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Glossary · Places

California Avenue

Palo Alto’s second downtown street, once Lincoln Street in the town of Mayfield, with its own Caltrain station and a Sunday farmers’ market.

When the towns merged in 1925, Mayfield’s main cross street was renamed California Avenue because Palo Alto already had a Lincoln Avenue. Mayfield’s other cross streets were named for Civil War figures such as Sherman, Grant and Sheridan.

The California Avenue Caltrain station stands on the site of the Mayfield station, where trains from San Francisco arrived in October 1863. A farmers’ market fills the street every Sunday.

Sources

Questions people ask

Why does Palo Alto have two downtowns?

Because it annexed the town of Mayfield in 1925; University Avenue was Palo Alto’s main street and California Avenue was Mayfield’s.

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