Palo Alto (IPAEng: ˌpæloʊˈæltoʊ, from Spanish: palo: "stick" and alto: "high", i.e., "tall tree") is an affluent city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA. It is named after a tree called El Palo Alto. The city is located at the northern end of Silicon Valley, and includes portions of Stanford University and is headquarters to a number of high-technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,598 residents.

Palo Alto, north of Oregon Expressway, is filled with older homes, including Craftsman and California Colonials, some of which date back to the 1890s but most of which were built in the first four decades of the 20th century. South of Oregon Expressway, the homes, including many Joseph Eichler-designed or Eichler-style houses, were primarily built in the first 20 years after World War II.

While the city contains homes that now cost anywhere from $800,000 to well in excess of $10 million, much of Palo Alto's housing stock is in the style of California mid-century middle-class suburbia. It has highly rated public schools (See: PALY and GUNN), a high quality of life, and a vibrant downtown. The median home sale price for all of Palo Alto was more than $1.3 Million in 2006.1 According to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index, Palo Alto ranks in as the 5th most expensive city in the United States, with an average home sales price of $1,677,000 as of 2007.2 The Coldwell Banker College Home Price Comparison Index ranks Palo Alto as the most expensive college town in the United States. As a result, unlike most other college towns of similar size, most Stanford University students live on campus. 3

History

Earliest recorded history stems from 1769, when Gaspar de Portolá noted an Ohlone settlement. This remains an area of known Indian mounds. A plaque is erected at Middlefield Road and Embarcadero Road to commemorate this area.

The city got its name from a tall tree, El Palo Alto, by the banks of the San Francisquito Creek bordering Menlo Park. You can still find half of this tree (the other half was destroyed when the creek flooded) along the foot bridge on Alma Street. A plaque recounts the story of a 63 man, 200 horse expedition from San Diego to the mission at Monterey from November 7–11, 1769. The group overshot and reached the bay instead. Regarding the bay as too wide to cross, the group decided to turn around near 'el palo alto.'