Historical Landmarks in Mountain View

As one of the oldest communities in Silicon Valley, Mountain View is home to historic buildings stretching back to the mid-1800s. Downtown Mountain View’s main street, Castro Street, is lined by an eclectic mix of structures from nearly every era of the city’s development, from the 1870s to today. The residential neighborhoods flanking either side of Castro Street were mostly developed between the late 1800s and World War II. Small, lovingly maintained Craftsman and Spanish-Revival bungalows, along with a scattering of older Victorian homes, have helped make these formerly working and middle-class neighborhoods some of the most sought-after real estate in the Bay Area.

The areas of Mountain View north of Central Expressway and south of El Camino Real were primarily agricultural until the 1950s. But if you’re willing to search them out, you’ll find some unique historic gems from early eras, primarily in the form of preserved farmhouses or country residences now surrounded by modern development.

On this page, we highlight just a few of Mountain View’s most prominent historic landmarks. Use the map below to learn more!

The Rengstorff House

The Rengstorff House

The Rengstorff House is the oldest structure still standing in Mountain View. It was built in 1867 by Henry Rengstorff, a German immigrant who came to California during the Gold Rush but ended up making his fortune farming in Santa Clara Valley and operating a shipping port on Mountain View’s bay front known as “Rengstorff Landing.” The house was built near the landing on Stierlin Road (now North Shoreline Boulevard). It was purchased by the City of Mountain View in 1979 and relocated to Shoreline Park, where it was eventually restored and opened to the public in 1991. For more information visit the MVHA’s friends, the Friends R’ House. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Historic Adobe Building

The Adobe Building

The Great Depression-era Adobe Building was Mountain View’s first community center. In 1934, government work-welfare laborers used adobe bricks made on-site to construct the building’s walls, giving the building its name in the process. The Adobe has seen many diverse community uses over the years. During World War II, it served as a serviceman’s club and hospitality house for veterans. In the 1940s and 1950s it hosted weekly dances for local youth and was known as the “Eagle Shack,” named after the mascot of Mountain View High School on Castro Street. Over the decades the building has hosted countless club meetings, classes, weddings, dances, and parties. In the 1990s, the MVHA led efforts to save the Adobe Building from demolition. It was seismically retrofitted and restored in 2001 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The MVHA hosts most of its quarterly membership meetings (pre-COVID) at the Adobe Building.
Moffet-Air-Field.png

Moffett Field

Located just outside Mountain View’s city limits (but within its county-designated “sphere of influence”) Moffett Field is one of the most historic sites in Santa Clara County. In 1844, the land was granted by the Mexican government as “Rancho Posolmi” to Lope Ynigo, a native Ohlone man. It is one of the few instances of Mexican-era ranchos granted to a California native. Nearly a century later, local residents throughout the Bay Area banded together to buy 1,000-acres of the former rancho so they could sell it to the Navy for $1 to establish a naval air base that would serve as the Navy’s West Coast center for its lighter-than-air program. In 1939, NACA (now NASA) Ames Research Center was established on Moffett Field. Today, the complex is home to an impressive assemblage of landmarks and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hanger-one-hanger-1.jpg

Hangar One

Hangar One is one of the world’s largest freestanding structures, covering 8 acres at Moffett Field near Mountain View, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. The massive hangar has long been one of the most recognizable landmarks of California’s Silicon Valley.

Mountain View History Article Collection

Learn more about how Mountain View grew from a small agricultural community into the world-famous tech hub it is today.

Timeline of Mountain View's History
Mountain View's Historical Landmarks
The Castro Family's Legacy in Mountain View