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Stanford Research Park

The technology park on Stanford land along Page Mill Road, begun in 1951 as the world’s first university research park.

Short of money after the war, Stanford leased land to companies instead of selling it. The Stanford Industrial Park was authorized in 1951, Varian Associates moved in as the first tenant in 1953, and Hewlett-Packard set up its headquarters there by 1956.

Renamed Stanford Research Park in the 1970s, it covers about 700 acres in Palo Alto and has been home to Xerox PARC, NeXT and Facebook among many others.

Sources

Questions people ask

Is Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto?

Yes. It lies on Stanford land within the city of Palo Alto, around Page Mill Road.

Related terms

  • Frederick TermanThe Stanford engineering professor and later provost who encouraged students such as Hewlett and Packard to found companies near Palo Alto, and who championed Stanford Research Park.
  • Xerox PARCThe Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, opened in 1970, where laser printing, Ethernet and the modern graphical user interface were developed.
  • HP GarageThe garage at 367 Addison Avenue where Bill Hewlett and David Packard started Hewlett-Packard in 1938, called the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley”.

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