Mountain View history

The history of Mountain View is rooted in the era when these lands were inhabited by the indigenous Ohlone people. The modern chronicle of the settlement began with the Mexican land grant Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas, issued in 1842 to Mariano Castro. However, the city began to actively take shape as an independent entity in the early 1850s as a vital stagecoach stop on the busy route between San Francisco and San Jose.

The city owes its name to its geographical location and picturesque landscapes. Local residents chose the name "Mountain View" due to the magnificent panorama of the Santa Cruz Mountains visible from here. The following factors played a key role in the settlement's development:

• The Transport Revolution: The arrival of the railway in 1864 turned the small station into an important logistical hub, ensuring rapid access to major markets.
• Geography: Its favourable location in the Santa Clara Valley, with its mild climate, attracted new settlers.

Long before becoming the heart of high technology, Mountain View was a thriving agrarian centre. The early economy and culture of the city were built around agriculture: the town was surrounded by endless fruit orchards and vineyards, being part of the region known then as the "Valley of Heart's Delight". The basis of trade consisted of growing, drying, and canning fruit. Mountain View received official city status in 1902, maintaining the atmosphere of a welcoming community amidst rapid economic growth.

Key Historical Milestones

• 1842: The Governor of California issues the Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas land grant to Mariano Castro, marking the beginning of the territory's development.
• 1854: A stagecoach station opens, becoming an important transport hub on the route between San Francisco and San Jose.
• 1864: Completion of the railway construction stimulates economic growth and the export of local agricultural produce.
• 1902: Mountain View is officially incorporated and receives city status with a population of approximately 600 people.
• 1933: The Moffett Field naval base is commissioned, becoming the famous home for US Navy airships.
• 1939: A research laboratory is founded, now known as the NASA Ames Research Center, laying the foundation for the aerospace industry.
• 1956: William Shockley opens the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, an event considered the beginning of the Silicon Valley era.
• 1983: Shoreline Park opens to the public, created on the site of a former landfill and becoming the city's main recreational zone.
• 1991: The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts opens its doors, becoming the cultural heart of the city.
• 1999: Google moves its headquarters to Mountain View, definitively cementing the city's status as a world technology capital.
• 2002: The Computer History Museum moves to the city, housing the world's largest collection of computing machinery.

City Evolution: From Orchards to Technology

The transformation of Mountain View represents an amazing journey from a quiet agricultural community to the epicentre of global innovation. While in the early 20th century the city's economic foundation consisted of endless fruit orchards and canning factories, the middle of the century marked a cardinal shift in the vector of development. The appearance of the military base and airfield Moffett Field, and subsequently the NASA research centre, attracted thousands of highly qualified engineers and scientists to the region. This created a unique intellectual environment that became fertile ground for future technological breakthroughs, forever changing the demographic and social appearance of the settlement.

The next turning point was the birth of the semiconductor industry. It was here, in Mountain View, that the laboratory was founded which kick-started the phenomenon the world today knows as Silicon Valley. This shift reoriented the city from the state aerospace sector to private entrepreneurship and venture capital. Old warehouses and hangars began to fill with startups, triggering a chain reaction of innovation that continues to this day.

The modern stage of the city's development is inextricably linked with the expansion of internet giants. The relocation of Google's headquarters here and the creation of the Googleplex campus not only changed the architectural landscape but also stimulated the development of urban infrastructure. Parallel to the technology boom, the authorities paid attention to the quality of life, implementing the ambitious Shoreline project — transforming a former landfill into a picturesque nature park. Today, Mountain View manages to balance the status of a world IT capital with that of a cosy city with a lively centre on Castro Street, preserving traces of all stages of its rich history.

Architectural Portrait: From Ranch to High-Tech

The architecture of Mountain View does not follow a single classical canon; rather, it is a dynamic mosaic reflecting the rapid growth of Silicon Valley. The urban fabric of the city is clearly divided into a cosy historic centre, extensive mid-20th-century residential districts, and the futuristic campuses of technology giants.

Several key stages can be highlighted in the city's development, each leaving its mark on the architectural style:

• Late 19th – Early 20th Century: The agricultural era. Buildings combining elements of eclecticism and Spanish Colonial Revival have been preserved in the city centre (especially in the Castro Street area). This is predominantly low-rise development, characteristic of the commercial streets of American towns of that time.
• Post-War Period (1950s – 1960s): The suburbanisation boom. Mountain View became one of the centres for the spread of Mid-Century Modern. The city is known for neighbourhoods of homes by developer Joseph Eichler ("Eichler homes"), distinguished by flat roofs, panoramic glazing, and the integration of living space with internal courtyards.
• The Technology Era (1980s to present): The development of office parks. The style evolved from utilitarian concrete structures ("tilt-up") to complex architectural complexes in high-tech, postmodernism, and bio-tech (organic architecture) styles.

Iconic Structures and Districts

The appearance of Mountain View is defined by several unique objects that have become visual landmarks of the valley:

• Hangar One at Moffett Field: One of the most recognisable objects in the region. This colossal structure, erected in the 1930s for Navy airships, is an outstanding example of engineering architecture and the Streamline Moderne style (an aerodynamic branch of Art Deco).
• Googleplex and Google Bay View: The Google headquarters represents a modern interpretation of a corporate campus. The newest buildings, such as Bay View, demonstrate principles of sustainable architecture with unique "dragonscale" roofs that function as solar panels.
• Shoreline Amphitheatre: Built in 1986, this open-air concert venue resembles a huge tent. Its construction using tensile fabric structures is an example of structural expressionism.
• Historic Downtown: The Castro Street district retains the scale and atmosphere of the middle of the last century, serving as a contrast to the modern technology parks surrounding it.

Distinguished Figures Associated with the City

The history of Mountain View is inextricably linked with the names of people who changed the course of technological progress, as well as those who achieved heights in sports and culture. Below are key figures whose lives or activities are intertwined with the destiny of this city.

• William Shockley
  Physicist, Nobel Prize laureate, "Father" of Silicon Valley
  In 1956, Shockley opened his Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Mountain View. It is this event and the arrival of talented engineers in the city that is generally considered the moment of Silicon Valley's birth as a technological phenomenon.
• Robert Noyce
  Engineer, co-founder of Intel, nicknamed the "Mayor of Silicon Valley"
  He worked in Mountain View as part of the famous "Traitorous Eight" who founded Fairchild Semiconductor here. Within the walls of this company, Noyce played a decisive role in creating the first integrated circuit, which revolutionised the world of electronics.
• Gordon Moore
  Engineer, author of "Moore's Law", co-founder of Intel
  He began his career at Shockley's laboratory in Mountain View. Later, working at Fairchild Semiconductor in the same city, he formulated his famous predictions regarding the development of computing power, which became a guideline for the entire industry for decades to come.
• Steve Jobs
  Entrepreneur, visionary, co-founder of Apple
  Spent his early childhood in Mountain View (on Diablo Avenue) before moving to neighbouring Los Altos. It was here, in the garage of the house in Mountain View, that his father Paul Jobs first introduced young Steve to the basics of mechanics and electronics, laying the foundation for his future interests.
• Brian Boitano
  Figure skater, Olympic Champion
  A native of Mountain View who became a legend of world sport. He won the gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, bringing fame to his hometown on the international sports arena.
• Larry Page and Sergey Brin
  Founders of Google
  Although they were not born in Mountain View, their influence on the city is colossal. By choosing this location for the construction of the global Googleplex headquarters in 1999, they forever transformed the economic and architectural landscape of the city, turning it into one of the main points on the digital map of the world.