60 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} words by ANDREA GEMMET There’s almost always something happening on University Avenue. Downtown Palo Alto’s bustling main drag is lined with busy restaurants, tempting cafes and interesting shops. On weekends and warm evenings, the sidewalks fill with crowds of Stanford University students, wide-eyed tourists and plenty of locals, all soaking up the scene. But that’s not all there is to this city center, first established as University Park in 1889. Instead, opt for roads slightly less traveled to get a better feel for all that this vibrant area has to offer. Veer onto the side streets, where the crowd thins, window displays beckon and the historic charm of what’s arguably the Peninsula’s best-known downtown really reveals itself. BROWSE The 500 block of Ramona Street between University and Hamilton avenues is a great place to start. Its charming Spanish colonial and early California architecture, dating back to the 1920s and ‘30s, earned this block a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Don’t overlook the modest tile-roofed structure at 520 Ramona. Built in 1925 by Pedro de Lemos, a one-time curator at the Stanford Museum, it’s the district’s oldest building and was designed to preserve a majestic old oak tree that was on the site. These days, it houses The Wine Room, an intimate wine bar. Across the street at 533 Ramona, pass under an arched entryway between Denovo Fine Contemporary Jewelry and Marvel Cake (home of the wildly popular spiral croissants) to admire the interior courtyard and tiled staircases of de Lemos’ 1938 commercial building. On the corner of Ramona and Hamilton, elegant wrought iron softens the imposing bulk of the 1927 Medico-Dental Building, designed by notable local architect Birge Clark. Around the block on Emerson Street, the inviting display windows of Bell’s Books will slow your steps and lure you inside. Perfect for leisurely browsing, the family-run bookstore founded in 1935 offers an impressive collection of new, used and collectible books. A few doors down, the United Nations Association Gift Shop sells an array of handmade fair trade items, with all profits going to Unicef. The colorful and eclectic offerings range from Haitian metalwork crafted from PALO ALTO downtown discoveries PHOTOGRAPHY: ANNIE BARNETT
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