Castro Street

Castro Street became the center of town after the railroad arrived in 1864, when business moved from the old stage road to the depot. The 1865 plat of Mountain View Station already named Castro, Villa, Dana, Bryant, Hope and Franklin Streets. (Mountain View Public Library, Munro-Fraser, 1881)

Downtown runs seven blocks, from the Mountain View station, where Caltrain meets VTA light rail and buses, south to El Camino Real. The street is named for Crisanto Castro, whose portrait hangs in the History Center at the public library. (Wikipedia)

The city rebuilt Castro Street between 1988 and 1990, turning four traffic lanes into two with wide sidewalks and trees. In 2020 four blocks closed to cars for outdoor dining, and in October 2022 the council made the street a pedestrian mall between Evelyn Avenue and California Street. (Mountain View Historical Association)

On Sundays the farmers’ market fills the Caltrain station lot from 9 am to 1 pm, and on Wednesdays from April to October the city’s free Music on Castro series plays on the 200 block. (City of Mountain View, City of Mountain View)