A chunk of Silicon Valley history has disappeared with the closing of Hyatt Rickey's in Palo Alto. Known in a previous, less brand-conscious era as Rickey's Hyatt, this rambling garden hotel has been a landmark for more than 50 years.
My favorite Rickey's memory is from 1982, when I was an Apple Sales Support Analyst -- that is, a nerd who helped Apple sales reps. After signing an NDA (my first ever), I was allowed into a ballroom filled with Lisa computers. I sat down and gaped in awe at the wonders of a graphical user interface. This was two months before the Lisa shipped, 14 months before the Mac, and I had only seen such things in the pages of magazines. I grabbed the mouse and played with LisaCalc, LisaWrite, and the rest, all day long and into the night. I opened the Clock, covered it partially with a window, and watched in amazement as the second hand disappeared and then reemerged during its sweep around the dial.
Goodbye, Rickey's Hyatt. Hello, 185 new homes that will take its place.
Where did you hear that they were building houses there? I'd like to get one!
Posted by: Dennis T Cheung | Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 02:07 PM
In the past couple of years their resident Chef made the best soups I've ever had. If you know where he ended up let me know!
Posted by: William Ahern | Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 06:05 PM