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campbell neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Downtown Campbell Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Campbell's original 1880s town site by the old railroad: an E. Campbell Ave main street, a light-rail stop, and blocks of Victorian cottages, bungalows, condos and new townhomes.
Downtown Campbell by the numbers
downtown campbell by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Downtown Campbell: the 1880s town site around E. Campbell Ave and the light-rail line (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in downtown campbell · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Downtown Campbell
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Downtown Campbell from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Downtown Campbell: the 1880s town site around E. Campbell Ave and the light-rail line (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Downtown Campbell came to be
Downtown is where Campbell started. Benjamin Campbell bought 160 acres here in 1851 and planted hay and grain. The South Pacific Coast narrow-gauge railroad came through his ranch in 1877, a small depot opened at Campbell's Station in 1886, and Benjamin and Mary Campbell laid out a town and began selling residential lots in 1888. The commercial center grew up at Campbell and Central avenues. The Campbells barred saloons, and the town stayed dry until residents voted in June 1933 to repeal prohibition locally.
Fruit built the place. Drying yards, packing houses and canneries lined up by the depot so fresh fruit could go straight onto rail cars, and Campbell became known as the Orchard City. The Fleming brothers' 1887 drying yard became the growers' cooperative, then George E. Hyde's cannery, then a Sunsweet plant that ran until 1971 on the site now called Water Tower Plaza. J.C. Ainsley moved his cannery to Harrison and Campbell avenues in 1892 and shipped much of its fruit to England. The 75,000-gallon steel water tower, about 130 feet tall, went up in 1928 and is still the downtown landmark.
Campbell incorporated in 1952, and downtown faded in the 1960s and 70s as the packing plants closed and shopping moved to strip centers and malls. The city formed a redevelopment area in 1983 and adopted its first downtown plan in 1988. Utilities went underground, a $2.5 million streetscape project redid the landscaping, lighting and paving, E. Campbell Ave went from one-way back to two-way, and a 300-space garage opened. VTA light rail began running on the old railroad corridor on October 1, 2005.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The oldest houses sit on the original town grid around the commercial strip. The city's historic context statement says the 1890s houses went up on S. Second St, N. Third St, N. Central Ave, N. Harrison Ave, Everett Ave, Railway Ave and Gilman Ave; the 1900s added First St, N. Second St, Sunnyside Ave and Rincon Ave; and after 1910 building spread to S. Third and Fourth streets and Alice and Kennedy avenues. Expect Queen Anne cottages from the 1890s, bungalows with Craftsman or Prairie lines, and Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival houses from about 1915 through the 1930s. City parcel data puts the median single-family house here at 1947, with a recorded size of about 1,560 sq ft, and nearly 40 percent of the houses have two or more stories.
Alice Ave is the set piece: the city's Historic Resource Inventory lists 35 historic-district properties on and around it, most built in the 1920s and 1930s. Individual landmarks nearby include the 1928 water tower and pump house, Queen Anne houses on First, Second and Third streets, and the 1895 Farley Building at 365 E. Campbell Ave, the original Bank of Campbell, which the city calls its oldest commercial building. City parcel records flag about 125 inventory properties inside this outline. Exterior work on them goes through the city's Historic Design Guidelines, and designated owners can apply for Mills Act property-tax contracts.
North and east of the old core, the town grid gives way to 1938-46 subdivisions such as Dahl's Addition, the McBain Tract, the Dahl-Rose Tract and the Los Palos units on Page St and Hawthorne Ave, then to condominium tracts: Hamilton Downs, recorded in 1971 with 336 units on N. First, Second and Third streets near Hamilton Ave, and Pruneyard Villas (1978) on Poplar Ave and El Patio Ct. Ainsley Square, recorded in 2000, added about 50 houses on courts such as Biscay, Tapestry and Waterford. Since 2015, townhome tracts have gone in between the light-rail tracks and Highway 17, on streets like Sunsweet Way, Lottie Ln and Robin Ridge Way. Most residential land here is zoned planned development, medium-density residential or R-1-6 single-family.
streets in downtown campbell
- E. Campbell Ave
- Alice Ave
- Sunnyside Ave
- E. Rincon Ave
- Kennedy Ave
- N. First St
- N. Second St
- N. Third St
- S. Third St
- S. Fourth St
- N. Central Ave
- Harrison Ave
- Everett Ave
- Railway Ave
- Gilman Ave
- Orchard City Dr
- Civic Center Dr
- Esther Ave
- Page St
- Poplar Ave
- El Patio Dr
- Salmar Ave
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Downtown Campbell
- shopping
E. Campbell Ave main street
The city's Downtown Development Plan (adopted 2006, amended 2020) reserves ground floors on E. Campbell Ave between Third St and the light-rail tracks for shops, restaurants and other walk-in uses, and caps new buildings at 45 feet.
- market
Campbell Farmers' Market
Every Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round, on E. Campbell Ave between Central Ave and Third St.
- landmark
Ainsley House and Campbell Historical Museum
J.C. Ainsley's 1925 Tudor Revival house was moved here from Hamilton and Bascom avenues in 1990 and opened as a museum in 1994 at 300 Grant St. The historical museum is in the 1951 firehouse at 51 N. Central Ave, which also served as the first city hall.
- park
Orchard City Green and Hyde Park
The green in front of the Ainsley House hosts the city's Thursday-night summer concerts. Hyde Park, a small lawn with swings at the foot of the water tower, was a gift from San Jose Water Company in 1995.
- park
Campbell Park
At Campbell and Gilman avenues: two night-lit basketball courts, play equipment, a water feature, restrooms and a main entrance to the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
- library
Campbell Library
The Santa Clara County Library District's Campbell branch is at 77 Harrison Ave in the civic center.
- transit
Downtown Campbell station
A brick-faced light-rail platform at Railway Ave and Orchard City Dr, close to where the 1886 depot stood.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
City parcel records put nearly all of downtown in the Campbell Union School District (TK-8) and the Campbell Union High School District; a handful of non-residential parcels by Campbell Park and Highway 17 fall in the Cambrian School District. There is no public school campus inside this outline, though the Campbell Union district office is at 155 N. Third St. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district before you count on a particular school.
Campbell Union guide · Campbell Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- VTA light rail: Downtown Campbell station is about 0.2 mile (straight-line) from the middle of this area. Green Line trains run north to San José Diridon station, where Caltrain stops, and on to Old Ironsides in Santa Clara; Winchester station, the end of the line, is one stop south.
- Hamilton station, an elevated light-rail stop over E. Hamilton Ave by Highway 17, serves the north end.
- Highway 17's Hamilton Ave interchange is at the northeast corner; the Highway 17/85 interchange is a little over 2 miles south (straight-line).
- Los Gatos Creek Trail: enter at Campbell Park. The paved trail runs north toward downtown San José (with an on-street link along Willow St) and south past the percolation ponds toward Los Gatos; 4.8 miles of it are in Campbell.
- E. Campbell Ave from Winchester Blvd to the light-rail tracks is about 0.4 mile (straight-line), so most of downtown is a short walk from the main street.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Downtown Campbell: what we check
Buying here
- Check the city's Historic Resource Inventory for the address. Landmarks, Alice Ave district properties and structures of merit need city review for exterior changes, and designated properties may qualify for a Mills Act tax contract.
- Many homes here are condominiums or townhomes in planned-development tracts. Read the HOA budget, reserve study, rules and any special assessments, especially in 1970s and 80s complexes.
- For houses built before 1940, check the foundation, older wiring, the sewer lateral and the permit history of additions. Several downtown houses were moved from other lots, so ask what the house sits on.
- Light rail runs on the old railroad corridor through the middle of downtown. Visit at different times of day and check the distance to the tracks and to Highway 17.
- FEMA's Zone A flood area follows the Los Gatos Creek channel along the east edge; check the flood map for any parcel near the creek.
Selling here
- If your home is on the Historic Resource Inventory, have the designation, any Mills Act contract and past city approvals ready; buyers will ask what they can change.
- Buyers come for the walk to E. Campbell Ave, the Sunday market and light rail. Put real walking distances in the listing.
- For pre-1950 houses, a pre-listing inspection (foundation, electrical, sewer lateral) heads off surprises in escrow.
- Condo and townhome sellers: gather HOA documents, the budget and any assessment notices before you list.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Downtown Campbell questions, answered
Is all of downtown Campbell in the City of Campbell?
Yes. Every parcel inside this outline is in Campbell city limits and the 95008 ZIP. The San José parts of Campbell's ZIP code are elsewhere, mainly west of San Tomas Aquino Creek, near Westmont High and along S. Bascom Ave.
What is the Alice Avenue historic district?
A city-designated district along Alice Ave, between Winchester Blvd and the light-rail tracks south of Rincon Ave. The city's inventory lists 35 historic-district properties on and around it, most built in the 1920s and 1930s, and exterior changes are reviewed under the city's historic preservation rules.
Can I get to Caltrain without a car?
Yes. Take the Green Line from Downtown Campbell station north to San José Diridon station, which is about 3.6 miles away in a straight line.
When is the farmers' market?
Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., all year, on E. Campbell Ave between Central Ave and Third St.
Are there ADUs downtown?
Yes. City parcel records show a few dozen parcels here with an ADU or second unit already. Accessory dwelling units are allowed under state law and the city's ADU rules; historic properties also go through design review.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Downtown Campbell? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
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