"Murphy is a street of character and historical values," says Jonathan Thalberg, owner of It's Delicious, a gourmet food and gift store. "Everybody knows everybody on the street. It's almost like a neighborhood of its own."

Murphy Avenue's neighborhood feeling and pedestrian-friendly environment has made it the heart of Sunnyvale. But the city of Sunnyvale and business owners believe that Murphy Avenue and the downtown as a whole will only achieve their full potential if the Forum Development Group, which has entered into a purchase agreement to buy and develop the recently bankrupt Town Center Mall, can carry out the city's vision to unify all the different districts of downtown Sunnyvale.

"Murphy Avenue is only one block long, and that has restricted our development," says Bob Stoddard, owner of Stoddard's Brewhouse and Eatery. "If Murphy Avenue extends to the mall, we can add more types of shops to the street and there will a natural flow of people from the mall to Murphy."

Many say Murphy Avenue will play an essential part in rejuvenating downtown Sunnyvale.

"Murphy Avenue has been very successful for the last decade," says Trudi Ryan, planning officer for the city's community development department. "Its businesses are thriving, and it is also an important gathering place for local residents. We don't want to recreate Murphy Avenue on every street because each street has its own flavor. What we want to do is to capitalize on the success of Murphy Avenue."

The Sept. 11 attack, the dot-com bust and the bankruptcy of the Town Center Mall have affected downtown business, but merchants on Murphy Avenue are surviving. Some businesses, like Bear with Me, the only teddy bear collectibles store in the Bay Area, still grow steadily.

Photograph by Erin Day Carmen Verhoeven, owner of Chocolatier Desiree on Murphy Avenue, offers high-quality Belgian chocolates in her shop.

Murphy Avenue wasn't always as beautiful as it is now. It has gone through a lengthy metamorphosis.

Murphy Avenue became the main street of Sunnyvale at the turn of the century because of the construction of the railroad. In 1864, the Central Railroad, now Southern Pacific, granted Martin Murphy Jr. the right to build "Murphy Station" near the center of his property. Dignitaries stopped at Murphy Station when they visited Murphy's Bay View Ranch, then a center of political and social activities in Santa Clara County.

Along the railroad line, the commercial heart of Sunnyvale grew. Walter Crossman, a real estate developer, purchased 200 acres from Murphy's son, Gen. Patrick Murphy, in 1898 and named the town Encinal. Crossman promoted Encinal as a "city of destiny," where "five acres would put a man in a comfortable position." The town was renamed Sunnyvale in 1901.

The 100 block of S. Murphy Avenue is situated between the major downtown streets of Washington, Evelyn, Sunnyvale and S. Frances avenues.

The first commercial building, today the site of Mira Mar Cafe, still sits at the corner of Murphy and Evelyn avenues. The building, constructed in 1897, was the location of Sunnyvale's first general store and post office.

Many longtime residents still have fond memories of Murphy Avenue in the old days.

"We used to have a pet parade on Murphy Avenue every spring," says Chiyo Winters, curator of the Sunnyvale Historical Museum. She has lived in Sunnyvale for 55 years. "People would bring cats, dogs, chickens and rabbits. I brought my cat. And we paraded down the street."

Much has changed over the past 150 years. Sunnyvale has grown from the "City of Destiny" to the "Heart of Silicon Valley," from Murphy's 4,800-acre wheat and cattle ranch to a city of 130,000 people.

For a time Murphy Avenue slipped into a dark period. In the 1970s, Murphy was notorious for its dive bars. Drunkards fought in the street. The old theater showed porn movies. "We used to say if you looked for trouble, you came to Murphy," says Reynaldo Garcia, chef and general manager of the Italian restaurant Gumba's.

In 1979 the Sunnyvale Department of Community Development began to revitalize Murphy Avenue. The city's newly founded historic Heritage Preservation Commission began to formulate policies to be included in the General Plan. Out of this effort to acknowledge the city's history came the designation of the 100 block of S. Murphy Avenue as a Heritage Landmark District—Murphy Station.

Commemorative plaques are placed along Murphy Avenue, introducing the early history of the street and the buildings. The plaque outside the Del Monte building, which now houses Coffee and More and the Del Monte banquet hall, states that the building was constructed in 1904 by the Madison and Bonner Company and was a seed germinating and distribution center for California Packing Corporation for 26 years.

In addition to preserving the history of Murphy Avenue, the city also beautified the street with trees, benches, fountains, new paving and old-fashioned street lamps.

"Our vision is to create an enhanced, traditional downtown that is pleasant and pedestrian-friendly," says planner Ryan.

Murphy Avenue is home to many community events, including a farmers' market every Saturday, summer concerts every Wednesday, and an annual art and wine festival.

The restaurants of Murphy Street today present many types of ethnic foods: Mediterranean (Dishdash), Italian (Gumba's and Sopranos), Mexican (El Faro), Chinese (Hunan Gourmet and Tao Tao Cafe) and Indian (Turmerik). And there are three Irish bars—Murphy's Law, Scruffy Murphy's and Fibbar McGee's.

The Bean Scene coffeehouse is like the living room of Sunnyvale. People run into friends when they get their morning or afternoon caffeine boost. Professionals, students and seniors play chess, chat and have business meetings there.

The Murphy Street Smoke Shop sells tobacco from around the world as well as a wide selection of magazines. There's a consignment store, two chocolate stores and more.

City council member Fred Fowler has chosen Murphy Avenue as the location for his office.

"Life on Murphy is never boring," says Fowler, whose current office used to be the office of the Sunnyvale Sun. Fowler likes keeping the upper part of his Dutch door open so people can stop by and tell him their concerns. "There isn't a better place than Murphy to have a councilman's office."

The wide assortment of businesses on Murphy Avenue form a special ecosystem whose very existence is based on compatibility instead of competition.

Bear with Me shares its space with the chocolate shop Donna Did It. The two businesses' owners look after each other's business and sometimes refer customers to Jerdon, a high-end stationery and card store, across the street. Tumerik, Gumba's and Dishdash owners take turns eating at each other's restaurants, brainstorming marketing strategies and visiting restaurants in other cities' downtowns.

"We work as a team," says Bryan Joseph, general manager of Tumerik. "We help each other out. When I run out of napkins, I just get some from Dishdash. We always exchange ideas and figures. There are no secrets between us."

Photograph by Erin Day The Murphy Street Smoke Shop sells tobacco from around the world as well as a complete selection of magazines.

This cooperative spirit has sustained businesses on Murphy Avenue, but merchants hope Murphy Avenue can be even more prosperous and attract more people with the reconstruction of the Town Center Mall.

"We need to make Murphy Avenue a destination," says Carmen Verhoeven, owner of Chocolatier Desiree. "Murphy Avenue is quiet because the mall is not attractive and many people only come to Murphy for lunch and dinner. We need to make Murphy a street where families will spend a whole afternoon."

Verhoeven has high expectations of Forum's proposal, but many merchants remain cautious.

"Over the years a lot of people have proposed ambitious plans for the downtown, and all these plans fell through," says Stoddard, whose restaurant has been on Murphy Avenue for 11 years and was a major force in the first wave of efforts to revitalize downtown Sunnyvale. "Right now we just keep our fingers crossed and hope this one can succeed."

Some of the historical facts for this article came from "A Walking Tour: 100 Block South Murphy Avenue," a pamphlet published by the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association.