Torn Between Two Bays: Los Gatos
Los Gatos, with its home-town ambiance and lush terrain, has likened comparisons to such neighboring cities as Berkeley or Monterey. The Monterey Bay, though not as glamorous as the San Francisco Bay, has slowly shaped itself into something like a new Silicon Valley. Los Gatos, straddling both Bays, has become the center for a new, emerging media industry.
For readers unfamiliar with the Spanish language, Los Gatos translates to “The Cats.” More n that later. Los Gatos and the northern Monterey Bay area have come to host a number of new media companies, including the video rental giant, Netflix. To be sure, the mega-corporation that sends you your flicks is located in the quaint, not necessarily small, town of Los Gatos.
Artists, athletes, and entrepreneurs, including Aaron Eckhart, Marshall Merritt, Peggy Fleming, Steve Wozniak, and Jeremy Roenick, have come to call this cozy town home. This is testament to the small-town appeal and big-town feel of Los Gatos. It is a town that blends the cafe experience of San Francisco with the polish of San Jose. And should traipsing through the better-known parts of the Bay Area sound appealing, the BART train station is located in Campbell just a few minutes to the north.
Founded in the mid-1850s along Los Gatos Creek, in the shadow of the Sierra Azules Mountains, the Spanish land grant was originally entitled “Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos” which roughly translates to “The Corner of the Cats” named after the concentrated presence of mountain lions in the region. By 1887, the town was officially incorporated and became a fixture in the region’s logging industry.
When visiting the Monterey Bay area, most travelers neglect this welcoming gem of a town. Most settle for unsatisfying stays in Monterey, San Jose or San Francisco. The alternative is finding a well-appointed hotel in picturesque Los Gatos. The city the mountain lions founded is poised to become the next center pulse pint of Silicon Valley.
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