HP garage becomes national landmark

So you'll just have to park in the street

By Austin Modine in Mountain View • Get more from this author

Posted in Hardware, 18th May 2007 23:50 GMT

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The renowned garage in Palo Alto which birthed PC titan Hewlett-Packard has been upgraded from merely state recognized landmark to getting nationally certified. That's the landmark big leagues.

The garage and accompanying house at 367 Addison Avenue (pic here) has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, HP announced Thursday.

Within the protective womb of its four walls, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939 conceived what would become the largest PC vendor in world.

“The HP Garage has become a symbol of what can rise from humble beginnings with hard work and determination,” HP veep of brand management Gary Elliot said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the National Park Service and we hope it will further spread these core HP values to a national audience.”

Although the business stayed in the garage for a couple years only, HP and city of Palo Alto hail it as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

This claim is disputed by the neighboring city of Mountain View which points to the original location of Shockley Semiconductor Lab. But given that this is now an abandoned and boarded-up produce store doesn't lend to the glamor desired of such a landmark.

HP's garage, on the other hand, was lovingly renovated by the company in 2004 to its original condition.

Google got a bit of garage fever itself in 2006 when it purchased the lot where its founders established the company.

And The Register? We set up shop in Mayfair, one of the most exclusive districts in London. How we struggled: our butler was terribly rude. ®

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