St. Claire Gardens, Palo Alto
The tiny town that time forgot

by Kelly Griego

Traversing the streets of St. Claire Gardens can be virtual time travel -- a sentiment echoed by several of this Palo Alto neighborhood's residents. Alexis Hamilton, a three-year resident of St. Claire Gardens, said that some call this quaint area the "tiny town that time forgot."

Explore the (few) streets of St. Claire Gardens, and you have to agree. Children frolic on the streets without a care. Neighbors are not only friendly, but they are friends. And the exteriors of all the homes have essentially remained intact, staying true to the original design that was developed in the 1950s.

The nearest major crossroads of this tiny neighborhood are Middlefield Road and Alma Street to the east and west, and Loma Verde Avenue and Meadow Drive to the north and south. However, St. Claire Gardens is in fact significantly smaller and much more intimate. The neighborhood includes the 83 homes aligning St. Claire Drive, the adjacent horseshoe-shaped street called St. Michael Drive, and an off-shooting cul-de-sac, St. Michael Court.

At the time of St. Claire Gardens' development in the early 1950s, Palo Alto was undergoing a massive population boom. While earning its reputation as a "bedroom town" for commuters, post World War II Palo Alto was a burgeoning industrial and business hub itself. After the war, approximately five to 10 families were pouring into the area daily. The ensuing housing shortage spurred the construction of several subdivisions on previously undeveloped terrains.

The land on which St. Claire Gardens now sits was an orchard and farmland owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. When troops of developers came in to alleviate the housing crunch, this specific development gained a reputation as a largely Catholic area. Our Lady the Rosary, a Catholic church on Cowper Street, just houses away from St. Claire Drive, propagated the Catholic legacy that defined St. Claire Gardens in its early years. In fact, a house still standing on the corner of St. Claire Drive and St. Michael Drive served as a Catholic rectory, housing the five nuns that taught at Our Lady the Rosary's affiliate school. Titled for its barn-like appearance, the house was and is endearingly called "the Barn."

Ninety percent Catholic at its inception, the neighborhood was nicknamed "Vatican Row." And the houses were built accordingly. To accommodate the large Catholic families, most of the homes in St. Claire Gardens have three to six bedrooms and are two-story - both uncommon for a typical 1950s home. It was one of the last Palo Atlo subdivisions built entirely from redwoods. Attracting residents to fill the homes in this new neighborhood was not a challenge. Where the average value of a St. Claire Gardens home today is $900,000, in the 1950s the homes were considered tremendously affordable and especially reasonable for their size.

Ann Deggelmen was born and raised in a St. Claire Gardens home that her parents bought in 1957. After living in downtown Palo Alto for eight years, Deggelman moved back to her childhood home with a family of her own. She has observed that little has changed in the neighborhood since her youth.
Although new families continue to move to the neighborhood, Deggelman's situation of returning is common. "People have a tendency to stay and a tendency to come back," she said. "So many areas of Palo Alto have changed over the decades, but this neighborhood just hasn't changed much. The values haven't changed a lot, and it feels more old-fashioned. It's been nice to see the homes turn over to younger families again in the last couple of years. It's just like it was when I was growing up."
However, Deggelman notes one change, "It's now a very diverse neighborhood. Most of us have a spiritual connection, but we're from all different denominations."

"It's a little off the beaten path. People don't really know it's here," Hamilton said, commenting on why so little has changed in St. Claire Gardens over the years. She considers this neighborhood a bit of a Palo Alto and Silicon Valley anomaly. "Nobody in the neighborhood seems to work in the high-tech industry. We have a unique collection of professions."

Additionally, this small plot of land seems to have somewhat of an athletic legacy. The neighborhood boasts three local football legends that, at some point, were St. Claire Gardens residents: Jack "Chris" Christiansen, former coach of the 49ers and Stanford football team; Pete Whisman, former player for the 49ers; and Leo "the Lion" Nomellini, former 49ers player and in the football Hall of Fame. Not surprisingly, Nomellini's son Drew, who grew up in the neighborhood, recently moved back into his father's previous house.

They just can't seem to stay away. Cheryl Nafzgar, current resident of "the Barn," said "This is a very supportive neighborhood." As a resident since 1977, she knows several of the original homeowners (the "old-timers," as she called them) and has befriended myriad "newcomers." She has also seen families move away, and said whenever they return, if even for a weekend, welcome-back parties are common. This warmth, according to Nafzgar, is one of the area's most special qualities.

"Once a member, always a member," she said.

In addition to festivities for returning neighbors, St. Claire has created numerous traditions. Twenty-seven-year resident Marilyn Nagy remembers the former annual Fourth of July party held in the cul-de-sac of St. Michael Court. "People would bring pot-luck, and the kids would decorate their bikes in red, white and blue and race around the horseshoe."

Although that tradition has been lost with time, a New Year's party - for parents and children - has become a new custom for the families of St. Claire Gardens. Responsibilities are delegated amongst community members, and the hosting house rotates yearly.

Even when the parties are over, the children tend to continue to play. At any given time, Deggelman said that there are eight to 12 kids playing in the street. "There are many stay-at-home moms in the neighborhood, so there's always someone to watch them." Additionally, St. Claire Gardens is not a thoroughfare, so its streets are "very protected and safe with no people cutting through."

Nagy contends that this very quality makes the neighborhood ideal for both raising children and growing old. "I think the main incentive for parents to raise children here is this sense of space and feeling of an enclosed neighborhood away from larger streets," yet "everything is so close. You can walk to the market. Schools are nearby."

"It's very comfortable and quiet," Nagy said, "and I have always felt safe here."

E-mail Kelly Griego at kgriego@paweekly.com