Monta Vista is an upper-income residential neighborhood in western
Cupertino,
California, the 11th wealthiest city with a population over 50,000 in the United States. "Monta Vista" means "mountain view" in
Portuguese and is very similar to "Monte Vista," which means "mountain view" in
Spanish. However, it is not affiliated with the nearby city of
Mountain View.
Orchards and vineyards used to cover Monta Vista. After the 1940s, Monta Vista became the first housing tract in the Cupertino area. Residential homes then quickly replaced the orchards and vineyards.
When Cupertino decided to incorporate in 1955, Monta Vista decided at the last moment not to join the effort, remaining an unincorporated part of
Santa Clara County. Over the years, Cupertino annexed pieces of Monta Vista as it was redeveloped lot by lot. By the late 1990s, only scattered pockets of unincorporated land were left in Monta Vista. Cupertino finally annexed the rest of the neighborhood in 2004.
Starting in the 1990s, settlement by
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
families accelerated; currently, a large proportion of the neighborhood is Asian American. Many of Monta Vista's residents work in
Silicon Valley's high-tech computer industries.
Monta Vista homes are mainly detached single-family
ranch-style house
Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...
s ranging from 1200 to . The community also has some neighborhoods with much larger custom built houses ranging from 3000– of living space area. The neighborhood is very sought-after due to its desirable location, low crime rate, and its academically high-performing schools, including
Monta Vista High School and
Kennedy Middle School. Monta Vista High School was ranked by
Newsweek as one of the 100 top academically performing public high schools in the United States.
Attractions in Monta Vista include the
Fremont Older Open Space Preserve
Fremont Older Open Space Preserve is a regional park located in Santa Clara County, California and operated by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The preserve contains 14.7 miles (23.7 km) of hiking trails, nearly all open to equ ...
,
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve is a open space preserve, located near Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, California, United States. The preserve encompasses the upper Stevens Creek watershed in the ...
,
Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve (next to
Picchetti Brothers Winery
The Picchetti Winery, also known as the Picchetti Ranch, is a winery located at 13100 Montebello Rd., Cupertino, California in the Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve. The Picchetti brothers, Secondo and Vincenzo, for whom the ranch was named, ...
),
Blackberry Farm,
Deep Cliff Golf Course
Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...
, Cupertino Hills Swim and Racquet Club, Linda Vista Park, Varian Park, Monta Vista Park and
Stevens Creek Reservoir
Stevens Creek Reservoir is an artificial lake located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Cupertino, California. A county park surrounds the reservoir and provides limited fishing ("catch and release"), picnicking, hiking, and hor ...
.
McClellan Ranch Park
McClellan Ranch Preserve is a public preserve located in the Monta Vista neighborhood of Cupertino that still retains its rural ranch look. It used to be a horse ranch owed by the McClellan family in the 1930s, and still preserves the original r ...
, located just west of Monta Vista High School, is a nature preserve and historical park formerly owned by the McClellan family. Along with John T. Doyle, this family was one of the first residents of the area. This site also preserves the original ranch, milk barns and livestock barns with animals raised by resident volunteers.
Gallery
Image:stevenscreek.jpg, Stevens Creek flowing through the McClellan Ranch Park
Image:fremontolder2.JPG, Vineyards in the Cupertino Hills
Image:fremontolder.JPG, Regnart Neighborhood in Monta Vista
Image:Picchetti1.jpg, Picchetti Open Space
Image:Picchetti2.JPG, Picchetti Open Space
Image:lindavista.jpg, The picnic area of Linda Vista Park in front of Deep Cliff Golf Course
Image:bbfarm.jpg, Blackberry Farm Golf Course
Image:mvpark.JPG, Monta Vista Park
Image:varian.JPG, Varian Park
Image:Communityfarm.JPG, Monta Vista Community Farm at McClellan Ranch
References
External links
{{Cupertino, California
Neighborhoods in Cupertino, California