The above photos show the Ames Building circa 1906 and in 1999. Sometime in the 1940s, the façade of the Ames Building underwent a modernization that wiped away many of its architectural details. Today, the building is being restored to its original appearance and will once again stand out as one of Mountain View’s most unique historic commercial buildings.

 

The story of the Ames Building is typical of many structures lining Castro Street. Many historic buildings are hidden behind now aging facades modernized in the 1950s and 1960s. As a result, its is often mistakenly believed that Castro Street only has a few historic buildings. Like the Ames Building, the facades of many  structures in Downtown have the potential to be brought back to their original design.

 

The Mountain View Preservation Alliance would like to make it clear that we do NOT think Castro Street should be completely transformed into a recreation of the way it looked a century ago. A legacy of Downtown has been constant growth, and each generation of Mountain View residents has been able to leave their mark on the area. We do not wish to deny future generations their chance to add to Downtown. However, we do believe that when feasible the altered facades of historic buildings in Downtown should be returned to their original appearance in order to strengthen the district’s role as the historic heart of Mountain View.

 

The following pages illustrate “before and after” photos of ten buildings lining Area H of Castro Street that have been modernized. The first four have never been covered in previous surveys of Downtown’s historic buildings. Recent research with City Historian Barbara Kinchen has uncovered architectural drawings and photos that illustrate their original facades. The other 6 buildings are on the city’s current Historic Resource Inventory. We include all of them here to offer a more complete picture of what Area H could look like if the city and the Downtown Precise Plan more strongly encourage the restoration of the facades of these buildings to their original appearance.

 

Property Selector List
Use the following selection list to display information about properties in the Downtown Precise Plan area with potential for facade restoration. If you have any additional historic photos or information on the histories of any of these buildings, please e-mail us.

------ Castro Street -------- 124-128 Castro - Weilheimer Building 142-156 Castro - Rogers Building 171 Castro - Ames Building 206 Castro - First National Bank Building 228 Castro - Mt View Theatre 252-264 Castro - Redwine Building 275 Castro - Swall Building 288 Castro - Knight's Building 296 Castro - Scarpa Meat Market Building 300-304 Castro - Paulding's Building