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Los Gatos, California

Encyclopedia : L : LO : LOS : Los Gatos, California

Los Gatos is a town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,592 at the 2000 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the edge of Silicon Valley on the southwest corner of San Jose on the hilly edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Homes are mostly upscale, varying from million-dollar cottages in the village itself to large custom homes in the surrounding hills. The town is noted for its upscale but small-town downtown, with many chic shops and restaurants. It is also a preferred destination for antique shoppers.

The name Los Gatos is Spanish, meaning the cats. The name derives from the 1839 Alta California land-grant that encompassed the area, which was called Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos, ("the corner of the cats"), where "the cats" refers to the mountain lions that are indigenous to the Santa Cruz Mountains in whose foothills the town is nestled. The name is normally pronounced in anglicized form, sounding like las gaddis (IPA [lɑs gæɾɪs]), although one also hears pronunciations truer to the original Spanish, lohs GAH tos (IPA [loʊs gɑtoʊs]).

Contents

History

Overview

Los Gatos has a history of agriculture, including the growing of apricots, grapes and prunes. Forbes Mill and Los Gatos High School are two historic buildings near present-day Town Hall. Downtown Los Gatos features many restored Victorian residences.

Rail transportation

Transport by rail was an early feature of Los Gatos. The South Pacific Coast railroad, a popular narrow-gauge line from Alameda (and San Francisco via ferry) to Santa Cruz in the late 19th century, stopped in Los Gatos. [link] Southern Pacific took over this line in 1887. Los Gatos was also near the Southern Pacific resort town of Holy City, along the rail line in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The last Southern Pacific passenger train to Santa Cruz left Los Gatos in March 1940. In town, the rail line used to run along the shore of Vasona Lake to the present-day location of the Post Office, following the path of what is now a continuous string of parking lots between Santa Cruz Ave. and University Ave. There was also a streetcar-type rail line with service to Saratoga and San Jose. Streetcar service started about 1905 and ended about 1933. San Francisco commuter trains continued until 1959.

Geography

Los Gatos is located at [37°14′10″N, 121°57′42″W] (37.236044, -121.961768)[Geographic references#1GR1]. Los Gatos is bisected by California State Highway 17, which runs through the town from south to north. The terms "East Los Gatos" and "West Los Gatos" are sometimes used to describe the parts of the town that lie east and west of Highway 17, respectively, but there is no official governmental division of the town as such. Prior to 1997, the town's two main ZIP codes corresponded to the portions of the town east and west of Highway 17, with 95032 on the east side and 95030 on the west side, but the postal service rezoned the ZIP codes along a north-south division, to better correspond to the two post offices in Los Gatos, which are located at the north and south ends of town.

California State Route 85 marks more-or-less the northern boundary of the town, although there are pockets of houses north of Highway 85 that are technically part of Los Gatos.

Downtown Los Gatos, the area on and around Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street, is located in the southwest quadrant of town. A left exit on northbound Highway 17 becomes the south end of South Santa Cruz Avenue, leading into downtown. The area around Los Gatos Boulevard, east of Highway 17, is much more typically suburban than downtown, with medium-sized shopping centers clustered at major intersections of the multilane boulevard.

Vasona Park, a county park, and neighboring Oak Meadow Park, which belongs to the town, are located in what is roughly the geographic middle of the town, bordered on the south by Blossom Hill Road, on the east by Highway 17, on the west by University Avenue, and reaching at the north end not quite all the way to Lark Avenue. Los Gatos Creek begins in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of the town and runs through the town parallel to Highway 17 all the way through neighboring Campbell and San Jose to the Guadalupe River, which flows into San Francisco Bay. A walking, jogging, and biking trail called the Los Gatos Creek Trail runs alongside much of the creek from Lexington Dam through Vasona Park and Campbell to Meridian Avenue in San Jose. In Los Gatos, the trail passes the 1854 Forbes Mill. El Sereno mountain stands to the southwest; El Sombroso stands to the southeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²). 27.7 km² (10.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.93%) is water.

Los Gatos is surrounded by mountain bike trails. Bikers can leave from downtown on a 20-mile loop through the Santa Cruz mountains. Road biking is also very popular. Downtown is often crowded with bikers on weekend mornings.

Demographics

Los Gatos
Population by year [link]
1880 555
1890 1,652
1900 1,915
1910 2,232
1920 2,317
1930 3,168
1940 3,597
1950 4,907
1960 9,036
1970 23,735
1980 26,906
1990 27,357
2000 28,592
Los Gatos High School is one of the more notable sights on Main Street. Because of its striking appearance, many people mistake it for a university or city government offices.
Enlarge
Los Gatos High School is one of the more notable sights on Main Street. Because of its striking appearance, many people mistake it for a university or city government offices.

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 28,592 people, 11,988 households, and 7,300 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,030.8/km² (2,669.1/mi²). There were 12,367 housing units at an average density of 445.8/km² (1,154.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.68% White, 0.79% African American, 0.30% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.28% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.21% of the population.

There were 11,988 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $94,319, and the median income for a family was $119,194. Males had a median income of $89,420 versus $57,596 for females. The per capita income for the town was $56,094. About 3.1% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Major Companies located in Los Gatos

Sister cities

Chungho, Republic of China (Taiwan)
    • Liaoyang, People's Republic of China
    • Listowel, Ireland
    • Tallinn, Estonia
    • Zihuatanejo, Mexico

    Schools

    Public Schools

    Private Schools

    External links

     

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