Monta Vista, Cupertino, California
Monta Vista is an upper-class residential neighborhood in western Cupertino, California. "Monta Vista" does not mean anything in any language but 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 families accelerated; currently, the majority 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 homes ranging from 1,400 to 2,200 sq. ft. of living space area. The median price of these homes is about two million dollars because of Monta Vista's academically high-performing schools. For example, Monta Vista High School is one of the top 100 high schools in the United States [1]. In contrast to the Rancho Rinconada area in eastern Cupertino, Monta Vista has relatively few "monster houses," where redeveloped houses tower over their smaller, older neighbors.
Attractions in Monta Vista include the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, Montebello Open Space Reserve, Picchetti Open Space, Blackberry Farm and Stevens Creek Reservoir. McClellan Ranch Park, 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.
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