Greenmeadow

Greenmeadow is the Eichler neighborhood that preservationists point to first. Its low houses with glass walls and post-and-beam roofs still look much as they did in the 1950s. Its street plan turns inward around a shared park, pool and community center. It is one of only two Palo Alto Eichler tracts on the National Register of Historic Places.

The neighborhood also has an unusual civic story. Its first residents formed their own association within a year and bought the community center from the builder. That association still runs the pool, the clubhouse and a Fourth of July parade that has taken place every year since 1955. This guide covers where Greenmeadow is, how it was built, its historic status, the homes, the community association, schools and getting around.

Where Greenmeadow is

Greenmeadow is in the far south of Palo Alto, near the border with Mountain View. The Almanac describes the area as bounded by Alma Street, East Charleston Road, Middlefield Road and San Antonio Road. The historic district itself is smaller. Its streets include Parkside Drive, Nelson Drive, Creekside Drive, El Capitan Place and Adobe Place. According to the National Register nomination, the district covers about 73 acres and its edges are defined by where the Eichler houses stop.

Nearby landmarks help with orientation. Cubberley Community Center on Middlefield Road is close by. Mitchell Park and the Fairmeadow tract are a short walk north. Across Alma Street and the Caltrain tracks to the west is Charleston Meadows, another Eichler neighborhood.

How Greenmeadow was built

The land was farmland until the postwar housing boom. Joseph Eichler, the builder behind most of Palo Alto's modern tract homes, developed Greenmeadow in 1954 and 1955. He hired the Los Angeles firm of A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons to design it. The association's history says the first residents, Fred and Alice Crenshaw and their family, moved into a model home on October 31, 1954, while the rest of the tract was still under construction.

The tract was built in two units. Greenmeadow I had 180 homes and Greenmeadow II had 63, for a total of 243. A later phase of 27 homes from the early 1960s adjoins the district but was not included in the National Register listing. Buyers could choose among six models.

From the start the plan centered on shared space. Eichler built a community center with a park, a pool and a multipurpose building. Landscape architect Thomas Church is credited with the original landscaping of redwood trees around a central lawn. Many streets end in cul-de-sacs or loop back on themselves, which keeps through traffic out. The National Register nomination notes that Jones and Emmons built on the concentric ring plan that Anshen and Allen had used at nearby Fairmeadow.

Eichler's company sold homes regardless of race or religion at a time when many builders did not. The Almanac has written that those policies helped open Palo Alto neighborhoods to Black and Asian homeowners. Our south Palo Alto guide covers that history across the Eichler tracts.

The community association and its center

Greenmeadow's residents organized quickly. In early 1955 they worried that the Eichler organization might rent part of the pool to a swim school. They hired a young local lawyer, Pete McCloskey, who later served in Congress. The Greenmeadow Community Association was incorporated on July 16, 1955.

The purchase that followed is a neighborhood legend. According to the association's history, Eichler offered to sell the community center for $20,000 the day before Thanksgiving in 1955. Resident John Berwald countered with $10,000 and Eichler accepted. Bank of America lent the money for six months, backed by $50 pledges from at least 200 households. Berwald became the association's first president and later served as mayor of Palo Alto.

The association still owns the center at 303 Parkside Drive. In 2018 it completed a $2.8 million project in two parts. The rebuilt pool reopened that April. A new clubhouse of about 1,000 square feet, designed by architect Dennis Kobza, followed in September. More than 400 people came to the clubhouse opening on Labor Day 2018, according to the Eichler Network.

Today the association runs a heated pool open year-round for lap and recreational swimming, swim lessons, a swim team and classes such as yoga and tai chi. Its website says membership is open to residents and to people who live outside Greenmeadow. Check the Greenmeadow Community Association website for membership and pool hours.

Historic district status

Greenmeadow was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 2005. The nomination, titled Greenmeadow (Units I and II), was prepared by Marty Arbunich for the Eichler Historic Quest committee, a resident group. It covers the 243 houses plus the community center building, the pool services building and the pool. The Green Gables Eichler tract in the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood was listed the same day.

National Register listing is mostly honorary for private homeowners, but Greenmeadow has local protections too. The Eichler Network has described the tract as covered by a single-story zoning overlay and tract-wide architectural review. In 2018 the City Council also adopted voluntary Eichler design guidelines for all Eichler neighborhoods. Anyone planning to buy or remodel should ask the city's planning department which rules apply to a specific lot. Our Palo Alto architecture guide explains the Eichler style and the architects behind it.

The houses

Greenmeadow houses are single-story Eichlers on lots that are generous for the era. The Almanac lists the features that defined them: clerestory windows, vertical redwood siding, concrete fireplaces, post-and-beam construction, high ceilings and flat or gently sloped roofs. Some models had four bedrooms, a double garage and a separate family room. Built-in kitchen appliances and a second bathroom with its own outside door were selling points in 1954.

The fronts of the houses are mostly closed, with a carport or garage and few windows facing the street. The backs open almost entirely onto private gardens. Many original houses have been updated inside while keeping their outward look. For the wider housing market, see our real estate guide.

Schools

Greenmeadow is in the Palo Alto Unified School District. We could not confirm current attendance assignments for Greenmeadow addresses from an official or dated source, so we do not list them here. Several district campuses sit within a short walk or bike ride, but proximity does not decide assignment. Use the PAUSD school finder or call the district's enrollment office for any address. Our schools guide explains how the district works.

Getting around

Greenmeadow is one of the few south Palo Alto neighborhoods close to a Caltrain station, though the station is in Mountain View. San Antonio station sits just across the city line near Alma Street and San Antonio Road. California Avenue station in Palo Alto is a longer ride north.

Inside the tract the cul-de-sacs make walking and biking pleasant. Middlefield Road, East Charleston Road and San Antonio Road carry most of the traffic around it. Since 2021 a bike and pedestrian bridge over US 101 near Adobe Creek has linked south Palo Alto with the bay shore trails. Our getting around guide covers buses, trains and bikes.

Shopping and nearby places

Greenmeadow is residential, so errands mean a short drive or ride. The San Antonio shopping area in Mountain View, just south, has large grocery stores and many restaurants. The Midtown shopping area is north along Middlefield Road. Mitchell Park, its library and the Magical Bridge Playground are close by. See our Mitchell Park guide.

Visiting family in Greenmeadow often stay in Mountain View or along El Camino Real, where hotels are closer than downtown Palo Alto. You can compare hotels in Palo Alto and nearby or look for a house rental for a longer stay. For more Eichler neighborhoods, read about Palo Verde or return to the neighborhoods overview.

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