Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It is named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains.[3] The city shares its borders with the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale, as well as Moffett Federal Airfield and the San Francisco Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 74,066.
Situated in Silicon Valley, Mountain View is home to many high technology companies. In 1956, Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, the first company to develop silicon semiconductor devices in what came to be known as Silicon Valley, was established in the city by William Shockley. Today, many of the largest technology companies in the world are headquartered in the city, including Google, Mozilla Foundation, Symantec, and Intuit.
History
The Mexican land grant of Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas was given in 1842 by Alta California Governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Estrada. This grant was later passed on to Mariano Castro, who sold half of the land to Martin Murphy, Jr. Eventually, the former land grant became the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
Mountain View had its beginnings in the late 19th century as a stagecoach stop on the route between San Francisco and San Jose, including the Butterfield Overland Mail. Incorporated on November 7, 1902, the town's early growth was due to agriculture, which remained the primary industry into the middle of the 20th century. After World War II, the population grew significantly with the development of the aerospace and electronics industries.[4] Between 1950 and 1960, the population grew from 6,563 to 30,889, an increase of 370.7%.
Today, high technology is the foundation of the local economy, and there exist few remnants of the city's agricultural past.
Geography
Mountain View is located at 37°25′19″N 122°5′4″W (37.42223, −122.08429).[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 sq mi (31.8 km2). 12.0 sq mi (31.1 km2) of it is land and 0.27 sq mi (0.7 km2) of it (2.26%) is water.
Mountain View is located on the San Francisco Peninsula, at the north end of State Route 85, where it meets U.S. Route 101. The historic route El Camino Real also runs through Mountain View. It is bounded to the northwest by Palo Alto, to the southwest by Los Altos, to the southeast by Sunnyvale, to the northeast by Moffett Federal Airfield, and to the north by the San Francisco Bay.
Most of Mountain View consists of residential neighborhoods. Business parks are located mostly in the North Shoreline neighborhood, north of Highway 101, and east of Highway 85.
Climate
Mountain View has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb: dry-summer subtropical). Summers are warm and dry, while winters are mild and wet.
| [hide]Climate data for Mountain View, California |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
57
(14) |
63
(17) |
64
(18) |
70
(21) |
73
(23) |
77
(25) |
79
(26) |
79
(26) |
79
(26) |
73
(23) |
64
(18) |
57
(14) |
69.6
(20.9) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
39
(4) |
43
(6) |
46
(8) |
46
(8) |
52
(11) |
55
(13) |
57
(14) |
57
(14) |
55
(13) |
50
(10) |
45
(7) |
39
(4) |
48.7
(9.3) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
3.24
(82.3) |
3.181
(80.8) |
2.65
(67.3) |
0.89
(22.6) |
0.35
(8.9) |
0.11
(2.8) |
0.031
(0.8) |
0.079
(2.0) |
0.189
(4.8) |
0.85
(21.6) |
1.831
(46.5) |
2.311
(58.7) |
15.712
(399.1) |
| Source: http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/94041 |
Points of interest
Downtown
Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south. The transit center links the Caltrain commuter rail and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail and bus systems.
Chez TJ, a Michelin Guide-rated restaurant in Mountain View
Four blocks with a concentration of restaurants, cafes, and shops extend south from the downtown station. Chez TJ, one of the few restaurants rated by the Michelin Guide in the Bay Area, is located a block from Castro Street on Villa Street. Tied House, located next door, was one of the first brewpubs in the Bay Area, and is a popular stop in downtown.
Sidewalk along Castro Street in downtown Mountain View
The core of downtown is the plaza shared by City Hall, the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (MVCPA) and the Mountain View Public Library. Behind those buildings is Pioneer Park, which enjoys a quiet environment resulting from the City Hall building blocking out the noise from Castro Street. The Plaza between City Hall and the Performing Arts Center is a well-used spot for community gatherings and events, and features a collection of public art. Highly acclaimed local theatre companies Peninsula Youth Theatre and TheatreWorks are among the Home Companies of the MVCPA.[6]
The Mountain View Police Department is located two blocks away from Castro Street on Villa Street.
Since 1971, the city has held the annual Mountain View Art & Wine Festival on Castro Street by closing down the street to traffic for two days. There is a farmer's market in the Caltrain parking lot every Sunday morning. Every summer, once a month, the city celebrates Thursday Night Live (TNL) by closing off Castro street to cars and providing live music events and car shows on Castro Street.
The entire length of El Camino in Mountain View is a low-density commercial area.
Parks
The largest park in the city is Shoreline Park, which was built on a landfill and runs along the Bay north of U.S. Route 101. It includes Shoreline Amphitheatre, Shoreline Golf Course, as well as Rengstorff House, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. On the north side, facing the Bay, the park includes tidal ponds and mudflats, accessible via pedestrian and bicycle paths.
Dana Park, a
pocket park next to Mountain View Fire Station No. 1
Stevens Creek runs through Mountain View from the south and empties into the Bay in Shoreline Park. A paved pedestrian and bicycle path, the Stevens Creek Trail, runs alongside the creek for nearly its entire distance in Mountain View.
Other
Economy
Mountain View is one of the major cities that make up Silicon Valley, and has many notable Silicon Valley companies either headquartered there or with a large presence.
Notable companies
Notable companies headquartered in Mountain View include:
| Author: | Bling King |
| Published: | Jul 2nd 2014 |
| Modified: | Jul 2nd 2014 |
