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Irene and Barry Grenier consider themselves the "current stewards" of their Craftsman-style home on Orange Avenue, which was built as a model to entice people to settle in the area advertised as "the loveliest place on the Peninsula."

The town fathers exhorted people to take the railroad (the route was eventually replaced by Foothill Expressway) to the area laid out by the Altos Land Company in 1907, defined by El Monte Avenue, Edith Avenue and Foothill Expressway, including University and all the streets over to Foothill.

"We've seen pictures of similar homes in Sears Catalogs from the turn of the century," Irene Grenier said. "When we purchased the home 25 years ago we decided to restore it to the original." This entailed numerous field trips to Berkeley salvage yards.

Grenier, who feels that "a deck can never hold a candle to a front porch" in many ways embodies the spirit of the neighborhood, the original "village." There are no structures above two stories, and the area is zoned for one-quarter-acre lots. The houses, nestled amongst mature foliage, are visible from the sidewalk and run the full gamut from Spanish to saltbox.

Indeed, one feels transported to Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." There are Sunday afternoon Old Town Band concerts in nearby Shoup Park — also the site of free Shakespeare plays and Veterans' Day and Fourth of July celebrations, as well as fly fishing in Adobe Creek. The level streets draw hundreds at Halloween and there is an annual Labor Day "Alley Party," which transforms the service lane running behind the homes into a neighborhood festival site complete with Karaoke.

John and Jane Reed also live on Orange Avenue. Jane, a former mayor of Los Altos, said they downsized to their "not charming," 1940s home in 1997, but soon modernized it Craftsman-style.

"People come from all over to walk in the neighborhood because it's the oldest neighborhood in Los Altos, and it has beautiful trees and sidewalks," she said, agreeing with Grenier that the area encourages walking since everything is within easy access. "There's a real tolerance here," she said, in response to how the neighborhood copes with not only the foot traffic, but also the traffic generated by the three nearby churches.

Newcomers Crysta and Michael Krames and their three young children moved onto University Avenue in 2005. The home, as many on this street, has a history tied to a town founder. It was previously owned by Mabel Eschenbruecher who was married to the son of the first Los Altos Postmaster and founder of the first business, a hardware store.

"We're more urbanites than suburbanites," said Crysta Krames, who feels that the slower pace of the area is compensated for by the highly rated schools, family-oriented atmosphere, diversity of architecture and proximity to downtown. She particularly appreciates the nearby Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, maintained by the city, which hosts archery camps and a nature center.

"A lot of young families are moving to Los Altos because they prefer a small-town atmosphere, and in turn, (they are) making it a more progressive place," Krames said.


FACTS


CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Creative Learning Center, 25890 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills (nearby)

FIRE STATION: No. 15, 10 Almond Ave.

LIBRARY: Los Altos, 13 S. San Antonio Road

PARKS: Village Park, Edith Avenue at San Antonio Road; Shoup Park, 400 University Ave.; Lincoln Park, University at Lincoln Avenue

POST OFFICE: Main, 100 First St.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Covington Elementary School, Egan Intermediate School

Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School; Bullis Charter School

SHOPPING: The Village (the triangle bordered by Edith, San Antonio and Foothill)

MEDIAN 2008 HOME PRICE: $1,700,000 ($1,401,000-$3,999,950)

HOMES SOLD: 13

— Susan Golovin