Once merely a stage stop between San Jose and San Francisco, Mountain View now takes pride in being a central player in Silicon Valley. What began with Fairchild Camera and Instrument has expanded to include companies like Synopsys, Actel Corporation and LinkedIn, all of which have their headquarters here. No wonder this is the home of the Computer History Museum. It’s also where anyone can take advantage of free citywide WiFi service, courtesy of Internet search king Google, which also calls Mountain View home.
The city’s past blends easily with its forward-leaning vision. Its most recognizable landmark is the Hangar One airship hangar at Moffett Field, built during the Depression and now towering over the NASA Ames Research Center.
Castro Street, the downtown dining and shopping hub, radiates a traditional, small-town charm, and includes pretty Pioneer Park plus the Center for the Performing Arts. Every Sunday, the parking lot at the Caltrain/VTA light rail station welcomes a popular farmers market.
For even more to do there’s the 22,000-capacity Shoreline Amphitheatre, host to some of the biggest concert tours, while the nearby Century Cinemas 16 cineplex offers first-run releases. Just down the street is Shoreline Park, situated on 700 acres of former landfill and a quiet haven for waterfowl and shorebirds. Visitors also enjoy a network of running/bike trails, a saltwater lake and golf course.
Not surprisingly, Mountain View residents are well-educated: More than half the population older than 25 holds four-year college degrees, of which 25 percent have gone on to earn postgraduate degrees.
Population: 71,153
Estimated median household income: $82,904
Average household size: 2.25
Median age: 36.9
College graduates: 55.3 percent
Parks: 32
