{"nrhp_refnum":"07000635","name":"Highway 152 Tree Row","other_names":["Hecker Highway Tree Row"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"CA 152","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gilroy","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.01164121900004,"lon":-121.61611241664554,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-07-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1.39-mile row of 115 deodar cedar trees and 20 oaks along the southern right-of-way of Highway 152 (Hecker Pass Highway) just west of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California, planted on Arbor Day in 1930 and 1931.","why_significant":"The tree row is argued to be significant under Criterion A in social history at the local level. It reflects Gilroy's civic improvement and highway beautification efforts during California's first statewide Arbor Days. It is described as the only surviving remnant of Gilroy's early street beautification program.","narrative":"A row of deodar cedars runs for 1.39 miles along the south side of Highway 152, west of Gilroy, California. The trees stand about three feet from the pavement, roughly 20 feet apart, and reach 30 to 40 feet in height. Oaks grow among them at the western end. The cedars were planted by Gilroy residents on California's Arbor Days, March 7, 1930 and 1931. The Rotary Club led the effort, joined by Elks, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, the American Legion Auxiliary and schoolchildren. Seventy-five trees went in during 1930 and 65 more the following year. They honored the newly built Hecker Pass Highway, named for county supervisor Henry Hecker, which became the main western entrance to Gilroy. The row is the lone survivor of the town's early street beautification efforts, and the surrounding setting remains rural. It was recognized for its link to local civic improvement during the statewide Arbor Day observances.","period_of_significance":"1930-1931","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Trees are described as in good health, with about five gaps in the row and no significant changes since 2004.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.764946-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/07000635.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000635/5fa59a6fe3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000635/5fa59a6fe3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LPS.1","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highway_152_Tree_Row.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LPS.1</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highway_152_Tree_Row.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861701","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108839997"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/highway-152-tree-row-07000635/"}