Discover East Palo Alto

East Palo Alto was originally inhabited by the Ohlone Tribe before the land was taken over by Spanish settlers. By the late 19th century, it became known for ranching, transportation and shipping, brick manufacturing, farming and flower growing. With the outbreak of World War I, the north side of East Palo Alto became a military training ground, of which only the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park still exists. From the 1930s to the 1950s, East Palo Alto thrived as a hub for flower production, supported by the Japanese community. But once WWII began, Japanese Americans were detained and they were sent to internment camps. For most of its history, East Palo Alto remained unincorporated and didn’t officially become a city until 1983. During the mid-1900s, East Palo Alto became home to the largest African American community on The San Francisco Peninsula due to redlining practices in Palo Alto. 

In recent years, the area has become home to major tech companies such as Meta, Google, Oracle and more. Revitalization projects and high-income, high-tech professionals have begun to slowly eliminate the historically wide cultural and economic differences between East Palo Alto and Palo Alto. Today, visitors enjoy the city’s unique mix of natural beauty and innovation, with attractions like Ravenswood Open Space Preserve, Coolley Landing Park and Silicon Valley’s high-tech companies.