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palo alto neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Duveneck / St. Francis, Palo Alto Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Postwar Palo Alto between San Francisquito Creek, Newell Road and US 101: about 1,250 mostly single-story houses, the 1950 Green Gables Eichlers and Edgewood Plaza.
Duveneck / St. Francis by the numbers
duveneck / st. francis by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Duveneck / St. Francis: Newell Rd to US 101, San Francisquito Creek to Embarcadero Rd (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in duveneck / st. francis · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Duveneck / St. Francis
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Duveneck / St. Francis 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 (Duveneck / St. Francis: Newell Rd to US 101, San Francisquito Creek to Embarcadero Rd (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Duveneck / St. Francis came to be
Duveneck / St. Francis is the rhombus of postwar houses between San Francisquito Creek, Oregon Expressway, Greer Road, Embarcadero Road and Newell Road, as Palo Alto Online describes it. Duveneck Elementary School sits near the middle on Alester Avenue; it is named for Frank and Josephine Duveneck, the couple behind Hidden Villa. St. Francis Drive runs through the southeast corner, east of Greer Road. City parcel records date more than 1,000 of its roughly 1,250 houses to the 1940s and 1950s.
The tract with the longest paper trail is Green Gables, built by Joseph Eichler in 1950 on Channing Avenue, Greer Road, Ivy Lane and Wildwood Lane. The Eichler Network says these were among the first Eichlers designed by real architects, Anshen & Allen, and that Architectural Forum named them and other early Eichler tracts "subdivision of the year" in December 1950. The original 63 houses had three bedrooms, one bath and about 1,100 square feet, with no atrium. In 2005 Green Gables and Greenmeadow became the first two Eichler tracts on the National Register of Historic Places; city parcel records tag 64 lots as part of the Green Gables district.
The creek is the other big part of the story. In February 1998 San Francisquito Creek had its worst flood on record, and Palo Alto Online's accounts describe water covering Channing Avenue and filling crawl spaces near Heather Lane. The regional creek authority finished its first downstream project near US 101 in 2019, and on May 21, 2026 work began on replacing the undersized 1911 Newell Road bridge, expected to finish in spring 2027. Choices about floodwalls and channel widening upstream, between Newell Road and the Pope-Chaucer bridge, are due in fall 2026.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
West of Greer Road, the streets come in tract-sized groups. The Walter Hays Drive loop with Lois Lane, Walnut Drive, Stanley Way, Erstwild Court and Jordan Place holds about 200 houses from 1950 to 1954. Iris Way, Tulip Lane and Primrose Way, between Channing and Embarcadero, are mostly 1940s. De Soto Drive, near Duveneck School, is about 43 houses from the early 1950s and carries Palo Alto's single-story overlay, R-1(S), along with seven lots each on Channing and Alester avenues.
North of Channing, Hamilton and Dana avenues, Rhodes, Jackson and Jefferson drives, Madison Way, Patricia Lane and Hilbar Lane run toward the creek, mostly built from 1945 to 1954. Edgewood Drive, with about 110 houses from the 1950s, curves along the creek side of the neighborhood to West Bayshore Road; part of it and a few nearby lots are zoned R-1(10000). Green Gables' Eichlers sit on Wildwood and Ivy lanes, Channing Avenue and Greer Road, with more 1955-59 houses on Sandalwood Court. East of Greer, St. Francis Drive, Santa Ana and Santa Catalina streets, Carmel Drive and Sierra Court fill the wedge between Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway.
Most lots run 6,000 to 7,900 square feet. Only about one house in ten has been rebuilt since 2000, a lower share than in Community Center or Leland Manor / Garland, so most streets are still lined with single-story 1950s houses. Remodels have to work with the flood map, since about three-quarters of the parcels are in a FEMA special flood hazard area.
streets in duveneck / st. francis
- Newell Road
- Channing Avenue
- Embarcadero Road
- Greer Road
- Edgewood Drive
- Walter Hays Drive
- Hamilton Avenue
- De Soto Drive
- Alester Avenue
- Iris Way
- Primrose Way
- Wildwood Lane
- Ivy Lane
- Saint Francis Drive
- Santa Ana Street
- Rhodes Drive
- Dana Avenue
- Jackson Drive
- Heather Lane
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Duveneck / St. Francis
- school
Duveneck Elementary School
At 705 Alester Avenue, on a 5.8-acre campus in the middle of the neighborhood (city parcel records).
- landmark
Rinconada Library and Palo Alto Art Center
At Newell and Embarcadero roads in the southwest corner. The library opened in 1958, designed by Edward Durell Stone as part of the city's civic center with the building that is now the Art Center, and reopened after an expansion in 2015.
- shopping
Edgewood Plaza
Eichler-developed shopping center at Embarcadero and West Bayshore roads. After its grocery closed in 2006, Sand Hill Property Company redeveloped it under a planned-community zone that allowed 10 houses in exchange for keeping a grocery store. The city fined the developer $94,200 for demolishing one of the two historic Eichler buildings in 2013.
- park
Eleanor Pardee Park
Just across Newell Road at 851 Center Drive: about 9.6 acres, half lawns, playgrounds and picnic areas, half community gardens.
- park
Rinconada Park
Across Newell and Embarcadero at 777 Embarcadero Road: 19 acres with the city's swimming pool, tennis courts and playgrounds, next to the Junior Museum and Zoo.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Duveneck / St. Francis is served by the Palo Alto Unified School District. Duveneck Elementary School is inside the neighborhood at 705 Alester Avenue. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with PAUSD's school locator before you rely on any assignment.
Getting around
- US 101 is right at the east edge, with interchanges at Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway.
- Palo Alto (University Avenue) Caltrain is about 1.9 miles west and California Avenue Caltrain about 1.5 miles southwest (straight-line distances from the middle of the neighborhood).
- VTA Route 21 runs on Middlefield Road, about three-quarters of a mile west, with a timepoint at Middlefield and Embarcadero.
- Downtown University Avenue is about 1.4 miles west. East Palo Alto is across the creek via the Newell Road bridge, which is being replaced through spring 2027, so expect construction there.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Duveneck / St. Francis: what we check
Buying here
- Start with the flood map. City parcel records put about 935 of roughly 1,260 parcels in FEMA zones A, AH or AE. Get the zone and base flood elevation for the address, any elevation certificate, and a flood insurance quote early; lenders may require coverage.
- In a special flood hazard area, new houses and substantial remodels must meet flood elevation rules, and Palo Alto's zoning bars basements there. Ask about crawl-space drainage and any 1998 flood repairs.
- On De Soto Drive and the overlay lots on Channing and Alester, R-1(S) limits houses to one story and 17 feet (up to 20 in a flood area). In Green Gables, ask the city's planning department about the lot's historic status (contributing or not) before planning exterior changes or a rebuild.
- Most houses are 1945-59 builds. Check foundations, original plumbing and sewer laterals, older electrical panels, and in Eichlers the radiant heat and roof.
- Follow the creek projects: the Newell Road bridge replacement (to spring 2027) and the Reach 2 decisions due in fall 2026 can change flood risk and, later, the flood map.
Selling here
- Give buyers the flood answer up front: zone, base flood elevation, elevation certificate if you have one, and current insurance cost.
- For Green Gables Eichlers, note the 1950 date, the Anshen & Allen design and the National Register listing; buyers who know Eichlers ask for it.
- Pull permit history for additions and any post-1998 repairs, and have a recent crawl-space and drainage inspection.
- Mention the walk to Duveneck School, the libraries and parks, Edgewood Plaza and the quick US 101 access.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Duveneck / St. Francis questions, answered
Where is Duveneck / St. Francis?
In northeast Palo Alto, between San Francisquito Creek and Embarcadero Road from Newell Road to US 101, plus the blocks east of Greer Road down to Oregon Expressway.
What is Green Gables?
Joseph Eichler's 1950 tract on Channing Avenue, Greer Road, Ivy Lane and Wildwood Lane, designed by Anshen & Allen. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places with Greenmeadow, the first two Eichler tracts listed.
Is Duveneck / St. Francis in a flood zone?
Much of it is. City parcel records show about three-quarters of parcels in FEMA zones A, AH or AE because of San Francisquito Creek, which flooded the area in February 1998. Check the current map for the exact address.
Can I build a second story here?
On most lots, yes, through the city's Individual Review for two-story homes, within flood-zone height and elevation rules. De Soto Drive and a few lots on Channing and Alester avenues are in a single-story overlay.
What is being done about the creek?
The creek authority finished a downstream project near US 101 in 2019. Replacement of the 1911 Newell Road bridge began May 21, 2026, with completion expected in spring 2027, and choices for floodwalls and channel widening upstream are due in fall 2026.
Which school is in the neighborhood?
Duveneck Elementary School, at 705 Alester Avenue. All addresses are in the Palo Alto Unified School District; confirm assignments with the district's school locator.
next door
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