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los altos neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Old Los Altos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
An informal name, used mostly in listings, for the streets across Foothill Expressway from downtown: University, Orange, Palm and Lincoln avenues, plus Lincoln Park, Shoup Park and Redwood Grove.
Old Los Altos by the numbers
old los altos by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Old Los Altos: city streets southwest of Foothill Expwy from El Monte Ave to the Los Altos Hills line (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in old los altos · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Old Los Altos
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Old Los Altos 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 (Old Los Altos: city streets southwest of Foothill Expwy from El Monte Ave to the Los Altos Hills line (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Old Los Altos came to be
Old Los Altos is a nickname, not a district; we found no city plan or map that uses it. You'll see it in MLS listings for houses on Orange, Lincoln and University avenues, on real estate portals' neighborhood maps and in local brokerage guides, which describe it as the streets you reach by crossing Foothill Expressway from downtown, off University Avenue. In practice that means city land southwest of Foothill between El Monte Avenue and the Los Altos Hills line. 'Old' is relative. The oldest houses here are about as old as the town itself, and listings show plenty from the 1940s and 1950s too.
The area's history runs through the Shoup family. Paul Shoup, the Southern Pacific executive who founded the town, built his Craftsman and Shingle-style house at 500 University Avenue in 1910; in 2011 it became the first Los Altos property on the National Register of Historic Places. His relatives lived along University Avenue too, and family land became Shoup Park in 1955. Even older is the farmhouse at 762 Edgewood Lane, on a ranch Sarah Winchester bought in 1888; it became a girls' school in 1907.
The green spine came later. Redwood Grove's redwoods aren't native to the site; they were planted roughly a century ago around a 1923 Spanish Revival house, the Halsey House. The city bought the grove in 1974 and in 2010 bought a creekside parcel to link it with Shoup Park. Between Foothill Expressway and West Edith Avenue, Adobe Creek was restored from 2003 to 2009, swapping concrete banks for native plantings to carry floodwater better.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Four long streets run parallel to Foothill Expressway, the old Southern Pacific line: Lincoln Avenue closest to the expressway, then Palm, Orange and University avenues, tied together by short cross streets such as Sherman, Sheridan and Lee streets. An alley runs behind the homes between Orange and University, and one Orange Avenue listing mentions rear alley access to its garage. Adobe Creek winds behind the University Avenue lots through Shoup Park and Redwood Grove. Near Edith Avenue the city keeps a few more streets on this side of Foothill (Middlebury Lane just south of Edith; Cypress Drive, Monterey Place, Warec Way and Old Oak Court just north of it), and toward El Monte you'll find Edgewood Lane, Milverton Road, Starlite Lane and College Court.
Lot sizes jump around. Recent listings show about 6,400 square feet on Lincoln Avenue (a 1952 house), 6,600 on Orange Avenue (1946), 10,500 elsewhere on Orange (1947) and about half an acre on University Avenue next to Lincoln Park (1956). The zoning is R1-10, so many of these lots are below today's 10,000-square-foot minimum for new lots, and the floor-area math is tight: on a 6,600-square-foot lot, the 35 percent rule allows about 2,310 square feet. Lots narrower than 70 feet use a daylight plane that starts 19 feet up at the second-story setback line.
History has rules here. The city's Historic Resources Inventory lists several addresses in these blocks, among them 580, 640, 714 and 718 Orange Avenue, 368, 452 and 500 University Avenue, and 473 Lincoln Avenue. A listed property needs a historic alteration permit, with Historical Commission review, to change its exterior, move or demolish it, and it is excluded from SB 9 lot splits. Houses that aren't listed follow the standard R1-10 rules and design review, so a remodel or a new two-story house sized to the lot is on the table.
streets in old los altos
- University Avenue
- Orange Avenue
- Palm Avenue
- Lincoln Avenue
- Sherman Street
- Sheridan Street
- Lee Street
- University Terrace
- Burke Road
- Edgewood Lane
- Milverton Road
- Starlite Lane
- College Court
- Cypress Drive
- Middlebury Lane
- Old Oak Court
- West Edith Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Old Los Altos
- park
Lincoln Park
A 4.44-acre strip bounded by Foothill Expressway, Lincoln, University and Edith avenues, with a gazebo, a big lawn and public art. The Rotary Club's Fine Art in the Park fills it each August.
- park
Shoup Park
At 400 University Avenue, about 3.95 acres along Adobe Creek with the Garden House, a picnic area and a creekside trail to Redwood Grove. The Shoup family's land became a park in 1955.
- nature
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
At 482 University Avenue, about six acres of planted redwoods, short trails and creek access, owned by the city since 1974. The 1923 Halsey House sits on the grounds; its future has been debated.
- landmark
Paul Shoup House
500 University Avenue, the founder's 1910 Craftsman and Shingle-style house and the first Los Altos listing on the National Register of Historic Places (2011). It is a private home; view it from the street.
- shopping
Downtown Los Altos
Across Foothill Expressway: Main Street meets the expressway right across from Lincoln Park, and Main and State is about half a mile from the middle of Orange Avenue in a straight line.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Los Altos School District (TK-8) and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District serve these streets. No public school campus sits inside this strip. Because the Los Altos Hills town line runs right behind some lots, double-check both the city and the district for any address, and confirm school assignments with LASD's school locator and MVLA's street search; boundaries change.
Los Altos School District guide · Mountain View-Los Altos high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Downtown is a short walk across Foothill Expressway; Main Street, Edith Avenue and San Antonio Road all meet the expressway along this stretch.
- San Antonio Caltrain is about 2.2 to 2.3 miles north and Mountain View Caltrain about 2.6 miles east (straight-line map measurements).
- VTA Route 40 stops on El Monte Avenue at University Avenue on its way between Foothill College and the Mountain View Transit Center.
- I-280 is about 1 to 1.2 miles southwest via El Monte Avenue (straight line).
- Foothill Expressway itself is a popular bike route north toward Palo Alto and Stanford.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Old Los Altos: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm the city. The Los Altos Hills line runs behind Burke Road, Hill Way, Lennox Way and O'Keefe Lane, and some nearby 94022 addresses on Burke Road and West Edith Avenue are in Los Altos Hills, with different zoning and permits.
- Ask the city whether the house is on the Historic Resources Inventory or is a designated landmark before you plan changes. Listing triggers a historic alteration permit for exterior work or demolition and rules out an SB 9 split.
- Do the lot math early. Lots under 11,000 square feet get 35 percent floor area, narrow lots get a different daylight plane, and many lots here are below today's 10,000-square-foot minimum, which rules out a conventional subdivision (SB 9 splits follow their own rules).
- On creekside lots along Adobe Creek, check FEMA flood maps, any creek setbacks or easements, and drainage. On Lincoln Avenue, listen for expressway noise.
- Older houses need older-house inspections: foundation, wiring, sewer lateral, and lead paint disclosure for anything built before 1978. If there's an alley garage, ask who maintains the alley.
Selling here
- Put the house's history on paper: build year, permit record, any inventory or landmark status, and old photos if you have them.
- Show lot dimensions and the floor-area math; buyers here price rebuild potential as well as the house.
- Measure and list the walk to Main Street, Lincoln Park and Shoup Park.
- Order pre-inspections for older systems and spell out alley access or shared maintenance in the disclosures.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Old Los Altos questions, answered
Is Old Los Altos an official neighborhood?
No. The city doesn't use the name. Agents and listing sites use it for the streets across Foothill Expressway from downtown, especially University, Orange, Palm and Lincoln avenues.
Where are its edges?
Roughly Foothill Expressway on the northeast, El Monte Avenue on the southeast and the Los Altos Hills town line on the southwest, running north past Edith Avenue to where the city line meets Foothill near Old Oak Court.
Are the houses really old?
Some are. Paul Shoup's house dates to 1910, but recent listings here also show houses from 1946, 1947, 1952 and 1956, plus newer rebuilds.
Can I tear down a house here?
It depends on the house. If it is on the city's Historic Resources Inventory or is a landmark, demolition and exterior changes need a historic alteration permit with Historical Commission review. Otherwise the usual R1-10 rules and design review apply.
Is it in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills?
The streets in this guide are in the City of Los Altos, but the town line runs right behind some of them and both use 94022. Check the jurisdiction for the specific parcel.
How far is downtown?
Just across the expressway. Main Street meets Foothill opposite Lincoln Park, and Main and State is about half a mile from the middle of Orange Avenue in a straight line.
next door
More Los Altos neighborhood guides
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