Memories of growing up in Lindenwood in the ’50s & ’60s

Growing up in Lindenwood was magical. Somewhat lost as a young boy in a new family, the streets behind those gates and brick wall became my refuge.

I lived on Hawthorne Drive near James Avenue from 1954 to 1969. Our home was an Eichler design and graced the magazine cover of House Beautiful during the mid-50s. In fact, Mr. Eichler lived around the corner in his own ‘Eichler’ on Irving Avenue which is still standing today.

During that entire time, I had no idea about ‘Linden Towers’, the Flood Estate mansion built in 1878, and its rich history among estates in Atherton. Sure, I knew there were mansion ruins behind homes on Rosewood, Larch and Greenoaks where we made forts out of the rubble. We also heard the rumors of a large, ornate swimming pool dismantled in favor of new homes on Juniper Drive. And I frequently rode my bike past an old, spooky house near the Linden Avenue gates which I later learned was the Flood Estate Gate House.

There were other clues of a past gone by: massive urns, granite benches and old streetlamps surrounded by lush shrubbery and over-arching trees where we played ‘hide and go’ seek. We didn’t know any better —this was just our neighborhood.

It was a simpler time in the 50s and 60s. Kids had more freedom. On the weekends, we finished our chores, jumped on our bikes and didn’t come home until dark. No one worried about time or where you had to be or whether you were safe. It was always the ‘afternoon’ in Lindenwood, we could be anywhere and everywhere having fun in the safety of our private sanctuary. I had a bunch of friends up on Greenoaks, Rosewood, Lupin, Mosswood and Wisteria.

Since I wasn’t allowed to eat snacks before dinner, my rides around Lindenwood included stops at fruit trees and bushes along the way where I could eat plums, apricots, guavas and pomegranates from neighborhood yards without giving it a second thought.

I had two paper routes in Lindenwood delivering the Palo Alto Times. Every day, papers would be dropped at my home with a big bag of rubber bands. I would fold each paper, stuff them in huge canvas shoulder bags, struggle to gain balance on my bike and head up to Fredrick Avenue where the route began. Shortly thereafter, I was given a route closer to home on Hawthorne which cut the delivery time down to a few hours. In some cases, however, my route took several hours given my OCD. Every time I rode over a crack I would have to circle back and avoid the crack to ensure that nothing ‘bad’ would happen to my brother who was stationed in Vietnam.

The streets of Lindenwood were the perfect playground for having fun, some were harmless like playing football on the Heather Drive ‘big lawn’ and some were not always the safest. BB-gun wars in and out of trees, bushes and yards. One time we ‘wheeled’ a twin-engine go-kart to the James Avenue gate. Kids were positioned at all the feeder streets — Heather, Hawthorne, Magnolia, Catalpa, Greenoaks — to stop traffic from entering James. We started the engines then raced all the way up James Avenue ending at the owners’ home on Irving Avenue. Thrilling times and fun that still brings a smile to my face.

Lindenwood was home to several noteworthy people during my time growing up there. John Brodie, former Stanford football star and 49ers quarterback lived across the street. Y.A. Tittle, also a legendary 49er quarterback lived with his family on Rosewood Drive. And, Lindsey Buckingham lived on Flood Circle. I swam and played water-polo with Lindsey at Menlo-Atherton (he also gave me my first and only guitar lesson after practice one day). Lindsey’s older brother Greg won silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley at the 1968 Tokyo Olympics. Many of you may know Lindsey Buckingham as the massively talented guitar player, formerly a member of the rock band Fleetwood Mac.

So that’s my story — great memories of growing up in Lindenwood, the former James Clair Flood Estate in Atherton.

Interested in the history of Lindenwood and the Town of Atherton? Visit the Heritage Room at the Historic Town Hall (80 Fair Oaks Lane) on Tuesdays, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Chris Abramson has a new podcast Note the Past. Here’s a link to the first episode. Tune in future episodes:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-yJ.