MLS Thompson, Real Estate in Mountain View, CA
“For home buyers enamored by mid-century California architecture seeking top-notch schools and a tight-knit, well-established family-oriented community, Mountain View’s Thompson neighborhood is a dream come true.”
Mountain View’s second oldest borough, Thompson (MLS #205) has remained physically unaffected for over half a century, setting the stage for a deeply rooted sense of community. Often referred to as Monta Loma due to the fact that Monta Loma Elementary School falls within its borders, residents in this borough enjoy many annual block parties and holiday events thanks to their energetic neighborhood association. Its wide avenues and copious lawns are a typical post-war residential format, add to that its steadfast style of mid-century California modern architecture, and Thompson instantly becomes unique.
During the 1950s, three top developers ‘set up shop’ in Thompson, quickly growing its collection of modernist homes to over 1,000. Joseph Eichler, John Mackay, and Mardell Building Company homes are intertwined through the streets and avenues of Thompson, one of the most famous being the Mackay home on Diablo Avenue where Steve Jobs grew up and started Apple Computer.
These modest homes embraced the telltale characteristics of mid-century modern architecture including open floor plans, floor-to-ceiling windows, and open beam ceilings. Most were 3 to 4 bedrooms and 1,500 square feet or less and all but the Mackays also have atriums.
For homebuyers and those fortunate enough to reside there, Thompson offers the best of old and new in its architecture, welcoming atmosphere, accessibility to Mountain View’s key high-tech area of North Bayshore, and extremely well-regarded schools.
Favorable Attributes
- Neighborhood includes a large ‘collection’ of mid-century modern architecture
- Wide streets and lush landscaping
- Access to Mountain View’s best schools
- Convenient proximity to high tech companies in North Bayshore
- Active neighborhood associations and an established sense of community
History of Thompson, Mountain View
Once upon a time, before the Eichlers, Mardell’s, and Mackays, Thompson’s land was agricultural.
With the arrival of the 1950s began large-scale residential development to create convenient, affordable housing for employees at Hewlett-Packard’s nearby Mayfield facility. A few homes quickly blossomed into a thousand or more and the borough’s contiguity to the Google campus is a modern-day reminder of its initial purpose. Steve Job’s Diablo Avenue home near Monta Loma Park was an Eichler-inspired Mackay house designed by an architectural team that also did work for Joseph Eichler.
Classic post-war suburbia, the Thompson/Monta Loma borough rivals San Mateo Highlands and San Rafael for the designation of the Bay Area’s largest adjoining assemblage of mid-century modern, single-family dwellings.