Ventura

Ventura is the neighborhood that does not fit the Palo Alto stereotype. Its lots are small, its streets are narrow and its housing runs from 1920s cottages to apartment complexes. A huge old cannery building stands at its center. For decades it was one of the more affordable places to live in the city. It also has a longer history of welcoming working families than most of its neighbors.

It is also the part of Palo Alto most likely to change in the next decade. The city adopted a plan in 2024 to add housing in the northern part of the neighborhood. This guide covers where Ventura is, how it developed, the cannery site, parks, schools, getting around and what daily life is like.

Where Ventura is

Ventura lies between El Camino Real and Alma Street, south of the California Avenue district. Palo Alto Weekly's neighborhood guide puts its edges at Oregon Expressway, Alma Street, West Meadow Drive and El Camino Real. Main streets include Park Boulevard, Lambert Avenue and Portage Avenue, along with residential blocks named for trees such as Ash, Olive and Pepper.

The neighbors are easy to place. North across Oregon Expressway is California Avenue. West across El Camino Real is Barron Park. South past West Meadow Drive is Charleston Meadows, an Eichler tract. East across the tracks and Alma Street is Midtown. Matadero Creek crosses the northern part of the neighborhood in a concrete channel on its way to the bay.

Cannery, county land and annexation

Ventura's oldest major landmark is the former cannery building at 340 Portage Avenue. According to Palo Alto Weekly, the Bayside Canning Company began operating there in 1918. The paper describes the company as once the third-largest canner in the nation, though this plant was one of its smaller ones. The building later became the Fry's Electronics store, a destination for Silicon Valley engineers and hobbyists for years.

For the first half of the twentieth century Ventura was unincorporated Santa Clara County land, sometimes counted as part of greater Barron Park. On December 29, 1954, Palo Alto annexed a long strip between El Camino Real and Alma Street that included the Ventura area. The rest of Barron Park held out until 1975. Our history of Palo Alto covers the city's postwar annexations.

After World War II, Ventura had a substantial number of Black and Latino residents and was more open to them than many other parts of Palo Alto at a time when racial covenants and lending practices kept families out of other neighborhoods. Its smaller homes and lots also made it a starting point for buyers with modest budgets. Palo Alto Weekly profiles have described residents who work as carpenters, architects and artists alongside the engineers more typical of the city.

Homes and streets

Housing in Ventura is a mix. Palo Alto Weekly describes vintage and newly built single-family homes, multifamily buildings and apartment complexes on narrow streets with relatively small lots. Expect to see:

• Small cottages and bungalows, some from the 1920s, on lots narrower than those in most of the city.
• Postwar houses from the years around annexation.
• Apartment buildings, especially near El Camino Real and Park Boulevard.
• New two-story homes and townhouses where older houses have been replaced.
• Commercial and light industrial buildings around Portage Avenue and Park Boulevard.

Ventura has also long been one of the city's lower-priced neighborhoods. Palo Alto Weekly's market review reported that it had the lowest median sale price among Palo Alto neighborhoods in 2019 and the second lowest in 2020. Lower than the rest of Palo Alto is still very expensive by national standards. See our real estate guide for context.

The North Ventura plan and 340 Portage

The biggest story in Ventura is the city's North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan. It covers the area roughly bounded by Page Mill Road, El Camino Real, Lambert Avenue and the Caltrain tracks, which includes the old cannery. The City Council adopted the plan on August 5, 2024, after several years of community meetings. Its goals include more housing near the California Avenue Caltrain station and a more natural Matadero Creek in place of today's concrete channel.

The cannery site is the largest piece. The city and its owner, the Sobrato Organization, agreed on a framework in June 2022. The terms announced by the city included:

1. About 74 new market-rate townhomes on part of the site.
2. About 3.25 acres dedicated to the city for future parkland and an affordable housing site of roughly 1 acre.
3. Preservation of the cannery building's historic features, with public access to see its roof and trusses.
4. Money for park improvements, possibly including a pedestrian bridge over Matadero Creek. More money would go to affordable housing in the plan area.

The cannery building itself is done. It reopened on May 12, 2026 as an all-electric commercial building, with a mosaic honoring Thomas Foon Chew, the founder of the Bayside Canning Company. In fall 2025 the City Council voted to rename Portage Avenue as Thomas Foon Chew Avenue, so maps and signs may show either name for a while. Our Thomas Foon Chew page tells his story. The housing and parkland in the framework required further environmental review and approvals. Large projects take years, so check the city's North Ventura plan page for the latest status before assuming any part of it is built.

Parks and community spaces

Boulware Park at 390 Fernando Road, the address on the city's park page, is the neighborhood park. It fully reopened on April 25, 2025 after a renovation. The 2023 plan for the park included a half-acre off-leash dog area, but coverage of the reopening does not mention it, so it is unconfirmed whether it was built. Check the city's dog park page before you bring a dog. Our dog parks guide lists the off-leash areas already open, including the large one at Peers Park a short ride north.

The Ventura Community Center at 3990 Ventura Court is a city site with a park, playground and buildings leased to child care and preschool programs. Palo Alto Weekly guides have listed several of them there. For hikes and bigger open space, the foothill preserves are a short drive west along Arastradero Road. See our outdoors guide.

Shopping and food

Ventura sits close to three shopping areas. California Avenue, just north, has restaurants, cafes and the Sunday farmers market. El Camino Real along the neighborhood's western edge has restaurants, motels, auto shops and services. Palo Alto Weekly's guides also list Charleston Center as a nearby option for errands. The large San Antonio shopping area in Mountain View is a short drive south. Our food and drink guide has current restaurant picks.

Ventura has lost some longtime businesses as rents rose. Residents quoted in a 2018 profile mentioned the closures of a Denny's and the Palo Alto Bowl bowling alley as losses for teenagers in the area.

Getting around

The California Avenue Caltrain station is a short walk or bike ride from most of Ventura. Trains run north to San Francisco and south to San Jose. VTA buses on El Camino Real include local Route 22 and the limited-stop Rapid 522. Park Boulevard is the calmer bike route north toward California Avenue.

Crossing Alma Street and the tracks is the hard part. Use signalized crossings and the station underpass rather than trying to cross Alma mid-block. Our getting around guide has more on trains, buses and parking.

Schools

Ventura is part of the Palo Alto Unified School District. Palo Alto Weekly guides in 2019 and 2021 listed Barron Park Elementary, Fletcher Middle School and either Gunn or Palo Alto High School for the neighborhood, depending on address. Fletcher was known as Terman Middle School until the district renamed it in 2018. Always confirm a specific address with the PAUSD school finder. Our schools guide covers the district and private options.

What living here is like

Ventura residents describe a culturally diverse mix of young families, professionals and retirees. Many value being able to walk to Boulware Park and California Avenue. The neighborhood association, which runs a website at venturapaloalto.org, has been active in the long debates over the cannery site and the area plan.

There are no hotels inside the residential blocks, but El Camino Real nearby has several. Families visiting relatives in Ventura can compare hotels along El Camino Real or look for a short-term rental. To see how Ventura fits with the rest of town, read the neighborhoods overview.

Frequently asked questions