Shockley Semicondcutor Labratory on San Antonio Road is known as the birthplace of Silicon Valley for being the first silicon device research and manufacturing company in the area . [ Image Source : Chemical Heritage Foundation ]
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Without any difficulty I found the lab , stepped up to the door without any hesitation , rang the bell , and the door was opened by the great man himself . He was a bit surprised but invited me in where I saw a handful of younger men in white coats busy with things unnamable , but technical and refined . I do not remember one word of what Shockley said to me , nor the reaction of my parents when I told them I had been there . The lab was to my recollection just an ordinary family dwelling like ours , with maybe the garage attached to it as an annex .”
I mentioned to Mr . Graaff while our San Antonio shopping center is much changed , the spirit of innovation in Mountain View lives on . While Shockley ’ s legacy was later tarnished by his views on race , and the old lab is gone , I let Mr . Graff know a pair of monuments to the birth of Silicon Valley now stand on the site . We also corresponded about the new spirit of cooperation between the US and our traditional European allies , renewing the partnership we had at the time of World War II . All in all , I am glad to know our city is remembered so warmly after so many years .
Memories
Mountain View Memories is a recurring special feature of our newsletter where we publish memories of times gone by shared with us by our members .
A recent image of Arthur Graaff appearing on Al-Jazeera Television in September 2019 . Mr Graaff is now a journalist , a publisher , and an active antifascist in the Netherlands .
Do you have a special Mountain View memory to share ? Then write to us at : info @ mountainviewhistorical . org or mail us at : P . O . Box 252 , Mountain View , CA 94042 .
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