Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Best Shopping Center: The name of Campbell's famous shopping center is appropriate because, like much of the city, the area that is now The Pruneyard was once filled with a prune orchard.
Best of Campbell 2002: Places & Spaces
Campbellites love the outdoors and are committed to preserving their open spaces. Their responses indicated they love parks in which to play, picnic, exercise and just lie back. They also revealed they're preservationists at heart, caring about historical landmarks such as the Ainsley House and other city structures. Readers also showed it's important to keep a healthy mind, body and spirit connection, and that when all that is working, it's easy to impress outsiders with Campbell's small-town appeal and beauty.
Best Place to Remember How Campbell Was
Tie: Downtown - Campbell Historical Museum
Like most cities, Campbell has changed, grown and evolved over the years into the place it is today. While it used to be mostly known as the "Orchard City" because of the many prune and apricot trees, it is now home to technology, like much of the Silicon Valley.
But to remember how it once was, residents can either turn indoors to explore the Campbell Historical Museum or take an outdoor tour of the historic downtown.
With a street full of shops, boutiques, antique stores and restaurants, tourists or established residents can spend a day shopping downtown. It is a place to remember how Campbell was because of the water tower and old buildings that have been around for years. The Gaslighter Theatre, downtown, is another landmark that has defined the city for decades. Originally the Growers National Bank, built in 1920, it still entertains audiences with its unique melodrama presentations.
Campbell's downtown also enjoys the Campbell Historical Museum where residents can brush up on the city's history. Located in the old firehouse, the museum opened in 1983 and comes complete with exhibits, as well as docent-led tours. The museum's current exhibit teaches what Campbell was like, with its exhibits of canneries, adult recreation, appliances and a general store. Schools from throughout the Bay Area tour the museum during the afternoon, while the public is welcome to visit Thursday through Sunday, noon-4 p.m.
The firehouse in which the museum is housed was the first Campbell City Hall. It was the first building owned by the city after the 1952 incorporation. The other part of the museum, the Ainsley House, is also a piece of history, as it was once the house of local canning pioneer, John Colpitts Ainsley and his family.
Campbell Historical Museum, 51 N. Central Ave., 408.866.2119
Best Architectural Beauty Place to Impress Visitors
The Ainsley House
A place with such architectural beauty as the Ainsley House makes a perfect destination to introduce visitors to the city of Campbell. The Ainsley House features Tudor-revival architecture with influences of the Arts and Crafts movement. It is almost like a time capsule of 1925 because all the furniture and decorative art is preserved from that period.
The landscaping surrounding the property is not too shabby, either. There is a wide range of plants based on the original 1926 design, drawn by San Francisco landscape architect Emerson Knight.
The home was originally built in 1925 as a retirement house for the family of canning pioneer John Colpitts Ainsley, his wife, Alcinda, and their children. The couple's daughter and son-in-law took care of the home after John Ainsley's death in 1937 and his widow's death two years later. In the late 1970s, two Ainsley granddaughters restored the home and donated the property to the city of Campbell in the late 1980s. It was originally located on Bascom and Hamilton avenues until 1990, when it was transported to its new location.
An exciting and informational video of the move can be viewed in the carriage house, now the Wyland R. Morgan Gallery.
The house features an exhibit of quilts from the 1860s, and the 1920s and 1930s, when there was a revival of quilting. The exhibit began March 1 and ends June 31.
The Ainsley House, 300 Grant Ave., 408.866.2119
Best Shopping Center
The Pruneyard
The name of Campbell's famous shopping center is appropriate because, like much of the city, the area that is now The Pruneyard was once filled with a prune orchard. Then it was a thriving shopping center, which eventually fell on hard times and became like a ghost town, with many empty storefronts. Then a multimillion-dollar investment turned it into the hustling and bustling shopping center it is today.
It is quite possibly the best shopping center in the area because it is a one-stop shop for any variety of needs. A shopper may purchase books, sporting equipment or artwork. A shopper can also accomplish numerous errands at once, such as banking, getting an eye exam, or having his or her hair and nails done.
When the shopper is tired and hungry, there are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops on the premises. And the variety is enough to appease any palate. There is a lot of ethnic fare, hearty meals, light snacks and sweets, such as ice cream and cookies.
The Pruneyard, 1875 S. Bascom Ave.
Best Place to Walk
Los Gatos Creek Trail
For those who would rather get their exercise outdoors rather than in a gym, the Los Gatos Creek Trail is the perfect alternative. The trail gives options to exercisers who want to walk, jog, ride a bike, do inline skating, or walk their four-legged friends.
Even though another town's name is in the name, the trail passes though Campbell on its way from the Lexington Reservoir in the Santa Cruz Mountains to its end at Blackford High School in San Jose. In fact, the trail is named not for the town of Los Gatos, but for the creek that runs alongside the trail.
Exercisers can prepare themselves for a long walk if planning to span the entire trail distance because it totals 14 miles from beginning to end. On the way, exercisers see a variety of foliage, water and possibly wildlife.
While there are entrance fees to parks such as Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos, which is one stop along the trail, there is no fee to walk the trail. Parking may be found on streets near the trail in Campbell. Trail- loyal visitors say it's not only a good place to exercise but also a good place to meet people who are friendly, smile at each other and say hello as they pass each other.
The Best of Campbell 2002
Sense of Community
Dining & Entertainment
People & Professions
Goods & Services
Kids Stuff
Campbell, California
