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In 1 863,John Kottinger subdivided a small portion of his land holdings at the north end of <br /> Main Street into three "downtown" lots. Another property owner, Joshua Neal, began <br /> to subdivide his adjacent land at the south end of Main Street in 1867. Lots were quickly <br /> developed, and commercial activity began to flourish. With the coming of the Central <br /> Pacific Railroad in 1869, the Downtown area soon became a shipping center for <br /> agricultural and manufactured products. Many of the Chinese workers that helped build <br /> the Railroad through the valley settled here and established laundries and stores along <br /> north Main Street. Numerous tunnels were built under Main Street to transport and <br /> store foods from their various businesses. <br /> From a handful of business establishments in the 1870's, Main Street grew to include <br /> hotels, general stores, blacksmith shops, professional offices, warehouses, and several <br /> saloons by 1894.. After the turn of the 19th century, many more buildings were <br /> constructed from revenues generated by the hop industry located north of the <br /> Downtown. In 1927, Pleasanton was chosen as the background for the movie "Rebecca <br /> of Sunnybrook Farm" starring Mary Pickford. As a result, Pleasanton became a favorite <br /> filming location in the late 1920's because of its historic downtown and rural environs <br /> which led Pleasanton to be called "the Hollywood of the North." <br /> In addition to the historic Downtown commercial core area, residential neighborhoods <br /> sprung up in the outlying area to house local merchants and other workers. Homes were <br /> designed using a variety of architectural styles including Victorian, Queen Anne, Colonial <br /> Revival, and Mission Revival. Neighborhoods were laid out using the typical grid pattern <br /> with tree-lined streets. A "small-town scale" resulted which is still largely intact today. <br /> During the current 2000-2001 Specific Plan update process, a Preliminary Historic <br /> Resources List and Map of the Downtown historic resources (Technical Supplement) <br /> were was developed which identify the individual sites and neighborhoods that contain <br /> outstanding examples of heritage structures within the Plan Area. These d:eei-ments-xr e <br /> intended to expand the City data base for implementing the currently pr <br /> Preservation Ordinance: The list identifies identified: (I) specific sites containing <br /> structures of at least 50 years in age which possess outstanding architectural and/or <br /> historic quality; and (2) five neighborhoods (residential and commercial) which contain a <br /> significant collection of historic buildings. In 2012, an updated "Historic Context" <br /> document was prepared to further establish the connection between the City's history <br /> and the built environment, and to establish which components of the built environment <br /> are historically significant. <br /> Page 2 of 12 <br />