{"nrhp_refnum":"11000696","name":"Shoup, Paul, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"500 University Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Altos","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.37154544500004,"lon":-122.11631943199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-09-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Craftsman single-family house at 500 University Avenue in Los Altos, Santa Clara County, California, built in 1910 for railroad executive Paul Shoup and his family on a lot that crosses Adobe Creek.","why_significant":"It is significant at the local level under Criterion B for its association with Paul Shoup, a Southern Pacific railroad man who rose to president of the company in 1929. Shoup is credited as the founding father of Los Altos, and the house served as his home base while he promoted and financed the new commuter community. The house is described as best representing what he wanted for the town.","narrative":"Built in 1910, this large two-story Craftsman house at 500 University Avenue in Los Altos was the family home of Paul Shoup, a Southern Pacific railroad man who became the company's president in 1929. Wood shingles clad the walls, and a double-gable roof ends in bell eaves supported by decorative brackets. Many original wood windows, some with wavy glass, survive, along with interior features such as coffered foyer ceilings, beamed living and dining rooms, and narrow plank floors. Landscape remnants along Adobe Creek include a stone grotto, stone steps and concrete retaining walls. The house was expanded around 1925, altered after the 1990 earthquake and rehabilitated in 2010. It is recognized for its link to Shoup, who helped found and promote Los Altos as a commuter residential community when the area held only ranches and orchards. His family lived here until selling the house in 1945.","period_of_significance":"1910-1945","architect_builder":"Possibly Wolfe & MacKenzie (unconfirmed)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements/Craftsman","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Still used as a single-family dwelling; rehabilitated in 2010 after earlier alterations, including repairs following the 1990 Loma Prieta earthquake.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.586247-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/11000696.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000696/eff0c13624-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000696/eff0c13624-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PaulShoupHouseCirca1910.tiff\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PaulShoupHouseCirca1910.tiff"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861791","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Shoup_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7153587"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/shoup-paul-house-11000696/"}