Brochure cover and contents from the historical collection of William A. "Bill" Wulf.
Southern Pacific's brochure sold the charms of Los Gatos.
Los Gatos, Gem City of the Foothills. How did our community acquire such a flowery title as "Gem City?" From an early Chamber of Commerce? An early settler who came here to cure a respiratory ailment? A man of the cloth?
No. "Gem City" popped out of the Southern Pacific Railroad publicity department bent on promoting rail traffic. A pocket-size pictorial brochure--cover shown here--contains a map of the Bay Area and SP rail lines extending through Los Gatos to Big Trees and Santa Cruz.
Among eight photographs of gentle living in Los Gatos the 1924 text reads: "Mention California and one thinks immediately of climate. Here is a great state which is famous, among many things, for its mild, balmy winters and its cool, delightful summers. Children grow bigger and stronger here. Adults find new health and vigor in the freedom from extremes of temperature.
"And in this wonderful state is a district that is supreme for its equable [sic] climate. Los Gatos is said by authorities to be one of the two places having the most equable [sic] temperate climate in the world." (Azwan, Egypt, was the other according to a 1905 British medical journal.)
The brochure continues:
"Nestling on the side of the foothills, its altitude varying between 400 and 2,000 feet above sea level, Los Gatos has the Santa Clara Valley spread out at its feet. Here is a dream valley. At any season, it is beautiful beyond description.
"During the Spring of the year, people come from hundreds of miles around to see this valley, for its prune and apricot trees are in blossom.
"Across the valley rises stately Mt. Hamilton with the famous Lick Observatory near the summit. Here are views filled with inspiration."
Of nearby attractions, the brochure says: "The Santa Cruz Mountains lie back of Los Gatos; San Jose is ten miles distant. The ocean, at Santa Cruz, is but twenty-five miles away. Stanford University, one of the world's great institutions of learning, is within sixteen miles. Big Trees, Big Basin, Monterey Bay and San Francisco are all within easy reach."
The brochure continues to wax eloquent about schools and churches:
"Los Gatos is wonderfully situated with relation to educational institutions of rare merit. Stanford University, Santa Clara College, the College of Notre Dame and the State Teachers College are convenient to this section.
"And the elementary and high schools of the city are representative of California's high standard. Over $400,000 has been spent on school buildings during the last two years. Churches of every denomination are here. And most of the secret and fraternal orders have lodges in this city."
And about transportation, SP modestly reported:
"Los Gatos is excellently served by the Southern Pacific Lines with their innumerable connections, making easily accessible every section of this great state as well as all Northern, Southern and Eastern points."
The soil's fertility also gets a mention: "The land around Los Gatos is fertile, the climate mild--ideal for growing almost any crop. Fruits of all kinds grow here--apples, pears, apricots, cherries, peaches, olives, grapes, plumbs, prunes, almonds, walnuts, oranges, lemons, etc. Beekeeping and poultry are profitable. Canneries are nearby and fruit drying provides prosperity."
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 31, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved