History of the park, taken from the new plaque there:
Between the years of 1919 and 1930, the Town of Los Gatos
hosted annual summer Town Pageants on this site. These were
dramatic productions that told a story, sometimes based on local
history or legend, on a very large stage. Casts of 300-500
presented works of local authors to crowds in the thousands. The
raised portion of this park (once the floor of a winery) served as
a stage, and an orchestra pit (now filled) was in the lower area.
The audience sat on a gently sloping area that is now occupied by
Villa Street and the Civic Center. A "life-sized set" was
illuminated in the early years with bonfires and flares, and in
later years was enhanced by a waterfall powered by a fire hydrant
on Cleland Avenue above. Horsemen would arrive on stage at a full
gallop to dazzle the crowd. Performances were interrupted by the
Great Depression but were revived to run sporadically from
1937-1947, when interest eventually waned.
I have some ancient history in this park as well. The short
little dirt hillside near the cache is where I first learned how to
rappel many years ago.
Park hours are 7am to a half hour after sunset. Please do not
hunt this cache outside those hours, it's adjacent to the police
department! Dogs are allowed on-leash. It's a tiny park so if
muggles are present (although they rarely seem to be) it will be
almost impossible to grab the cache without being suspicious.
Thanks to Workerofwood for the passing along one of the skills
involved with making this cache.
The cache contains a tiny logbook and a few equally-small trade
items, but you'll need to bring your own pen.
