Los Altos History Museum

A wonderful place to learn about the rich, vibrant history of Los Altos and the surrounding area. They have rotating exhibits which feature the diverse cultural contributions of early natives, immigrants, settlers, and pioneers.
The center itself is aesthetically pleasing, and separated on two floors. It’s very nice inside (and out). There is an outside courtyard venue which showcases a preserved windmill, and various pieces of old farming equipment.
I’m extremely thankful that this place is supported by knowledgeable volunteers who are more than willing to field any questions.

We recently tied the knot at the Los Altos History Museum, and the venue helped make for the most perfect day. We had both the ceremony and the reception on site, and for our 150 guests the location was perfect. When we first looked at the LAHM as a venue, we were instantly drawn to the inclusiveness of the venue, the natural beauty of the garden and buildings, and we looked no further! We found the rental package for the museum to be very reasonable as well.
Event coordinator Mark Perry was great. He answered all of our questions, and never made us feel like we weren’t a priority (despite the fact that he was receiving this questions for almost 2 years!) He was always knowledgable about all the necessary logistics, and had good suggestions to help with the flow of our evening. We opted to do a lot of the wedding coordinating ourselves, so having his expertise was priceless. Being able to store some supplies beginning a few days before, ample parking– all added benefits. Choosing a cater from the preferred vendor list is highly recommended, as these vendors are well versed in the venue, and have worked with Mark before.
We found that little decorating was needed because the venue itself is already so beautiful, and having all of the action together in the courtyard and museum room really helped to keep the party atmosphere alive. We became the envy of all of our recently engaged friends for snatching up the venue before them!
I know that we will continue to visit the museum in years to come to remember our special day, and soak in the beauty!
If we could give more than 5 stars, we would!

My husband and I got married at LAHM on 9÷13÷15. We had such an incredible experience having our big day at the most beautiful venue. I knew I wanted to get married here about two years before my (now!) husband and I became engaged. Once he popped the question, I immediately reached out to Mark Perry to get the ball rolling. Not only is he an incredibly kind, funny and knowledgeable guy but he put so much effort into answering all my (many) questions leading up to the wedding day. We referred to his wedding planning tools and recommended vendor list often. The vendors we ended up using were absolutely perfect and I would STRONGLY recommend you look into the ones we used for your LAHM wedding (Karen Pan of New Sunrise Events [coordinator], Kim Wakatsuki of FlowerStory [florist], Frank Loera of Sound in Motion [DJ & Photo Booth], Emily Rosengarth of Emily Jean Images [photographer], The Party Helpers [caterer], Sweet Puff Candy [cotton candy], Sugar Butter Flower [cake] and last but not least Andrew Boer of Boer Digital [videographer]! Thanks Mark and LAHM for a magical day!

My wife and I got married here on 8÷29÷2015 and we have nothing but good things to say about this place. We went around for months looking around at different wedding venues and LAHM couldn’t have made it easier for us. Main reason for choosing this venue was that it doesn’t need any decoration, everything there makes the place look amazing (especially the string lights and the brick floor). Not only is the venue the perfect place to have a wedding but the event coordinator, Mark, was extremely helpful and friendly. He was very responsive when contacting him about any last minute questions and made the whole wedding planning a lot less stressful. We had about 250 guests with enough space for people to walk around the venue and between the tables. We had enough room to include a photo booth, long bar, pearl tea bar, and a live band. Inside the museum is where the DJ and caterer are located. After the food is served the floor is cleared and used as the dance floor. The weather was perfect, not too hot during the day and not too cold during the night. We had the venue from 5:30pm– 11pm. I would highly recommend this place for anyone planning there wedding but make sure you book 1 year in advance since this venue not only books very fast but they only take events during summer (July — Oct I think) since it is an outdoor/​indoor venue. Inside the actual museum the kids can go upstairs to check out the history of Los Altos and have a play area. This venue was perfect for our wedding. Would easily recommend this place over all the other venues we looked at.

I attended a delightful wedding at this Venue last night. It was comfy cozy and intimate. It was the kind of wedding you would see on pinterest. This place is charming with a type of backyard appeal that surpassed all of my expectations of a backyard wedding. The organization and staging was spectacular and I would definitely recommend it for a smaller wedding of 100+. Thank you for free parking, cute ambience and great photo ops!

I checked out the small but FREE Los Altos History Museum that’s behind the Los Altos Library.
Upstairs in the local Los Altos/​Silicon Valley History — Ohlone Indians, Mission Santa Clara de Asis, neat Railroad exhibit that works.
Downstairs is their current exhibit Reflect & Create: Where Art & History Intersect now thru 10÷4÷15. It’s just ok: like a wool swimsuit, an old typewriter, old eggbeater, etc.
Small giftshop — selling books, postcards, Los Altos bag, etc.
Docent was able to take me and 2 others to the J. Gilbert Smith House — got to walk around and take pictures inside. Kinda interesting. They have scheduled tours on Sun at 2pm, but ask if a docent can take you inside.
Separate bathrooms before entering the museum.
Worth a stop if in Los Altos.
Hrs: 12 – 4 Th-​Sun

This is a fabulous small museum. The permanent exhibit upstairs is perfect for kids but adults will enjoy the historical info, too. The model train is really cool (fyi; once a year they host an amazing model train show), with sound effects and lights.
Downstairs, entry level, houses changing exhibits which connect the community with state, national and world events.
The staff is friendly and helpful. There’s a tiny museum shop, as well.
Outside in the gardens you can see some of the equipment and some buildings from the old apricot orchard on which the museum, library and surrounding parks were built. Again, fun for kids and adults. A perfect spot for a lunch in the shade.
I just wish it had longer hours

We had our wedding at the museum in May 2014. The coordinator, Mark was awesome. He is extremely responsible and organized. He reminded us throughout the planning process of what needed to be completed. We choose a caterer (Schumann’s Four Seasons) that they recommended and were so pleased with how smoothly our event went. The venue itself is naturally beautiful during the day, especially in the spring when the flowers are in bloom. At night the outdoor patio is romantic with lights strung across above the dining area. The museum is a wonderful venue for an intimate wedding; we are so happy that we selected it.

My expectations were low, but it was really cool! The bicycle exhibit is awesome and the upstairs local history is cool too.
I heard that they do weddings in the courtyard, but they want about $ 4,000 just for you to rent their place. What!!!

Way way overdue review on the Los Altos History Museum as a wedding site. But whether you are planning a wedding or not, you should visit LAHM regardless. Admission is free, the permanent exhibit is really cool, and the volunteer docents are cute. A great way to spend a few hours! Now onto my review for it as a wedding site.
My husband and I had our wedding a couple summers ago, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. We wanted to have our wedding at a location that was casual, natural or even a bit rustic. But we also wanted to minimize hassle for our guests — so the place need to be easy to get to.
We fell in love with LAHM on our first visit. It is conveniently located near downtown Los Altos with plenty of parking, but it is somewhat hidden and very quiet. You simply forget that you are so close to civilization.
The patio and the garden at LAHM was very charming and organic. I was particularly drawn to the historical artifacts like the J. Gilbert Smith history house, the tractor and other old farming tools. Although the place isn’t that big, it offers many spots inside and out for beautiful photos. We were very pleased with our wedding photos, thanks both to the LAHM and to our very talented photographer Andi Hatch.
We had both the ceremony and the reception outdoor at the patio. The space fit our guests of ~100 perfectly, but it could definitely accommodate a larger wedding.
The rental manager, Mark Perry, was a joy to work with. He’s friendly and laid-​back but extremely professional. He responded to our emails promptly during the whole planning process, and he was always willing to meet with us at the museum to go over the logistics with us.
What we found great about LAHM is that despite its charming setting, it’s pretty much a blank canvas. There are many different ways you can dress up the place to make it your own. And since the garden is open to the public most of the time, you can visit as often as you wish during the planning process to see what you could do with the place!
An added bonus is that your wedding guests could tour the museum and the history house during the wedding, and you could even have a docent there to guide them! A few of our guests told us that they really enjoyed the tour during the cocktail hour — I guess we had a few nerdy friends and relatives.
The museum has chairs and tables you can rent. Other optional items like heat lamps, umbrellas, you’ll have to work through with your caterer and their party rental. We worked with one of the caterers that LAHM recommended, Greenfish Catering, and were very impressed with them.
I will definitely recommend this place to any couple who is looking for a place to hold a cozy and charming outdoor wedding.

Fun bicycle exhibit currently at Los Altos History Museum. Worth seeing if you like bikes… It is a special exhibit so it is here just for a short time.
The 2^nd floor is the permanent history museum.
It is free to see and parking is free too.

I was looking at this venue for our wedding but ended up taking our engagement pictures here instead. There are so many areas for beautiful photos. The venue itself is adorable. Very rustic with a barn and italian bistro lights. We coordinated with Mark through email. We had a ton of questions and he was also quick to reply. It ended up not being the right fit for us. We really wanted a sparkler exit but no open fire was allowed and dancing is inside the museum and at the time the museum was displaying bears– i thought it would be kind of off dancing with bears on the walls.
I think it is definitely worth it to check out this venue for a wedding or event. When you hear museum you think one thing but it is truly a darling place — looks straight out of pinterest!

After searching endlessly online for our picture perfect outdoor wedding venue. We found Los Altos History Museum on Style Me Pretty’s website. When we went to see the venue itself. We immediately fell in love with its natural and simple beauty. We met with Mark-​he is the venue manager. He is full of information and other things you haven’t considered for an outdoor wedding i.e. if you’re having your ceremony in the garden, he knows when the sun sets and the best time do it. After our meeting with Mark, we knew we had to do our wedding at Los Altos History Museum. In all honesty, the main reason why we booked our wedding here aside from its natural beauty was because of Mark. We met with other venue manager at different venues and he stood out from the rest of them. He is very friendly, easy to talk to and he didn’t rush us on our first meeting. Throughout the wedding planning, Mark was alway so prompt on answering our questions and concerns. He is accommodating, easy to work with and very reliable. He also let us leave some of our wedding décor a couple of days before our wedding.
We had about 150 guests that fit comfortably in the red brick paved garden. You don’t need much flower décor because the garden itself is full of it. The bistro lights adds such a romantic and cozy feel at night and the back area (where the bar and cocktail area is usually held have enough spotlight lighting – this will save you a lot of money as well). Our guests loved LAHM because they are not stuck in the «reception» area because they can be in the back garden, out in front, in the gallery (where the dancing is held) or simply at their tables. We also had our Flipbook Photobooth in the back by the small barn area. LAHM do have a preferred caterer lists which in my mind narrow down the search but if you insist on choosing outside the preferred lists, there is a fee for that. We chose Greenfish Catering for ours and couldn’t be more happier.
There are so many great perks on having your wedding here. The museum itself is awesome, you can also opt in (no fee) having a docent to give a tour of the J. Gilbert Smith house during your cocktail hour for your guests, the garden is beautiful with its plants, flowers and bistro lights, the gallery for your dancing is huge! Mark is truly a great person to work with.

Loved hosting our wedding here. Perfect for an outdoor, nature-​y, rustic, more casual event. Lots of different spaces for great photos. The great environment with lots of flowers/​trees means you don’t need to spend a ton of decoration or flowers. Mark, the venue contact, was amazing to work with. He was extremely communicative — quick, concise, clear responses. Amazing place & staff, wish we could go back & do it again.

We attended an outdoor wedding in October and it was perfect. The space was perfect for the wedding size of ~125. The ceremony was held on the brick area, reception by the trees, dinner on the same brick area (the staff switched the ceremony seats to dinner tables during the reception), and dancing/​DJ inside.
The buffet-​style food was great, bar had plenty of choices, and parking was plentiful. Some of the best pictures were taken by the barn.
The wedding ended by 11pm. I’m not sure about noise compliances in the area, so it’s a good idea to check.

We had our wedding in the Los Altos History museum a few months ago. It took me a while to write this review because life has been a roller coaster since the wedding.
I will be short and sweet about it — the venue was amazing in every possible way. You will see it’s beautiful when you go there, so I don’t have to say much about that. But you will not see how amazingly helpful, flexible and supportive their stuff was.
Mark Perry was our point of contact, and he was really amazing. They gave us a list of caterers they work with, and we chose Events of Excellence. They worked really well together and our event was simply amazing.
So, 5 stars.

Usually booked almost a year in advance, so get it booked asap!
We had our wedding on a Sunday (again because we were booking a year in advance and that was the only day open around our date).
Amazing venue, instantly beautiful without needing a bunch of extra work.
Can handle a wedding of 50 – 200 easily, lots of parking, and beautiful in the summer as well as the fall.

What a beautiful venue! We had our wedding/​reception here in May and have nothing but good things to say about LAHM. The buildings are picturesque (and continually being added to), the flower gardens were immaculately manicured, and the grounds overall are very well maintained.
We really liked this venue because it lends itself to being broken up into sub areas (e.g. cocktail hours in the forest, photo booth in the canopy, dancing indoors, dinner on the patio, etc) and allows you to seamlessly transition between indoor and outdoor areas. It worked out especially well for an Indian wedding as the flower-​adorned pergola is a much nicer substitute for the standard mandap (Indian wedding altar) rentals. Finally, Mark Perry (the main contact for weddings) is extremely helpful and easy to work with — he definitely beats out the stuffier /​high maintenance and/​or unresponsive site managers that we encountered at other venues (ahem…Pizzaiolo, anyone?).
The only watch out is that the venue is part of a «park district» complex — while the venue itself is completely isolated from the other structures, you’re guests may need a little additional guidance to make sure the show up at the right spot. In any case, it’s really not a big deal and a small price to pay for a gorgeous venue and to learn vital information about the history of Los Altos. All in all a fantastic place to get married — highly recommend!

I got married at the Los Altos History Museum in June. The venue worked extremely well logistically for our ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing for 150 people. It is a very intimate setting considering it holds up to 250 people. I was looking for a venue that had an outdoor garden/​forest kind of feel while still having ample parking, bathrooms, electrical outlets, etc. LAHM was a perfectly romantic outdoor venue that was practical as well-​a hard combination to find!
The museum’s outdoor brick courtyard is a beautiful space full of planted trees, flowers, twinkle lights, and the bougainvillea covered trellis. It worked really well for our ceremony and dinner. There is plenty of shade and tranquility under the oaks and in the garden-​esq area around the back and side of the museum and house where guests wandered before the ceremony and during cocktail hour. We set up the buffet and had dancing inside the museum’s main room, which has a nice wood floor. The museum exhibit was interesting, but blended into the background with the lights down low for dancing.
LAHM made booking and set up very simple. There were no surprise costs and we were able to rent all of our tables and chairs directly from the museum, which saved a lot of hassle and was very reasonably priced. The vendor recommendations they provided were really helpful as well. All of our vendors had worked at weddings at the museum before, many of them with each other. I think that this was a big factor in everything going so smoothly day of (we didn’t have a wedding planner).
I really can’t say enough wonderful things about the Los Altos History Museum. If you are planning an outdoor wedding or event, you should definitely contact to schedule a tour. The photos don’t really do it justice!

This review is for the outdoor wedding area. I attended a wedding here, and for couples who love the outdoors, this place has a rustic feel during the day that transforms itself into a romantic setting as the sun goes down. The wedding I attended was beautiful!
It’s a great space that can accommodate up to 200 people, and still provide an intimate setting. For couples in the bay area looking for an outdoor reception, this place is a contender especially since vineyards are costing about $ 8,000 a day to rent.