A Toast to Palo Alto - Its Complicated Alcohol Story

This month’s program will feature PAHA historian Steve Staiger speaking on the history of alcohol in Palo Alto. While many of us know about Palo Alto’s “dry days”, the actual story is far more interesting with many variations on what was dry and what was not.

The saga of alcohol in Palo Alto has been complicated. This story dates back to the time of the Ohlone, to the wild (and wet) times of Mayfield with its many saloons and local breweries, to the national era of Prohibition, and the various attempts to make Palo Alto a dry town.

Hear how East Palo Alto’s “Whiskey Gulch” and the Alpine Inn (aka Zott’s) in Portola Valley also contributed the story. Join us for a toast to Frank Crist—the Palo Alto attorney who fought to rid Palo Alto of its dry label in the 1970s!