History is a fruit stand In parts of the country, the seemingly mundane can be on the National Register of Historic Places. In California, historic sites frequently are bulldozed before anyone knows. Or turned into fruit stands. Such is the case with the birthplace of the semiconductor industry.	Brian Fuller Editor-in-Chief
The former headquarters of Shockley Labs in Mountain View is just such a place. Actually it's a former fruit stand that apparently is awaiting renovation...not as an historic site but as a grocery store. That's the word today from the San Francisco Chronicle which served up a short piece on the place. The site at 391 San Antonio Road was the place where William Shockley of Bell Labs landed and started furthering his work with the transistor he'd helped invent on the East Coast. While many people argue that Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard's garage in Palo Alto was the birthplace of the Silicon Valley, technically the spot where semiconductor work first flourished should be so noted. (Not far from this location is the site of the first headquarters of Fairchild Semiconductor, whose founders--the "traitorous eight"--left Shockley. That sits near Sun Microsystems at 844 Charleston Rd. The site's current owner, Pablo Martinez of Oakland, told The Chronicle that the building is being renovated and will reopen as a grocery store in a few months. Fairchild is planning a big celebration of its 50th anniversary this fall. Meanwhile, the trade group SEMI has taken a commenorative plaque from the site for safe-keeping. Posted by Brian Fuller on Apr 12, 2007 09:53 AM in Industry

This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media Terms of Service.

Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.