Caltrain station, a Sunday farmers market, dozens of restaurants and a big neighborhood park are all within a few minutes on foot. Stanford sits across El Camino Real.

That convenience comes with trade-offs. Office workers and diners from the business district compete with residents for curb space. The housing mix also has shifted toward bigger homes and more apartments. This guide covers where the neighborhood is, how it grew, what the homes look like, its park, its schools and what day-to-day life is like.

Where Evergreen Park is

Evergreen Park lies on the Stanford side of the Caltrain tracks in central Palo Alto. Palo Alto Weekly's neighborhood guide describes it as the area between California Avenue, Park Boulevard and El Camino Real. To the north it meets Southgate, a quieter 1920s tract that runs up toward Churchill Avenue. To the west, across El Camino, is College Terrace. To the south and east is the California Avenue district itself.

Neighborhood names in Palo Alto are informal and maps disagree on the edges. The blocks closest to California Avenue feel more like part of the business district, with offices, apartment buildings and parking structures. Further from the avenue the streets turn residential, with single-family houses on modest lots.

From Mayfield to Palo Alto

Evergreen Park began as part of Mayfield, the farm town that grew up around what is now California Avenue. According to Palo Alto Weekly, the Evergreen Park name dates to 1907, when the land was marketed to buyers drawn by Leland Stanford's new university across the road. Most of the building came in the 1920s.

Mayfield joined Palo Alto in 1925 and the old town names faded. The Evergreen Park name came back in 1980, when residents formed the Evergreen Park Neighborhood Association. Our history of Palo Alto explains how the original university town and Mayfield were stitched together.

The neighborhood has kept changing since. The California Avenue district grew into a second downtown with offices and restaurants. Small houses near it were replaced by larger homes or apartment buildings. A 2019 Palo Alto Weekly profile described the shift as the area becoming more upscale, with traditional two-bedroom houses giving way to larger ones.

Homes and streets

Evergreen Park is more mixed than most Palo Alto neighborhoods. Palo Alto Weekly counted about 206 single-family homes and 178 multifamily units. Expect to see three kinds of housing on a short walk:

• Cottages and bungalows from the 1920s and 1930s, many on narrow lots with detached garages at the back.
• Remodels and rebuilds, often two stories, where an original cottage has been replaced.
• Apartments and condos, concentrated near Park Boulevard and the edges of the business district.

Streets are on a regular grid and mostly lined with mature trees. Lots are smaller than in north Palo Alto neighborhoods such as Crescent Park or Old Palo Alto. That density is what makes the area so walkable. For how prices here compare with the rest of the city, see our Palo Alto real estate guide. We do not quote prices on this page because they move quickly and sources disagree.

Peers Park and the dog park

Alexander Peers Park at 1899 Park Boulevard is the neighborhood's green space. It has lawn, play equipment and a field house that the city rents for events. Its best known feature is the fenced off-leash dog area. It opened in 2018 and covers 0.84 acres, which the City of Palo Alto lists as the largest of its dog parks. Dogs must stay leashed in the rest of the park.

The dog park draws owners from well beyond the neighborhood, especially on weekend mornings. Our dog parks guide compares it with the city's other off-leash areas at Mitchell, Hoover and Greer parks. The city's dog park page lists sizes and rules.

The neighborhood association holds an annual barbecue at Peers Park. Palo Alto Weekly also reported a block party potluck that residents have held every year since 1999.

Shopping, food and errands

California Avenue is the main street. Since part of it became car-free, restaurants have spread tables into the roadway, so a weeknight dinner is a short walk from most Evergreen Park homes. Coffee shops, a few bakeries and service businesses fill the side streets. Our food and drink guides have current picks.

The California Avenue farmers market runs every Sunday morning year-round. It is the neighborhood's weekly ritual and the main reason Sunday parking is tight. See our farmers markets guide for details. For a bigger grocery run, residents drive or bike to stores along El Camino Real or north to Town & Country Village near Palo Alto High School.

Getting around

Transit access is the best of any residential area in the city outside downtown. The California Avenue Caltrain station sits at the end of the avenue, with trains north to San Francisco and south to San Jose. An underpass at the station lets people on foot and on bikes cross the tracks to Alma Street.

VTA buses run along El Camino Real at the neighborhood's western edge. Route 22 makes local stops and the Rapid 522 runs limited-stop service toward San Jose. Park Boulevard is a calmer north and south route for bikes than El Camino Real. Stanford is close enough to walk to the Stanford Research Park offices or bike to the main campus. Our getting around guide covers schedules, shuttles and fares.

Parking and traffic

Parking is the issue residents raise most. The business district has public lots and a garage, but workers and diners still spill onto residential blocks. In 2017 the city began issuing permits under what is now the Evergreen Park-Mayfield Residential Preferential Parking program. It limits how long nonresidents can park on covered streets during the day. Employees of nearby businesses can buy a limited number of permits.

Schools

Evergreen Park is in the Palo Alto Unified School District. Palo Alto Weekly's neighborhood guides in 2019 and 2021 listed Escondido Elementary, Greene Middle School and Palo Alto High School for the area. Escondido sits on the Stanford campus side of El Camino Real. Attendance areas are drawn by address and the district can change them, so always confirm a specific home with the PAUSD school finder. Our schools guide explains enrollment and the private options nearby.

What living here is like

Residents who talked to Palo Alto Weekly described a close neighborhood of families, young professionals and longtime owners. The draw is obvious. Few places in Palo Alto let you walk to a train, a farmers market and dinner without crossing a major road. Kids can walk to the park and bike to school.

The downsides come from the same location. Traffic from the business district, construction on remodels and apartment projects and the parking squeeze all come up in neighborhood discussions. Homes are close together and lots are small. If you want a big yard or total quiet, look further from California Avenue.

For families visiting relatives here, hotels are limited inside the neighborhood itself. Most visitors stay along El Camino Real or downtown and drive or ride Caltrain one stop. You can compare hotels near California Avenue or look for a short-term rental if you need room for a larger group. Our where to stay guide explains the options.

Nearby neighborhoods

Evergreen Park pairs naturally with its neighbors. Walk north into Southgate to see its 1920s stucco houses and original street lights. Cross El Camino Real into College Terrace for its college-named streets and small parks. Or head south across Oregon Expressway into Ventura, a neighborhood of older cottages that the city has been planning to reshape with new housing. The neighborhoods overview shows how all of them fit together.

Frequently asked questions