Los Gatos, California Since1881
Town News
View changes, but neighbors still cherish their Bella Vista By Sandy Sims, Mary Ann Cook and Shari Kaplan When Pauline Ferrito gave a shower with 30-plus guests a couple of weeks ago, she says many of her guests got lost. That's because her home is on the corner of Simon Street and Bella Vista Avenue, in a small neighborhood that is tucked quietly away between Highway 17 and Los Gatos Boulevard. Most people don't recognize the little roads that lead to Bella Vista Avenue because they look more like driveways. And that's the way residents in the Bella Vista neighborhood like it. Bella Vista is a half-mile long. One end dumps right into Los Gatos High School and the other ends at Caldwell Ave. But the tiny street embodies everything Los Gatans love. It's close to town; it's filled with charming old houses, beautiful gardens and trees, and a mix of residents, young and old. "It feels like Los Gatos," says Bella Vista resident Teri Hope, "still a bit of a country road, an eclectic mix of homes, a few condos and a view of the hills."Spend a little time with the people on Bella Vista and one begins to understand how Los Gatos keeps its small town charm in the midst of so much big-town pull. Home to mayors For all it's smallness, residents on Bella Vista have played an important role in keeping Los Gatos' small town atmosphere. Four former mayors have lived there: Jan Hutchins (Teri Hope's husband), Tom Ferrito, Bob Hamilton and Leroy Wright. Several planning commissioners have lived there as well, including Frank Treseder, Bob Bruno, and Marcia Chamberlain. And a number of the residents have owned and operated Los Gatos businesses. Jan Hutchins owns the Yoga Center in downtown. His wife Teri owns the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company, and her daughter, Rene Chadsey, who grew up in Los Gatos, owns Tangles hair salon. Tom Ferrito's law practice is in Los Gatos, and Bob and Carol Hamilton owned the former Los Gatos Shade Shop. Bob recently passed away."People who come to live in this neighborhood are interested in preserving its natural charm and try to avoid excessive development," Pauline Ferrito says. That's the very thing that got Tom Ferrito involved in the town politics and eventually led to his becoming the mayor. Pauline says she and her husband were delighted when they found out a previous owner of their home had been mayor Wright. Residents on Bella Vista have challenged developers who come to their street to construct large buildings and won. "We just got a good compromise with someone building right across the street," Pauline says. When the Ferrito's moved into their cottage in 1969, Bella Vista was an unpaved street with ruts in it. "Everyone had to go slow then," Pauline says. When the city wanted to pave the street, Pauline says, she and her husband and several others on the street were against it. "We knew the street would become a thoroughfare to the high school," she says. The very south end of Bella Vista curves, becomes New York Avenue and then dips downhill into the high school."We share our lives with the high school," Pauline says. "We love hearing the marching band practice." Hearing the band brings back memories of her daughter as a drum majorette at LGHS. "Our families use the sports facilities down there," she says. But there is a downside to having their street dump right into the high school„traffic. The students who find this back road, short-cut to school tend to speed. "It's a continuing issue," Pauline says. The town made the hill (New York Avenue) into the high school one way going down. What precipitated the one-way sign was someone smashing into and wiping out an oak tree. A few students still ignore the sign, Pauline says.The town put at stop sign at Charles Avenue and put up in a 20 mph speed limit sign. "That all helps," she says. Students leaving campus for lunch can only come back via Bella Vista. Teri Hope says, "the stop sign has made a big difference." Still, there are problems. The little street can't take too much speed. "It's barely wide enough for two cars to pass," Pauline says. "We have small children and a lot of foot traffic," she says. "Drivers really need to go slower than 20 mph." But what binds Bella Vista neighbors together besides town issues and traffic is gardening. "We are always trading plants," Pauline says. The Ferrito's English style cottage nestles under trees and in roses and, irises, and ivy and hydrangeas, even arbors of climbing roses. "We spend a lot of time in the garden," she says "It's our job." But so do their neighbors. The narrow street is lined with massive oaks, wild almond trees that flower in the spring, magnolias, cedars. "We have a wonderful horticulturist living in the neighborhood," Pauline says, "Michelle Taylor." It seems everyone benefits from Taylor's expertise because house after house boast lovely gardens. Teri Hope agrees. "Everyone walks along the street. We stop and admire each other's gardens and strike up conversations." Hope says the Bella Vista Bridge that passes over Highway 9 just after the Los Gatos Lodge is a gathering place for neighbors to watch the sunset or the stars. 'Beautiful view' With a name that means "beautiful view," how can a street like Bella Vista Avenue not be a desirable place to live? The street, with its hilltop view, and the close-knit neighborhood of the same name, comprise a small area of peaceful, sylvan surroundings and well-kept Victorian, Craftsman and Mediterranean style homes. This quaint, friendly ambiance that attracts homeowners belies the fact it is a mere stone's throw away from busy Los Gatos Boulevard„one of the main thoroughfares into the town's downtown business district. It wasn't always like this, however. Back in 1876, according to Los Gatan Alastair Dallas, a pioneering resident named John Goldsworthy owned 130 acres of property that stretched from Bella Vista Avenue down to present-day Los Gatos Lodge and the Los Gatos High School athletic field. In his book, Los Gatos Observed, Dallas documents the 1882 sale of 22 1/2 acres of Goldsworthy's prime property to one Backus L. Bartlett, an adjuster for the San Francisco Board of Trade. Records show Bartlett began paying taxes in 1887; it's probable that same year is when he completed his house, a two-story Victorian that may have been accessed at the time from San Jose Road„the forerunner of today's Los Gatos Boulevard. In an era when a few dollars could buy a fine meal, Bartlett was well off with a 400-tree apricot orchard that brought in approximately $175 per acre.The Victorian that was once home to the Bartlett family is the same home now owned by Teri Hope and Jan Hutchins. "The thing that surprised me about the Bella Vista neighborhood was that the property lots ran all the way to Los Gatos Creek," Dallas adds of a discovery he made while researching his book. "It apparently flooded every year„it made for some very fertile soil! I guess the orchard trees didn't mind all the water. They've tamed the creek since then, though." According to Dallas, the Bella Vista area was subdivided in the 1920s and 1930s, inspired by the growing popularity of another desirable residential street: Glen Ridge, located in the Almond Grove district. "Many areas had already been subdivided. Bella Vista was the only site that wasn't filled with houses. The advantage of that area was they were selling lots with a view. They were considered premium lots," relates longtime Los Gatos historian William "Bill" Wulf, who has also researched the area. "Some homes at the time faced the old San Jose Road, but it was more desirable to face the Bella Vista side and the 'beautiful view.' " The Town of Los Gatos may have grown up and around Bella Vista and its adjacent streets, but most of the homes in the neighborhood are originals. Some may have been remodeled for aesthetic or safety reasons (such as post-1989 Loma Prieta earthquake), but most retain their original character and few or none have been torn down. "It's a street of well-maintained historic homes that show pride of ownership," Wulf says. "It's also surrounded by the natural beauty of the hillside and the trees." Dallas agrees. "It's great that you can walk easily to town, but the neighborhood is hidden. A lot of people come to down and don't even know it's there," he adds. And that's just fine with the neighborly Los Gatans whose homes are privy to the "beautiful view." Changing view When the Treseders and the Yattaburos moved into the Bella Vista neighborhood, it was indeed a beautiful view—this French-named street. There were blossoms aplenty to see in the spring from their hilltop setting„apricots and cherries. The Maggi family had a chicken and fruit ranch down below. Beyond that was the creek (now hidden by pavement where it crosses Saratoga Avenue), and beyond that were the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. You could tell time by the train's arrival and departure, Roberta Treseder remembers. Los Gatos was the end of the line in the evening, about 5:40 p.m., and the beginning of the run in the morning, about 6:40 a.m.—a handy commute for those headed to San Francisco on business. But that was 50 years ago, and the view is pretty well minus blossoms, creek or railroad tracks by now. But the location still prides itself on an outstanding view and a warm and welcoming community. "We all know each other, though there are no longer block parties," Carol Hamilton says. She's lived in the area a mere 23 years. The woman who used to host the communal gatherings has moved on. "This area is a well kept secret. Nobody knows it's here," says Carol„except for joggers and kids headed for high school off the beaten path, she adds. "The neighborhood hasn't changed a lot, although the residents have changed," says Kay Yattaburo, who at 94 may be the oldest inhabitant. She's lived on Bella Vista for 50 years. The only physical change lately has been the addition of Bella Vista Court, a Dave Flick development. Roberta and Frank C. Treseder established themselves on Bella Vista almost as long ago as the Yattaburos. "I think Kay was here about a year before we built," Roberta says. The Treseders raised their four children here and Frank, now deceased, was an architect whose office was in San Jose. He served on the Los Gatos Planning Commission for many years. Indeed, he may hold the record for longest tenure on the Planning Commission, having served for 16 years. When Pauline Ferrito was growing up in the East Bay's Niles Canyon, she spent plenty of time in Los Gatos, picnicking and swimming at Bunker Hill Park (now paved over by Highway 17). Her husband Tom also came to Los Gatos often from his "But we never knew this street was here," Pauline says. When the young couple with a baby found the house on Bella Vista and saw the street, they knew it was home. "That was when it was not fashionable to buy an old house," Pauline says. "My parents thought we were nuts." The Ferritos bought their new old home in 1969 for $36,000. Teri Hope paid $525,000 for her house in 1988. It's the oldest on the block, a farm house built before the turn of the century when the land there was an orchard. Today the bank assesses it at $2 million."Our kids couldn't buy a home here today," says Pauline Ferrito. "That's sad." |
Feedback, or story ideas for theLos Gatos Weekly-Times?
(Close this Window to go back to our home page.)
Copyright © SVCN, LLC. Maintained by