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Leland Manor / Garland, Palo Alto Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Three pre- and postwar pockets between Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway: 1930s Embarcadero Oaks, big-lot Leland Manor and curving Garland Drive, plus the Triple El Eichlers.
Leland Manor / Garland by the numbers
leland manor / garland by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Leland Manor / Garland: Embarcadero Rd to Oregon Expwy, Middlefield Rd to Greer Rd (city neighborhood outline). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in leland manor / garland · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Leland Manor / Garland
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Leland Manor / Garland 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 (Leland Manor / Garland: Embarcadero Rd to Oregon Expwy, Middlefield Rd to Greer Rd (city neighborhood outline)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Leland Manor / Garland came to be
The city's neighborhood map calls this area Leland Manor/Garland, but it is really three small neighborhoods stacked north to south, with an Eichler tract tucked into the east end. Palo Alto Online's profiles describe the stack: Embarcadero Oaks in the triangle formed by Embarcadero Road, Seale Avenue and Middlefield Road; Leland Manor between Seale and North California avenues from Middlefield to Louis Road, cut in half by Newell Road; and Garland Drive between North California and Oregon Expressway.
Embarcadero Oaks came first. The land was hay fields until building started in the 1930s, and houses went up in styles from Tudor Revival to Monterey Colonial, some designed by Palo Alto architect Birge Clark. Fulton Street has been Palo Alto's Christmas Tree Lane since 1940; residents who move onto the block inherit lights and decorations from the previous owners.
Leland Manor's builders put its electric and telephone lines underground; Palo Alto Online's 2007 profile says the ads of the day called it "an entirely new principle in electric and telephone connections." City parcel records date most of its houses to the late 1940s and early 1950s. The same profile reports that one Newell Road house served as a model home for the 1939 San Francisco exposition and drew more than 25,000 visitors. Garland Drive filled in with ranch houses at about the same time, and in 1955 Joseph Eichler built the 68-home Triple El tract east of Louis Road.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Embarcadero Oaks is about 146 houses on Fulton, Guinda, Mark Twain and Bret Harte streets, Tennyson Avenue and the ends of Newell Road and Seale Avenue. Most date from the 1930s and 1940s, on lots around 7,000 square feet, under a canopy of large oaks.
Leland Manor, about 195 houses, wraps around the circle formed by Northampton and Southampton drives, with Barbara Drive, East and West Greenwich places, Portal Place and Seale Avenue. It has the biggest lots in the area, typically 9,000 to 10,000 square feet, and was built as California ranch houses. City parcel records show about one in five rebuilt since 2000.
Garland Drive curves through the south end in a flat part of town, lined with magnolia trees and with four cul-de-sacs along it. Its houses were built as ranch houses of about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet on 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot lots, and many owners have since added second stories. The city rebuilt the street and replaced its water and gas mains in 2013. With Oregon Avenue (the expressway frontage road) and the north end of Ross Road, the Garland pocket has about 150 houses. East of Louis Road are the Triple El Eichlers, Blair Court (1955), and houses on Morton Street, Morton Way, Bellview Drive and the east end of North California Avenue.
streets in leland manor / garland
- Middlefield Road
- Embarcadero Road
- Seale Avenue
- Newell Road
- Louis Road
- North California Avenue
- Northampton Drive
- Southampton Drive
- Barbara Drive
- Garland Drive
- Fulton Street
- Guinda Street
- Mark Twain Street
- Bret Harte Street
- Morton Street
- Blair Court
- Elsinore Drive
- Greer Road
- Oregon Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Leland Manor / Garland
- park
Rinconada Park
Across Embarcadero Road at 777 Embarcadero: 19 acres with the city's swimming pool, tennis courts, playgrounds and walking paths. Established in 1922, it is Palo Alto's second-oldest park.
- landmark
Lucie Stern Community Center
On the north side of Rinconada Park: a Spanish Mediterranean-style complex designed by Birge Clark and built in 1934, home to a community theater and a children's theater. The Junior Museum and Zoo is next door.
- landmark
Rinconada Library and Palo Alto Art Center
At Newell and Embarcadero roads, across Embarcadero. The library dates to 1958 (Edward Durell Stone) and reopened after an expansion in 2015.
- landmark
Christmas Tree Lane
Fulton Street in Embarcadero Oaks has been lit up each December since 1940, according to Palo Alto Online, and thousands of visitors walk the block.
- shopping
Midtown Shopping Center
The Middlefield Road and Colorado Avenue shops, about 0.4 mile south of Garland Drive across Oregon Expressway. The center's first store opened in 1956.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Leland Manor / Garland is served by the Palo Alto Unified School District. Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle School is inside the area at 750 North California Avenue, and the district-owned former Garland Elementary campus is at 870 North California Avenue. Walter Hays Elementary is just across Embarcadero Road at 1525 Middlefield Road. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with PAUSD's school locator.
Getting around
- California Avenue Caltrain station is about 0.7 mile from Middlefield and Oregon Expressway and about 0.8 mile from the middle of the area (straight line); Palo Alto (University Avenue) station is about 1.6 miles northwest.
- VTA Route 21 runs on Middlefield Road along the west edge, with a timepoint at Middlefield and Embarcadero.
- Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway both reach US 101, about 1 to 1.2 miles east of Middlefield; westbound they lead to Alma Street and El Camino Real.
- The Bryant Street bike boulevard is about half a mile west of Middlefield; city road data marks North California Avenue as a bike route through the area.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Leland Manor / Garland: what we check
Buying here
- Check the zoning on the specific lot. Most of the area is R-1, where a new two-story house or second-story addition goes through the city's Individual Review; Triple El is R-1(S), single-story only.
- Flood zones vary by side of Louis Road. City parcel records show no special flood hazard mapping west of Louis, but about 89 parcels east of Louis (Triple El, Blair Court and nearby) are fully or partly in FEMA zones AE or AH. Confirm the zone for the address and get an insurance quote.
- Many houses are from the 1930s and 1940s. Budget for foundation, electrical panel, sewer lateral and plumbing checks, and pull the permit history on past additions.
- Big oaks are part of the deal in Embarcadero Oaks and Leland Manor. Check Palo Alto's protected-tree rules before planning an addition, pool or rebuild near a large tree.
- Edges matter: visit at commute and school hours if the house is on or near Middlefield Road, Embarcadero Road, Oregon Expressway, Louis Road or the Greene Middle School campus.
Selling here
- Name the micro-neighborhood (Embarcadero Oaks, Leland Manor or Garland Drive) and what makes it specific: 1930s architecture, 9,000 to 10,000 square foot lots and underground utilities, or the Garland Drive cul-de-sacs.
- Have permits ready for additions and second stories; buyers here compare against the many rebuilt houses nearby.
- East of Louis Road, have the flood zone determination and any elevation certificate ready on day one.
- Walking distances sell: Rinconada Park, the pool, the libraries and the Junior Museum and Zoo are a few minutes away across Embarcadero Road.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Leland Manor / Garland questions, answered
What is the difference between Leland Manor, Garland and Embarcadero Oaks?
They are three small neighborhoods stacked north to south between Embarcadero Road and Oregon Expressway. Embarcadero Oaks is the 1930s triangle at Embarcadero, Seale and Middlefield; Leland Manor is the big-lot area between Seale and North California avenues; Garland Drive runs between North California and Oregon Expressway. The city's map groups them, with Triple El, as Leland Manor/Garland.
What are the boundaries of Leland Manor / Garland?
On the city's neighborhood map: Embarcadero Road on the north, Oregon Expressway on the south, Middlefield Road on the west and Greer Road on the east. Some older profiles use Louis Road as the east edge.
Is Triple El part of Leland Manor / Garland?
On the city's map, yes; it is the Eichler tract on Elsinore Drive, Elsinore Court and El Cajon Way east of Louis Road. It has its own neighborhood group and its own guide, and it is the only part of this area zoned single-story.
Can I build a second story here?
In most of the area, yes, through Palo Alto's Individual Review process for new two-story homes and second-story additions; many houses here have been rebuilt or expanded. Triple El's R-1(S) zoning limits houses there to one story.
Is the area in a flood zone?
Mostly not. City parcel records show the special flood hazard mapping only east of Louis Road, near Triple El and Blair Court. Check the FEMA map for the exact address.
Which schools serve the area?
The Palo Alto Unified School District. Greene Middle School is inside the area on North California Avenue. Confirm assignments with PAUSD's school locator, since boundaries change.
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