| The Palo Alto History Project |
| Town & Country Village Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real |
| Beginning Again at Town & Country Village Throughout its long history, Town & Country Village --- the outdoor shopping center at Embarcadero and El Camino Real --- has gone from cutting edge to old-fashioned to cutting edge once again. And not just because the shopping center is currently being renovated and getting a few new palm trees at its entrances. Time and trends have come back around to Town & Country Village. With indoor malls now on the decline, T & C finds itself once again positioned at the forefront of what the modern shopper desires --- much as it was at its premiere more than fifty years ago. In the early years of its existence, Town & Country Village was riding the crest of the shopping center wave around the country. As city-dwellers flocked to the suburbs on newly built highways in newly bought station wagons, Main Street USA suffered. Now it was the Shopping Center --- full of empty parking spots and conveniently located at major intersections --- that became the place to shop. But by the 1970s, these outdoor collections of shops had also become dated, as America began its fascination with The Mall. Consisting of sprawling boxes surrounded by acres of parking spaces, the indoor mall came complete with climate-controlled air conditioning, indoor fish ponds, neon food courts and a seemingly endless supply of Cinnabons and Foot Lockers. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, indoor malls boomed, growing larger and larger with apparently no end in sight. But the indoor mall finally plateaued and since the late 1990s, has actually been in steady decline. In fact, in 2005, only five indoor malls were built in the whole country and just one in 2006. Additionally, scores of malls around the country have actually been “demalled,” in recent years --- that is, turned into open-air shopping centers. Consumers seem to have tired of mall culture. The time-consuming maze of multi-levels makes it a challenge for the on-the-move shopper to find what he or she wants. Long walks to and from the car, battles for parking, and ever-present teenage “mallrats” seem to have all played a part in the mall’s fall from grace. There is also evidence that the small boutique shop is back in vogue. Consumers have grown weary of the endless merry-go-round of JC Penny’s and Macy’s stores --- the so-called McDonaldization of the mainstream mall. Increasingly, shoppers are looking for the offbeat, unique, and independent alternatives that smaller shopping centers offer. So developers have begun fashioning new style shopping centers --- often outdoors, featuring lots of trees, more traditional signage and smaller boutique stores --- ironically, nearly the definition of what Town & Country Village has been for more than five decades. Town & Country Village replaced the oldest house in Palo Alto when it was torn down in 1952. The property bordered by El Camino Real, Embarcadero Road, Encina Avenue, and the railroad tracks, was once the home to early local leader John Greer. By the early 1950s, the 90 year old house still stood on the eastern side, but the property was also frequently used for Barnum & Bailey circuses as well as containing the Johnny Richter Gas Station and the Indian Drive-in Restaurant. In 1952, however, the 14 acres of property were cleared by developer Ronald Williams to build the state-of-the-art Town & Country Shopping Center. When the $5 million center opened in late 1953, it contained some 65 stores, set in a ranch style “village” among the 70 or so oak trees that remained from their days overlooking the Greer’s backyard. The 100,000 square feet of shopping space included such establishments as Stickney’s Hick’ry House, the Mod- Art Yarn Shop, Village Sudsette, and A.E. Cramer’s Toy Box --- all set among 1,200 parking spaces. As is still the case, a woodsy environment pervaded the shopping center, as fir and redwood timbers were used to form a covered walkway extending the length of each of the center’s five buildings. The roof beams and supporting frameworks were built of weather-worn timbers retrieved from railroad trestles in Northern California. Throughout the years, small stores came and went, attractions such as the Playtown Amusement Park disappeared and a few chain stores like Longs Drugs and Peet’s Coffee & Tea needled their way in among the independents. Stickney’s long run as the center’s popular restaurant finally ended in 1999, but another tradition had already begun with the famed coffee cake at the immensely popular Hobbee’s Restaurant in 1984. Over the years Town & Country has become an established part of the Palo Alto shopping scene, giving shoppers another option along side Stanford Shopping Center and the University Avenue corridor. Now as the newly en vogue center prepares to open after a well-earned facelift, it seems assured that Town & Country will be with us for many years to come. -Matt Bowling |
| From a T&C ad |
| A postcard of Town & Country in its early days |
| Down a corridor near the old Toy Box (PA Times) |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| "The shopping center for the Peninsula" (PA Times) |
| The Greer property was once used to stage circuses (PA Times) |
| The Saturday breakfast crowd waits outside Hobee's |
| A sea of cars outside Town & Country in the early days (PA Times) |
| An old oak tree stands at left in 2007, much as it did in the 1950s. New landscaping and palm trees have been added to the setting, although Town and Country looks a lot like it did in the 1950s. |
| Sources: Palo Alto Times, PAHA, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Daily News |
| circa 1955 |
| 2007 |
| Longs Drugs has never quite looked at home at T & C |
| Workers put up the new palm trees at T&C (PA Weekly) |
| A overhanging roof gives way to an ancient oak tree |
| Scott's Seafood, once Stickney's Restaurant |
| Town & Country founder Ronald Williams (Palo Alto Times) |
| The partially boarded-up Greer House in the late 1940s (PAHA) |
| A line of cars and the Greer House, where Town & Country Village now stands. (PAHA) |
| Links Hobee's Website |
| "I went to high school at the Palo Alto High school in the early 70's and I don't know how it is now, but at the time it was an open campus and we'd go across to Town & Country which was very similar to how it is now. Some of my friends would shoplift, some of the girls. So we would be walking though these stores and my friend Annie would open up her purse and there would be all these different things she'd stolen...They were never caught, it was kind of a different time then and so most of these little stories were run by little old ladies...not so suspicious. And the irony was a lot of these kids were from very well-to-do families. It was a rebellion and that was a very big time. There was an Indie-import store that had kind of hippi things and that's what these girls liked, because we were kind of yippies. They would have tie-dye, scarves, and little bags and these girls would kind of just drop them in their bags. We would also got to Stickney's and get onion rings and milkshakes and be rowdy. I was sad to hear it was closing a few years ago. It was so corny and hip, that's why we liked it. It was really unselfconscious. They'd have some girl named Betty and she'd kind of give us dirty looks because we were all long-haired hippy types. Next to there was an Edie's Ice Cream Store where you would go in and get hot fudge sunday. People weren't so health conscious." -Mal |
| Memories added by our readers: |
| "In the late fifties, Town and Country Village had a permanent ride attraction for the children. Located in the parking lot on the east side along Embarcadero Road near the underpass, a miniature replica of a Standard Oil gas station stood with a sports car ride. In fact, I read somewhere that the ride was built by the same company who created Utopia for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. If someone could find a picture of this, it would be a great addition to your page." -Mike |
| "That little amusement park with the cars was a highlight of our weekly shopping trips. It closed after a kid was run over playing on the miniature railroad tracks. I used to love the horse-drawn wagon ride that took kids around the center while Mom and Dad did the shopping. Who could forget the Cheese House, years ahead of their time with all the European delicacies and yummy sandwiches. There was a Japanese shop that sold tropical fish and ceramics from Japan, what must have been one of the first Williams-Sonoma stores, Treasure Island Stamps and Coins, and that India Imports store where we all bought stinky patchouli oil, incense, and fabrics for hippie chick dresses. Hello Mal, I am one of your high school buddies (not one of the shoplifting ones!) Happy memories..." -T |
| "People may not remember this but there was a major confrontation between riot police (or maybe they were the National Guard?) and college students at the Town and Country shopping center. It must have been the late 60's early 70's and I was about 10 or 11. We were out riding our bikes around and were probably going to Stickney's for a milkshake. When we got to T&C there were hundreds of students on the side next to the T&C businesses and across the parking lot on El Camino were lots of riot police in full swat gear. The cops and students were standing there eyeing each other with the students yelling things at the cops. The tension was really high. Right then my friend dared me to ride down the no man's land separating the students from the cops. Never one to refuse a dare I circled around, got up some speed and raced down the middle right between the two sides as fast as I could go. My friends not wanting to be called chicken followed right after me. I remember the incredulous looks on the faces of the students and cops as we raced through! Once through we kept on going fearing that someone from either side might chase us down. I never found out if the situation ever degenerated into a riot." -Kevin |
| " Does anyone remember the name of the grocery store at T & C Village? I believe it closed around 2000." -Sharon |