Palo Alto, city,Santa Clara county, northernCalifornia, U.S. Located 35 miles (55 km) south ofSan Francisco and 14 miles (23 km) north ofSan Jose, it lies on the western shore ofSan Francisco Bay.Gaspar de Portolá’s 1769expedition is said to have camped near El Palo Alto (referring to “the tall [redwood] tree,” now a city landmark) on San Francisquito Creek. The site was developed in 1891 as a “dry” village forStanford University (opened 1891), with liquor sales prohibited within one mile of campus. The city received its name from SenatorLeland Stanford’s “Palo Alto” farm. Stimulated by the university and by urban growth of the west bay shore area, Palo Alto developed research-oriented light industries including aerospace, communications, and electronics. TheHewlett-Packard Garage, whereWilliam Hewlett and David Packard began their company, is considered the “birthplace ofSilicon Valley,” the high-technology manufacturing centre that extends outward to the southeast. Stanford University’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts (formerly the Stanford Museum) houses one of the largest collections of works by the French sculptorAuguste Rodin (only the Paris-basedMusée Rodin’s collection is larger). Inc. 1894. Pop. (2000) 58,598; (2010) 64,403.