WELCOME TO MOUNTAIN VIEW

Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city gets its name from the views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 70,708.

Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown along Castro Street that is about six blocks long, next to the Caltrain station. The police station, which is home to some roosters, is two blocks away on Villa Street. Going south towards El Camino Real, there are four blocks of restaurants and shops. Asian and Indian restaurants are abundant, but there are many types of cuisine to choose from. Chez TJ, one of the few restaurants rated by the prestigious Michelin Guide in the Bay Area, is located in downtown Mtn View, just off Castro Street. The Tied House was one of the first brewpubs to open in the Bay Area, and remains a popular stop in downtown. Kapps Pizza displays many photographs of the downtown from 100 years ago.

The core of downtown is the plaza shared by City Hall, the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts and the award-winning Mountain View Public Library. Behind those buildings is Pioneer Park, which enjoys a quiet environment resulting from the City Hall building blocking out the noise from Castro Street. The Plaza between City Hall and the Performing Arts Center is a well-used spot for community gatherings and events, and features an impressive collection of public art.

NOTABLE FEATURES

• Shoreline Park runs along the bay north of U.S. Route 101. It includes Shoreline Amphitheatre as well as historic Rengstorff House.
• Googleplex, the corporate headquarters complex of Google, Inc., is located in Mountain View.
• Stevens Creek runs through Mountain View from the south. A lengthy paved pedestrian and bicycle path, the Stevens Creek Trail, runs alongside the creek for nearly its entire distance in Mountain View.
• Moffett Field is a Federal Airfield near the bay. It is home to NASA Ames Research Center.
• Castro Street is at the center of Mountain View’s downtown. It features a large number of restaurants, particularly of the Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Indian), Mediterranean, and Italian variety.