On November 8, 1789, Don Gaspar De Portola and his expedition, searching for Monterey Bay, camped beside San Francisquito Creek near a century-old redwood tree long used as a landmark by the Indians. That tree, named El Palo Alto, became a symbol of the city of Palo Alto, California. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the city's incorporation, this coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was planted in J. Pearce Mitchell Park and dedicated as El Palo Nuevo, a twin symbol, on February 1, 1969.
