The Club That Named Big Basin Way Turns 100 This October

Twelve members of the Saratoga Improvement Club voted in the fall of 1926 on a new name for the street that ran through the village. Nine of them chose "Big Basin Way." Until then the road had been called Lumber Street.

The renaming was one of the first major accomplishments of a group that had just changed its own name. On October 4, 1926, the Saratoga Improvement Club voted to become the Chamber of Commerce. A century later, that Chamber still sets much of the calendar on the street it named. It works from an office at 14460 Big Basin Way. Several of this fall's events start at its front door.

Why the Street Was Called Lumber Street

The old name described the road's job. Highway 9, today's Big Basin Way, was a county road older than California statehood. According to the Saratoga Historical Foundation, it gave the area an economic edge because it was the route to the lumber mills in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was also the road up to Congress Springs and the hill country beyond.

Visitors had been part of the town's economy for decades before the vote. Church groups from San Jose were meeting in a "cathedral of oaks" here as early as 1852. The Congress Springs resort opened in 1866 and drew a steady stream of guests who came for the mineral water. Around the turn of the century the town was known as "The Gateway to Big Basin." Local boosters tried out "Crown of the Valley, the Pasadena of the North," a name the Foundation says was not overwhelmingly popular. The Blossom Festival began in 1900. The first Interurban Railway arrived in 1904 and brought in an even larger crowd.

By 1926 the town's main street had been named for timber traffic for a long time. Visitors had been coming for scenery and springs for just as long. The new name pointed toward the park in the mountains, which was the reason most visitors made the trip.

A Chamber Thirty Years Older Than the City

The Chamber marks its centennial from 1926, but the Historical Foundation traces its roots back further. The first known booster group in Saratoga was the Saratoga Village Improvement Association, organized on March 7, 1887. Its president was Milton Myrick, a former State Supreme Court justice. Its 1st vice president was James E. Gordon, owner of the Miramonte Ranch. L. A. Sage, who ran the Congress Springs resort, was recording secretary. The group's first goals were beautifying the area, getting the county to grade and sprinkle the roads, planting hedges, and promoting Saratoga.

The Foundation says the Chamber served as a sort of unofficial town council for years. That role ended with the vote that created the city whose 70th birthday Saratoga celebrated this summer. The sequence, as the Foundation records it:

• Early 1950s. The prospect of annexation by San Jose pushes residents to organize.
• November 14, 1955. The Chamber organizes and sponsors an open forum that the Foundation calls "the formal start of a new order for Saratoga."
• Shortly after. Chamber president Mrs. Hugh Purcell helps form a 40-member study committee, with a representative from every civic group.
• September 25, 1956. The vote to incorporate passes 1,687 to 1,527, a margin of 160 votes. The new council picks San Jose State professor Dr. Burton R. Brazil as the first mayor.

On August 22, residents filled Wildwood Park to celebrate those 70 years with live music, a petting zoo, and Daze on the Green. Mayor Chuck Page said the band "had everyone dancing until the very end." The Chamber's own centennial follows seven weeks later.

The Chamber has also moved several times along the street it named. It had an office at 14483 Big Basin Way in 1969 and moved to 14417 Big Basin Way in the early 1970s. In 1976 it moved into the renovated McWilliams House in the Saratoga Historical Park. It outgrew that small house and returned to Big Basin Way in January 2003.

What Runs Through 14460 Big Basin Way This Season

The fall calendar shows the Chamber still sets the street's schedule. Here is what is planned through Thanksgiving weekend.

The centennial itself. The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce is holding a free 100th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, October 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Odd Fellows Saratoga, 14414-A Oak St. The Chamber will serve light hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Donations are welcome but not required, and RSVPs go through saratogachamber.org.

SCAREatoga. The Chamber's scarecrow competition has homemade scarecrows on display September 26 through November 1, on Big Basin Way or at participants' homes. Winners in each category receive a $60 gift card to a Saratoga restaurant. Entries are delivered to the Chamber at 14460 Big Basin Way between September 25 and October 9. Anyone planning to enter has about a week left.

Witchy Walk-A-Bout. On Saturday, October 31, from 2 to 4 p.m., Historic Saratoga Village hosts a free, family-friendly afternoon along Big Basin Way. The City's listing includes games, crafts, costumes, scarecrows, and trick-or-treating at local businesses.

The day after Thanksgiving. Candy Cane Village runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on November 27 at the Chamber, 14460 Big Basin Way. The Saratoga Holiday Wine Stroll Experience follows from 6 to 9 p.m. in the same area.

The Storefronts Along the Way

The businesses hosting the trick-or-treaters on October 31 are a little different from last fall's. Over the summer, Laura Ness reported several changes in the Village for the Mercury News.

Pop Haus Coffee, 14612 Big Basin Way. It took over the former Cinnabar Winery tasting room. The menu includes orange marzipan lattes, ube matcha lattes, toasts, and pastries. In the afternoon it becomes a wine bar pouring Georgian wines. It is run by Anya Kolty, a UX designer, and her husband Erik Abramyan, a professional jazz musician from Georgia, the country. "We chose Saratoga Village for our first food service venture for its friendly atmosphere," Abramyan told the Saratoga News. He said they have been very busy since opening. Mayor Page has held "Coffee with the Mayor" pop-ups there. He also keeps drop-in office hours at the Saratoga Farmers' Market on the first Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Bank Lounge & Wine Bar. The longtime bar known as The Bank has the same footprint in its 1913 brick building. It now has a small fireplace, upgraded seating, and large TVs above the bar. It also takes cards now and is no longer cash only.

La Mère Michelle. Marc Masek's parents opened the French restaurant in 1972, and he has been its executive chef and co-owner. He has sold the building to Parviz Sahbaee, who owns Negeen, a Persian restaurant on Hamilton Avenue in Campbell. The July report did not say what the sale means for the restaurant.

Bella Saratoga. Rumors said Bella Saratoga was changing hands, and its owners say they are not true. Clyde Zaya has run the restaurant with business partner Claudio Nicosia since 2007. He described the past few years this way:

"The town is definitely becoming more lively. Things are definitely getting better since the pandemic. You're seeing more businesses coming in, which is good. The more, the merrier."

Just outside the Village core, Scarlett Cocktail Room & Lounge opened May 22 next to Bell Tower Café on Saratoga-Los Gatos Road. It took over the space where Claudine's Wine Experience operated before closing during the pandemic. Silvia Petrova and her family, longtime Saratoga residents, bought Bell Tower Café last year and built the lounge around a back bar more than 100 years old, imported from Dublin. Live music is scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays. Petrova's view of the town's priorities echoes the 1887 founders' goals: "Saratoga needs to focus on attracting more visitors to remain a vibrant village, by promoting its rich history, natural beauty and local businesses."

Up the Hill From the Village

The road the Chamber renamed still leads to Saratoga's other fall venues.

• October 4, noon or 1 p.m. Tea Ceremony Demonstration with Sensei John Larissou at Hakone Gardens.
• October 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Repair Cafe at Saratoga Library.
• October 10 and 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two-day Bamboo Fence Building workshop with Garden Curator Jacob Kellner at Hakone. It falls on the same weekend as the centennial.
• October 25, 11 a.m. Halloween Family Fun: Goblins in the Garden at Montalvo.
• October 28 and 29, 7:30 p.m. Direct from Sweden: The Music of ABBA at Montalvo.
• October 29, 8 to 9 a.m. The Chamber's WVC Morning Mixer at West Valley College's Entrepreneurship Center, Che School of Professional Studies, Room 124.
• November 1, noon or 1 p.m. Another Tea Ceremony Demonstration at Hakone. It is also the last day of the SCAREatoga display.

The Saratoga Historical Foundation's history of the Chamber by April Halberstadt has the full account, from the 1887 founders to the vote that renamed Lumber Street.

Diane grew up in Los Gatos, just down Highway 9, and our team pays attention to the stories behind West Valley streets. If you're a Saratoga homeowner wondering how your home fits into the Village's next chapter, Diane Bucher Real Estate Group can walk you through it with local context and a clear process. Request your personalized home valuation.