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They anchored the start of Silicon Valley with Hewlett Packard. I think that Federal Telegraph 1909 founding is a much better starting point, See Timothy J. Stu
by skmurphy 15y ago
They anchored the start of Silicon Valley with Hewlett Packard. I think that Federal Telegraph 1909 founding is a much better starting point, See Timothy J. Sturgeon’s "How Silicon Valley Came to Be" where he notes:
The fact that the San Francisco Bay Area’s electronics industry began close to the turn of the Twentieth Century should lay to rest the notion that industrialization and urbanization on the scale of Silicon Valley can be quickly induced in other areas. Silicon Valley is nearly 100 years old. It grew out of a historically and geographically specific context that cannot be recreated. The lesson for planners and economic developers is to focus on long-term, not short-term developmental trajectories. Silicon Valley was the fastest growing region in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s; but that growth came out of a place, not a technology. Silicon Valley’s development is intimately entwined with the long history of industrialization and innovation in the larger San Francisco Bay Area.
See http://web.mit.edu/ipc/publications/pdf/00-014.pdf http://web.mit.edu/ipc/publications/pdf/00-014.pdf
- Stratoscope 15y agoThanks for that insight about the long term nature of Silicon Valley's development. And thanks for the tip about Federal Telegraph. I must confess I hadn't heard of them before - that's a fascinating bit of history, and I will read more about them. I was curious to know where they were located and found the answer on this great page of photos, so I thought I'd share it: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/svtour.html http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/svtour.html
- skmurphy 15y agoThere is actually a CA Historical marker for the site from http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21522 http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21522 NO. 836 PIONEER ELECTRONICS RESEARCH LABORATORY – This is the original site of the laboratory and factory of Federal Telegraph Company, founded in 1909 by Cyril F. Elwell. Here, Dr. Lee de Forest, inventor of the three-element radio vacuum tube, devised the first vacuum tube amplifier and oscillator in 1911-13. Worldwide developments based on this research led to modern radio communication, television, and the electronics age. Location: In sidewalk, SE corner of Channing Ave and Emerson St, Palo Alto I blogged about this in http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2008/11/05/steve-blank-on-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-at-chm-nov-20/ http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2008/11/05/steve-blank-on-secre... because Blank also anchored the start with HP.