Silicon Valley Circa 1956

http://www.grellas.com/article_Silicon_Valley_1956.html

by skmurphy • 17 years ago

15 8 17 years ago

skmurphy• 17 years ago

What a transformation:

Before WWII, San Jose had fewer than 100,000 people. Yet no fewer than 18 canneries and 13 packing houses could be found in the Valley. This was then the largest canning and dried fruit packing center in the world. By 1956, this farm-based culture was still largely intact. Today, it is almost entirely gone.

nostrademons3• 17 years ago

This article's nothing without pics!

Seriously. I'm quite curious what Silicon Valley looked like when there was still open space between Mountain View and Palo Alto.

trekker72• 17 years ago

Check out Castro in the 50s: http://www.mv-pa.org/mvcentury/1950s.htm

seemed a lot wider back then

nostrademons3• 17 years ago

Those pics are great, though alas several of the more interesting ones are broken links.

Castro St. and the surrounding area almost seems more built-up than it is today. The landscaping (apparently done this decade) really makes a difference.

The real surprise for me was California St. That's one of the most densely populated areas today, but back then it was just trees and small houses on big lots.

The Hunt Foods factory is very close to where FriendFeed is now, I think.

grellas• 17 years ago

Just noticed that my article had been posted on HN.

I am not a historian and just did this as a nostalgic reflection on what I experienced being in and around the Valley for the past 40+ years and then projected it back a decade or so to focus on what seemed a key transition year - 1956 - when Shlockley Labs was formed, HP went public, etc., to use it as a symbolic contrast between the new and the old.

It was just a fun diversion for me, the main goal being to capture a mood. Sorry about the lack of pics.

nostrademons3• 17 years ago

Okay, I wasn't being entirely serious. ;-) Thanks for the article - as someone who just moved here 6 months ago, it's neat to imagine what things looked like 50 years ago.

enf• 17 years ago

You might also want to check out http://historicaerials.com 's aerial photos. In addition to 1956, they have 1948, when it was pretty much all agricultural, and 1968, when it had all been built over with suburbs.

trekker72• 17 years ago

"Back then, the Valley lay in the shadow of San Francisco. If you wanted culture, glamor, or riches, you headed to the City."

2/3 things don't change!

Silicon Valley Circa 1956

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