The Bacigalupi family of Los Gatos – some history

We happen to live on Bacigalupi Drive in Belwood of Los Gatos, a lovely street you might walk to get to Belgatos Park. A classmate of mine at Saratoga High School was a Bacigalupi and I have noticed that one of the old buildings in downtown Los Gatos is the Bacigalupi Building (it houses Mountain Charley’s, I believe – it is in the La Canada or Hofstra block near the corner of Main and North Santa Cruz).  So I wondered, who were these people with the hard to  pronounce name? (I can say it, but I speak some Italian!)

The Bacigalupi Family c.1922 – click to visit the Los Gatos Local History Research Collection and see a larger image and info on this family

The Hooked on Los Gatos project was a collaborative project by the Library and History Museum which appears to have since become the Los Gatos Local History Research Collection. This collection includes page after page of online resources, including all the photos in their archives relating to the Bacigalupi clan. Clicking on each image leads to more information.  For instance, here I found information on James A. Bacigalupi, Sr.

I was very impressed to learn that he was the first president of the Bank of Italy, and then worked with A.P. Giannini to form the Bank of America. He may not be the most famous Los Gatan, but he’s certainly a big deal! To the right, this photo features Mr. Bacigalupi with his family, in approximately the year 1922. Click on the image to visit the original photo on the Local History Research Collection page, see a larger image and learn more about the family in this image.

As you probably know, the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake did a great deal of damage to many of the older, historic buildings in downtown Los Gatos.  The La Canada (Hofstra) block was no exception.  The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce reported on its “walking tour” page (which has since disappeared, but thankfully has been archived) after the quake, that block was restored by the Bacigalupi, Farwell, Brady and VanDalsem families, so we can thank them for their continued love of our town and its history. (On a side note, if you’re interested in a Los Gatos walking tour don’t despair! The old walking tour has been swapped with a high-tech model: LOST Gatos the walking tour App.)

 

 

 

Meeting for Belwood Gateway between Harwood and Bacigalupi to further discuss speed hump and its location

Two speed bumps for Belwood Gateway were planned to be installed after the August Los Gatos Town Council Meeting (which followed a May 11th traffic calming meeting at the Belwood Cabaña and a vote of the affected neighbors).

The first speed hump, which was not contested, will be placed fairly close to the community pool in the area between Belblossom and Bacigalupi on Belwood Gateway.  It appears that this has the resounding endorsement of the folks who live nearby.

The second speed hump did not seem to enjoy the same unanimous approval (despite the vote).  The next one, along the stretch of Belwood Gateway between Bacigalupi Drive and Harwood Road, left some Belwood of Los Gatos homeowners feeling that the process wasn’t done right, that the voting should have been teased out a little differently, and that perhaps a better resolution to the speeding and volume of traffic could be found.  That resulted in another meeting, which happened earlier this evening.

Speed hump meeting on Belwood Gateway

Todd Capurso, the Los Gatos Director of Parks and Public Works, is very good about meeting with residents to discuss concerns, ideas, feedback etc. and this was no exception.  Residents who live along the block of Belwood Gateway where the second speed bump or hump was to go (about 15 households in all) were notified of a meeting that took place tonight at 7pm in front of one of the homes. (I was notified so that I could keep the rest of the community updated via this and my other blog, LiveInLosGatos.com. Jim and Bella, our aging black lab, walked me over and then after meeting a few neighbors, continued on their walk while I stayed back to see what was decided.)

Only about half of the households had members show up for this informal discussion.  One neighbor who was in favor of the traffic calming speed hump asked a couple of times why the meeting was even called since the vote was clearly in favor of this measure.

Speed hump meeting question: "why are we discussing this when we already voted?" (more…)

Deer on Bacigalupi Drive

Yesterday we were walking our dog, Bella, to Belgatos Park (as we often do) and spotted some deer. Interestingly, we were inside of the park, and they were outside of it!  Below please see some images from those few minutes when they high-tailed it back into the park.

View from inside Belgatos Park - deer on a Bacigalupi front yard!

It was more obvious in person – next see a closeup:

View from inside the park - a closer look

The deer watched us carefully as we approached but eventually decided they needed to head back to the park. In the photo below, you may be able to see one of them on the right side of the road and another deer on the far left by the tree (there were 2 babies but none of the photos show all of them, unfortunately).

Deer crossing Bacigalupi Drive

Here’s a clearer image of two of the deer.

Deer in the road

Back into the park (they went around to the side where the fencing ends to get it).

Two deer in Belgatos Park, Los Gatos

A clear shot of two of the three deer just inside the park again.

Heading out to the open space

Heading back into the open space!

Deer back at home in Belgatos Park, Los Gatos, CA

Away from the fence, the street and the houses, this deer looks to be back where it is most comfortable.