North Willow Glen History Part 5 of 15: The 1910s

North Willow Glen continues to grow. More multi-acre lots are subdivided, and sold to people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Across Bird Avenue, an exclusive subdivision is created, called Palm Haven.  

Around this time, a streetcar begins to run along Delmas Avenue, making the trip to downtown San Jose a breeze. In its heyday, you can apparently take a streetcar all the way to Los Gatos, and from there catch the train to Santa Cruz. In springtime, people all over the Bay Area take to the rails to enjoy the beautiful sight and smell of peach, pear and apricot orchards in bloom in the South Bay, "the Valley of Heart's Delight." 

Frank Wolfe (1863-1929) hits his architectural stride as a sole practitioner in this decade. The house at the corner of Bird and Brooks was built in 1912 according to his designs and Wolfe would reside there through the end of the decade.
Milestone
1911: Most of North Willow Glen is annexed into the city of San Jose. The exception to which is its more southwestern corner, south of Brooks.

Frank and Nellie Wolfe house, built 1912 (photo www.frankdeloswolfe.com)

Leading up to the September 21st Willow Glen Founders Day Parade on Lincoln Avenue, NWGNA is providing readers with history about the evolution of our neighborhood, largely excerpted from Ken Ecklund's North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association Page.

We view this as our history and encourage you to share. Stories and photos of North Willow Glen are very welcome and with your permission and credit we would like to archive this information to improve our understanding of life in our neighborhood throughout the years. Please post here or reach us via e-mail at board@nwgna.org.