Initially, this area was part of a 77-acre development called Agricultural Park.

A playground for residents in the late 1800s, it included a horse race track, a bicycle velodrome, picnic grounds, playing fields and more than 2,600 trees.

Popular for more than 40 years, Agricultural Park fell on hard times around the turn of the century, and developer Louis Hanchett purchased it for housing in 1905.

Brochures for what the developer modestly dubbed Hanchett Residence Park promoted it lavishly, boasting: "$100,000 spent in improvements. We challenge comparison with any subdivision offered any place on the peninsula, as far as quality of the improvements and location of tract are concerned."

With lots starting at $450 and terms of "$25 down and $10 per month per lot," the brochure promised that investors would "make money fast." The brochure elaborated, "It is a conservative statement, which we think will readily be admitted by all parties who are judges of these matters, that at least 25 percent profit on the investment (and probably much more) should be realized inside of two years."

In addition to boasting about its location "on the far-famed Alameda," Hanchett Park also had the added cachet of being designed by John McLaren, the man who designed Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

It was McLaren who laid out the Hanchett area's curved streets and decreed that utility poles should be in the back yards, thereby "avoiding ugly poles on the streets and a multiplicity of wires entering the various houses from the front."

Additionally, McLaren decided each street should have trees set 20-feet apart and he even designated specific trees for each street--palms for Martin Avenue, cork oak for Sequoia, California black walnuts for Yosemite, chestnuts for Sierra, sycamores for Shasta and Mariposa and black locusts for Hanchett and Tillman.

Today, the area is known as Shasta-Hanchett Park, and many of these original trees are on San Jose's Heritage Tree list.

This past fall, in conjunction with the Shasta-Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association's centennial barbecue celebration, Cassandra Ravenscroft volunteered to put together a self-guided walking tour.

Ravenscroft bought her home on Tillman Avenue, which Hanchett originally spelled as Tillmann, 35 years ago.

"It's my first house, and I probably will never move," she says with a laugh.

In putting together the tour, Ravenscroft says, "I remembered in past years when they had History Days on The Alameda, [neighbors] talked about the houses.

"I was able to get two or three different history tours put together over the last 10 years. I sorted through the information and combined it."

Ravenscroft estimates she spent close to 30 hours on the project, using research Michelle McGurk shared with her.

Joe Bentley, now president of the association, formatted Ravenscroft's work into a brochure and printed it.

Once Ravenscroft's research was done, she started driving "to each house to make sure it agreed with what I'd written."

The double-checking paid off when she found "one home was a real dive, so I took it off."

She was pleased to find that most homes have been beautifully kept.

Ravenscroft also enjoyed learning about the different architectural styles of the neighborhood.

The four dominant ones in Hanchett Park are:

Craftsman or bungalow styles, which are usually marked with wide, overhanging eaves, columned front porches, fireplaces, combinations of wood and stucco or natural rocks and stones.

Colonial revivals have miniature temple fronts, windows in bands across the front or sides, French doors and classical details.

Spanish eclectic, or mission styles, have tile roofs, stucco exteriors often with stucco relief work, spiral columns, arched or one large feature window, simple interiors with tile accents and sometimes art glass and occasionally Moorish towers or domes.

Prairie architecture reflects the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, who used low-pitch or flat roofs with overhanging eaves, rows of casement windows, massive rectangular piers of masonry with broad, flat chimneys, decorative friezes or door surrounds and built-in furnishings. Almost all the houses in Hanchett Park of this style are the work of Frank Delos Wolfe, an under-recognized, influential San Jose architect.

In planning her walking tour, Ravenscroft says she didn't have a definite route in mind.

"I've never been one for following one, two, three," she says.

Thus, the map that was done for the walking tour does have numbers, but only to correlate to specific addresses or groups of homes.

"You may decide you want to walk in a different way," Ravenscroft says.

The homes are all within easy walking distance of one another and on just six streets.

The walking tour

No. 1: 1167 & 1177 Hanchett. Two early examples of Craftsman bungalows.

No. 2: 1130 Hanchett. A colonial revival-influenced home built in 1921 for Frank Marten. The garage/coachman's house behind it was built earlier as part of the Marten family compound.

1150 & 1168 Hanchett. Typical Colonial Revival bungalows that can be seen throughout the neighborhood.

No. 5: 1235 Hanchett. A Tudor-style bungalow.

1257 & 1265 Hanchett. Two classic craftsman bungalows

1294 Hanchett. With paired gables and symmetrical design, this house appears to mirror itself.

No. 7: 1305 Martin (at Tillman). Architect Charles McKenzie designed this home for Edwin R. and Nina Croft. It was built in 1911. A classic Arts & Crafts home, it features deep porches that serve as outdoor living rooms and traditional accents such as river rock on the porch pillars and stucco and wood finish.

No. 8: 1288 Martin. The only Tudor home on the block, it was built around 1922. This Tudor has a steep, pitched gable roof, arched entry door and casement windows.

No. 9: 1257 Martin. Built in 1910 for Emory G. Singletary of Singletary Brothers, Stocks, Bonds & Loans. Singletary Avenue is named for this family, and the Singletary Mansion on the corner of The Alameda and Singletary remains, used today as offices. Another Singletary had a home built in the first block of Martin Ave., but it was demolished for a parking lot.

1249 Martin. Built in 1910 for William H. Gavin, this home has a highly stylized off-center dormer, classic entryway and columns typical of Craftsman style.

1241 Martin. Built in 1910 for M.S. Gibson by Lynn Wolfe, son of Frank Delos Wolfe.

1233 Martin. Built between 1911 and 1912 for Margaret Roberts, a widow.

1225 Martin. Built in 1910 for C.W. Dore, a downtown pharmacist and drugstore owner, this is one of the homes designed by Wolfe and McKenzie.

No. 10: 1232 Martin. Built in 1913. Residence of J.F. Marten, the son in A.H. Marten & Son, Flour, Feed & Grain. The father lived on The Alameda.

No. 11: 225 Sequoia. Built around 1924, this Spanish eclectic house was also designed by Andrew P. Hill Jr. and is an impressive example of his work. Note the thick-walled adobe-like feeling of the home's construction, the arched detail above windows and some matching arched windows, and the tile accents. The tiles are believed to be the product of S & S--or Solon tiles. The premier tile maker in San Jose at the time, its tiles can be seen on Westminster Church, Old Hoover School, the fountain in the Rose Garden and at the Rosicrucian Museum.

No. 12: 295 Sequoia. Built around 1918, this home is Italian Renaissance in style.

No. 13: 1166 Martin. This home was featured in the original Hanchett Park advertisement booklet. It was designed by Wolfe and McKenzie and built around 1906, possibly for Lewis Hanchett's mother. It is unique in that it has the stone fireplace on the front of the home.

No. 15: 158 Tillman (at Sierra). This home was also featured in the Hanchett Park advertising booklet. It was built in 1906 for the McGeogehan family and was designed by Wolfe and McKenzie.

No. 16: 1249 Sierra. This home is believed to have been the residence of Charlie Bigley for about four years. It's classic in its Craftsman style and unique with its double porches. However, for Bigley it was a stop along the way to a mansion on The Alameda where he hosted huge political barbecues and furthered his influence until his death in 1946.

Bigley started out as a poor young man at the turn of the century, delivering a bakery route and dispensing favors. He got to know the working poor, and he knew how to hustle. He opened a cigar store near the SP Depot on Bassett, started a taxi company that evolved into an ambulance firm and opened his Bigley's Garage on S. Market Street, near the old city hall.

Bigley was the man to see in San Jose if you needed a favor, or during the Great Depression if you needed a job. The late historian Harry Farrell says Bigley took over city hall by the rule of "select and elect." He bestowed favors on many and became a father figure to thousands who dutifully voted his slate. For years, he controlled four of the seven seats on the council, and the Bigley men met at the garage before each council meeting to settle their business. His patronage was legendary. Longtime San Jose Police Chief Ray Blackmore was hired in 1929 because Bigley thought he was a hot prospect for the department's ball team.

No. 17: 1299 Yosemite. A classic Prairie style in the manner of Frank Lloyd Wright, this home was built in 1914, possibly for G.P. Nelson, a well driller.

No. 18: 1315, 1323, and 1331 Yosemite. Classic Hanchett Park Craftsman bungalows. The home at 1323 was featured in a 1994 TV movie that starred Kirk Douglas and Craig T. Nelson.