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Some call it Stierlin Estates, but others insist the real name is Sterling. Few of the original 178 homeowners still reside in the Mountain View tract located between Terra Bella Avenue, North Shoreline Boulevard, West Middlefield Road, Moffett Boulevard and Highway 85, which was built in 1963.

Mary Jo and Jim Williams were attracted to the brand-new one-story, double-garaged houses back in 1963, eager to escape the foggy weather of their San Mateo neighborhood where their kids seemed to have constant colds.

With the aid of the GI Bill, they moved in for $19,450. "It was very dismal," Mary Jo recalled as she planted colorful spring blooms near her front walkway, because they didn't even include front lawns. Although they knew a freeway would be nearby, they didn't know it would be elevated — or that cars might someday come flying off the ramp to land next to their play structure. Today the soundwall from Highway 85 abuts their back yard. A representative of Caltrans recently dropped by to inspect the weeds and see what could be done to tidy up the wall.

Another original owner, Stan Salisbury, said the area used to be an orchard. After coming out to work at Lockheed Research Lab, he looked for about a year before coming across the new homes where he raised his four children. He founded a homeowners association in 1986, but it's no longer active.

Over time, most of the homes in Stierlin (or Sterling) Estates turned over and new families moved in. Today, there's a mix of older folks, with tell-tale basketball hoops indicating a renewed impact of younger families.

Oon Ong has lived on San Rafael Avenue for 25 years, raising her two children and caring for others in a family day-care home. Originally from Burma, she was living in San Francisco when she found her Mountain View house. "It's so convenient. That's why I never moved," she said, adding that the city of Mountain View is very safe and the neighbors are no trouble.

"It's kind of multipurpose around here," she said, pointing to her eclectic mix of neighbors — African-American, Puerto Rican, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese. "You name them. You get to meet everybody."

"When we moved here everyone had children, everyone went to the same schools," Jim Williams said. "New parents are moving in, old ones are passing on," noted Ong. But, she added, it's a community where children are not left unattended. "Everyone watches out for each other," she said.

The only "conflict" appears to be over the name.


FACTS


CHILD CARE AND PRESCHOOLS (Nearby): YMCA of the East Bay/Mountain View Child Development Center, 750B San Pierre Way

FIRE STATION: No. 5, 2195 N. Shoreline Blvd.

PARKS: San Veron Park, San Veron Avenue and Middlefield Road

POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St.; Mountain View Carriers Annex, 1070 La Avenida St.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Theuerkauf Elementary School, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View or Los Altos High School

SHOPPING: Bailey Plaza, Shoreline Boulevard

MEDIAN 2008 HOME PRICE: $810,000 ($799,900-$811,888)

HOMES SOLD: 3

— Carol Blitzer