In Sunnyvale, 1999 was the Year of the Hammer. Looking back into the whirl of the past year, we can see, looming large, an image of the tool of tearing down and building up.
In a town accustomed to fluctuation, 1999 saw major changes. Two of the city's few remaining farms closed. The 15-acre Olson Orchard, for so long a distinctive landmark, made way for a mix of housing and shopping. The seven-acre Stowell Ranch, almost next door to the Olson property, sold after more than 100 years of growing apricots and persimmons; a housing development will occupy the land. Only the Corn Palace, located off Lawrence Expressway, remains as a living relic of the city's working agricultural past.
After much delay, the owners of the Town Center Mall convinced its major tenants to agree to reconstruction at the ailing mall. A 20-screen theater, an outdoor shopping street and an extension of Murphy Street will follow. A light-rail corridor opened across the north of the city, connecting Mountain View with San Jose and workers with one of the fastest-growing areas in the Valley, the area near Moffett. The city slated a new Caltrain station, with a three-story parking garage to be built downtown.
Many of the day-to-day stories of 1999 don't quite fit under the Sign of the Hammer. Kids went to school. Council members accused one another of ethical lapses. A new Public Safety chief took over a strained department. Police rescued a victim of stunningly violent child abuse. City workers picketed for a better contract. A Sunnyvale man won the Mexican Grand Prix. Homestead girls won the CCS basketball title. Tim Risch won his election to join the council.
Amid the big changes in the landscape, our city continued to grow and evolve in other ways. So here's to you, 1999, the Year of the Hammer (and much else).
1999: The Year in Review
January - March 1999
April - June 1999
July - September 1999
October - December 1999
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
