Building History

Hewlett-Packard (HP), each alumni of Stanford University, located their company in Palo Alto, CA, near to the campus. In 1956, HP signed a lease for land within the Stanford Industrial Park, and gradually built its corporate campus. Initially, HP built 2 two-story buildings to serve as its headquarters; this expanded to 4 by the early 1960s and 6 by the end of the decade. All of the office buildings were arrayed around two large courtyards, "workers' playgrounds," filled with recreation equipment and outdoor living spaces. These amenities as well as the relaxed corporate culture led to HP being considered one of the most desirable places to work in the U.S. Landscape architect Thomas Church, who also served as a consultant for Stanford University, laid out the grounds of the courtyards, adding horsehoe pits, volleyball courts, fountains, trees and benches.

Alterations

Additions were made continuously from the late 1950s through the 1960s. Growth was so fast, that, as historian John Findlay has noted, HP employed 40% of all workers in the Stanford Industrial Park by 1959. (See John Findlay, "Stanford Industrial Park: Downtown for Silicon Valley", Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture after 1940, [Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992], p.139.)

PCAD id: 3953