Steve Jobs' Los Altos childhood home eyed for historic preservation

 

A years-long effort to add the childhood home of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to a list of protected historical sites in Los Altos is poised to move forward Monday.

That's when the seven-member Los Altos Historical Commission is scheduled to discuss a "historic property evaluation" of the single-story, California ranch style house at 2066 Crist Drive.
The property is historically significant because it's where Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak built the first 50 Apple 1 computers in 1976, according to the evaluation by Commissioner Sapna Marfatia. The computers were then sold to Paul Terrell's Byte Shop in Mountain View for $500 each.
"Steve Jobs is considered a genius who blended technology and creativity to invent and market a product which dramatically changed six industries -- personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing," Marfatia wrote in the evaluation. "His influence is expected to be felt by multiple generations forthcoming."
The first partnership for "Apple Computer Co." was established on April 1, 1976; nine months later, the company was formally established and its operations relocated to Cupertino, according to the evaluation.
Jobs first moved into the house with his adoptive parents, Paul and Clara, in 1968. He attended a local middle school and Homestead High in Cupertino, where he met Wozniak, according to the evaluation.
The historical commission has spent the better part of the past two years reviewing the Crist Drive property for potential designation as a historic resource. The home would have to be preserved as it currently stands if added to the city's historic resources inventory.
A public hearing would be scheduled if the commission decides to add the property to the inventory. The city council wouldn't have any say over the matter unless the decision is appealed.