HP Garage

The HP Garage is a private museum where the company Hewlett-Packard (HP) was founded. It is located at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, California.[3] It is considered to be the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley".[4] In the 1930s, Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in the area instead of leaving California, and develop a high-tech region.[5] HP founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard are considered the first Stanford students who took Terman's advice.[1]

Hewlett Packard House and Garage
The HP garage in January 2020
HP House and Garage is located in San Francisco Bay Area
HP House and Garage
HP House and Garage
HP House and Garage is located in California
HP House and Garage
HP House and Garage
HP House and Garage is located in the United States
HP House and Garage
HP House and Garage
Location367 Addison Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
Coordinates37.44307°N 122.15481°W / 37.44307; -122.15481
Arealess than one acre
Built1905
Architectural styleBungalow/Craftsman
NRHP reference No.07000307[2]
CHISL No.976[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 20, 2007
Designated CHISL1987

The garage has since been designated a California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though not open for public tours, the property can be viewed from the sidewalk and driveway.

History

The home, originally designated as 367 Addison Avenue, was first occupied in 1905 by John Spencer, his wife Ione, and their two adult daughters. John Spencer became Palo Alto's first mayor in 1909.[6] In 1918, the house was divided into two separate apartments, numbered 367 and 369.[7]

In 1937, David "Dave" Packard, then 25 years old, visited William "Bill" Hewlett in Palo Alto and the pair had their first business meeting. Both men attended Stanford University, where its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman encouraged his students to establish their own electronics companies in the area instead of leaving California.[1]

In 1938, newly married Dave and Lucile Packard moved into 367 Addison Ave, the first-floor three-room apartment, with Bill Hewlett sleeping in the shed. Mrs. Spencer, now widowed, moved into the second-floor apartment, 369 Addison. Hewlett and Packard began to use the one-car garage, with $538 (equivalent to $11,185 in 2022) in capital.

In 1939, Packard and Hewlett formed their partnership with a coin toss, creating the name Hewlett-Packard.

Hewlett-Packard's first product, built in the garage, was an audio oscillator, the HP200A.[8] One of Hewlett-Packard's first customers was Walt Disney Studios,[9] which purchased eight oscillators to test and certify the sound systems in theaters that were going to run the first major film released in stereophonic sound, Fantasia.[10]

  • 367-369 Addison Avenue
    367-369 Addison Avenue
  • California Historic Landmark plaque
    California Historic Landmark plaque
  • Garage as seen from front walk
    Garage as seen from front walk

Historical designations

References
  1. "Birthplace of Silicon Valley". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  2. "National Register Information System – Hewlett--Packard House and Garage (#07000307)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  3. The street lent its name to Hewlett-Packard's employee credit union, known until 2010 as "Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union". The name changed in 2011 to "First Tech Federal Credit Union" after a merger with First Tech Credit Union.
  4. "HP Feature Stories". www.hp.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  5. Markoff, John (April 17, 2009). "Searching for Silicon Valley". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  6. "HP Garage Timeline". Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  7. "HP Garage" (PDF). Hewlett-Packard.
  8. First product
  9. "HP Virtual Vault: Model 200B audio oscillator, 1939". www.hp.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  10. Darlin, Damon (December 4, 2005). "Shrine to Hours of Tinkering in a Garage on the Ground Floor of Silicon Valley". The New York Times.
  11. Poletti, Therese (June 18, 2007). "HP garage named U.S. landmark". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
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