Friday, August 10, 2012

Jerry's house, 1339 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA

 1339 Willow Road in Menlo Park, near Hamilton Avenue(though not the Hamilton Ave in Palo Alto), was on the opposite side of the 101 (Bayshore) freeway from the residential part of Menlo Park. It was essentially East Menlo Park (as the locals called it), paralleling East Palo Alto (a "location" but not yet a town) just a few blocks over.(2)

East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park were both rundown areas, unincorporated San Mateo County land for the most part. As recently as the 1950s, people had kept sheep and other animals in their backyards in East Palo Alto. I don't know if they still did so in the 60s, but it was pretty quiet. The relatively few African Americans in the South Bay lived in the East MP/East PA area. The notorious 'Whisky Gulch', the nearest place to Palo Alto where you could buy liquor, was on University Ave in East PA, just West of where the Ikea is now.(2)

This address appears to now be condos.


"Under a brooding photo of Paul Speegle Jr.,was a headline that read "Speegle's Son Killed In Crash", and the accompanying story gave the vital stats on the car's other occupants, mentioning "Jerry Garcia, 18, 1339 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, "fair condition with a shoulder injury".(1)


Jerry practiced here in
1961



1.)^Jackson, Blair, Garcia: An American Life, pg 33.
2.)^Arnold, Corry, comments, 2012-08-10,  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1614349165198514057#editor/target=post;postID=8967634660624810531

2 comments:

  1. 1339 Willow Road in Menlo Park, near Hamilton Avenue(though not the Hamilton Ave in Palo Alto), was on the opposite side of the 101 (Bayshore) freeway from the residential part of Menlo Park. It was essentially East Menlo Park (as the locals called it), paralleling East Palo Alto (a "location" but not yet a town) just a few blocks over.

    East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park were both rundown areas, unincorporated San Mateo County land for the most part. As recently as the 1950s, people had kept sheep and other animals in their backyards in East Palo Alto. I don't know if they still did so in the 60s, but it was pretty quiet. The relatively few African Americans in the South Bay lived in the East MP/East PA area. The notorious 'Whisky Gulch', the nearest place to Palo Alto where you could buy liquor, was on University Ave in East PA, just West of where the Ikea is now.

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  2. There is a chance you are eligible for a complimentary $300 IKEA Gift Card.

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