Los Altos Designates Steve Jobs' Childhood Home a 'Historic Resource'

[CFreymarc]

Has Palo Alto preserved the garage where HP got started?

I think Silicon Valley should preserve these important garages.

I found this...
http://www.retireat21.com/blog/10-companies-started-garages

Yes, the HP garage was sited as a historic preservation site in the 90's. In fact, this house followed the HP garage model.

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I get it. It's a societal OCD property hoarding thing. Can't wait to witness the severely dated house in 20 yrs.

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General application would be Edison's home or Tesla's factory...those are significant. Unless a historical society purchased Job's old house or Job's sister herself pushed for the declaration, it's seems heavy handed. That's what i'm saying. But others can feel free to take what i'm saying off on another completely off subject tangent.

I'm sure the Jobs family was in getting this house declared a historic site.

 

[danielsutton]

The property would be a slam dunk for National Register listing. But it should be understood that NO protections are conferred by this listing. All of that comes from local governments under their own landmarking ordinances. Los Altos hasn't gone that far. Essentially they just noted that it exists.

Thank you for noting this I didn't realize that being listed on the National Register does not protect historic sites. But hopefully if the Register listed Jobs' childhood home, it would encourage Los Altos' landmarks preservation agency to formally protect the property so it could not be altered or demolished.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Thank you for noting this I didn't realize that being listed on the National Register does not protect historic sites. But hopefully if the Register listed Jobs' childhood home, it would encourage Los Altos' landmarks preservation agency to formally protect the property so it could not be altered or demolished.

Not explicitly, anyway. Under California environmental law, environmental impacts on a property listed on the National Register would have be considered, but only for certain kinds of projects. Most cities don't process building or even demolition permits in such a way that they trigger environmental review. Sort of ironically, the demolition of the historic house Steve Jobs owned in Woodside was subject to environmental review, a process the city tried to skirt, which is why they got sued. A lot depends on the local government's ordinances.