Hewlett-Packard Garage & Museum

NOTE: While the HP garage is not open for public tours, visitors may view and photograph the property and landmark from the sidewalk. In 1938 David and Lucile Packard got married and rented the first floor of the house at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto. The simple one car garage became the HP workshop and the little shack out back became Bill Hewlett's home. In 1989 California named the garage "the birthplace of Silicon Valley" and made it a California Historical Landmark. This home was built in 1905 and remained a rental property throughout most of its existence. In 2000, HP decided that they needed to acquire the house so they could properly preserve its history. What was a modest middle class home in the 1930s was bought for 1.7 million dollars in 2000. Over the next 5 years, the house was restored back to what it was like in 1939 (except where compliance with modern code didn't allow.) In 2007, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Dave Packard had gone to Schenectady to work at General Electric. He was told that there was no future in electronics at General Electric and that he should instead concentrate on generators, motors and other heavier equipment. Bill Hewlett was finishing up his graduate work at Stanford and the two decided to pursue their earlier plan of starting their own business. The name HP (vs. PH) was chosen by a coin toss. For $45 per month, the Packards rented the first floor of the house, which was chosen specifically because it had a garage that they could work in. Bill Hewlett moved into the little shack next to the garage.