Historic Property Research Collection
Finding aid created by Los Gatos Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Los Gatos Library
2021
100 Villa Avenue
Los Gatos, California 95030
(408) 354-6891
History@LosGatosCA.gov
http://library.losgatosca.gov/
Title: Historic Property Research Collection
Dates: 1881 - present
Collection Number: Historic Property Research Collection
Creator/Collector:
Los Gatos Library
Extent: 30 linear feet (16 boxes; 7 binders; 109 books)
Repository:
Los Gatos Library
Los Gatos, California 95030
Abstract: The Historic Property Research Collection, located in the Los Gatos Library Local History Room, contains official documents,
photographs, handwritten notes, books, and other documentation of historic properties within and around the Town of Los Gatos.
Folders in Boxes are organized by street, and then by address of residence. This collection is useful for carrying out property
research for addresses within the boundaries of the Town of Los Gatos, or for the purpose of remodeling historic buildings.
Language of Material: English
The collection is open to research.
Historic Property Research Collection. Los Gatos Library
The Los Gatos Library acquired these papers over the course of several decades, with each item being of differing provenance.
Not all provenance is known. The majority of the items contained in the Historic Property Research Collection were acquired
through donation or public research. The Los Gatos Historic Resources Inventories of 1941 and 1991 were contracted by the
Town of Los Gatos. The Street Improvement Contracts and Property Assessments were official Town documents, now in the public
domain. Authors or agencies who produced any books published outside of public domain hold copyright to those items.
Biography/Administrative History
The Historic Property Research Collection is an assortment of items that have been retrieved from a large Vertical File compiled
by Library staff and volunteers, books, photocopies, city directories, telephone directories, and official Town documents
that have been held by the Library since their original purchase or creation.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Historic Property Research Collection is divided into several series. Boxes 1-13 contain folders separated by street name,
with the documents inside folders placed in ascending order of street address. These folders come from a former Vertical File,
and may include photographs, photocopies, hand written notes, real estate pamphlets, typed documents, or items printed from
the internet.
The Los Gatos Historic Resources Inventories of 1941 and 1991 were produced by Anne Bloomfield of San Francisco. They include
copies of the original assessments of historic properties and structures within the Town of Los Gatos.
Street Improvement Contracts and Property Assessments are original documents from 1883 – 1916 and are stored in archival boxes.
As it Was by Doris Rankin is a book describing life, important residents, and buildings in the Town of Los Gatos from before
1965. An index of addresses mentioned is kept in the front of the book.
Historic Homes Tour Programs are a series of pamphlets produced between 1995 – 2018 for local walking tours, each highlighting
several historic homes throughout Los Gatos.
City Directories include 60 books which hold the directories of all residents and businesses of the Town of Los Gatos from
1881 – 1974. Polk City Directories comprise the time span of 1881 – 1974.
Structures
Residences
Property Assessments
Los Gatos (Calif.)
Los Gatos (Calif.)--History
Documents