Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. 22 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1897.
“The Fraternal Hall Building is a historic building in Palo Alto, California. It was built in 1898 for the Fraternal Hall Association.”
Wikipedia article Fraternal Hall Building, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 117 National Register listings published here for Santa Clara County · listed in 1990 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The ground this property stands on, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 207 fires within 5 miles of Fraternal Hall Building between 1992 and 2020, burning about 139 acres in total. None started naturally. 21 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 123 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 29 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 21 |
| Smoking | 13 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 6 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.2 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | ALPINE |
| 5 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | not named |
| 5 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Santa Clara Unit | not named |
| 5 September 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | NB HWY 280 / SAND HILL R |
| 28 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 26 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Santa Clara Unit | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Fraternal Hall Building: 7 past producers, 6 producers, 5 unknowns, 1 occurrence. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Mercury, Gypsum-Anhydrite, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal Cement Company | Limestone, General, Clay | Producer | ||
| Palo Alto Sewage Sludge | Gold, Silver, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Copper, Tin, Palladium | Occurrence | Ash | |
| Granite Rock | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Granite Rock | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kaiser Gypsum | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Kaiser Gypsum | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Past Producer | ||
| Challenge | Mercury | Past Producer | 1955 | |
| Emerald Lake | Mercury | Producer | ||
| Farm Hill Cinnabar Property | Mercury | Unknown | ||
| Farm Hill No 2 | Mercury | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Palo Alto, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 3 flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 hail, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Flood | Palo Alto | - | Flooding was reported on the offramp from southbound US Highway 101 to Embarcadero Road. |
| March 2020 | Hail | Palo Alto | - | Spotter reported small hail in south Palo Alto. |
| August 2020 | Lightning | Palo Alto | - | Lightning struck a utility pole in Palo Alto early Sunday morning causing a small fire and causing about 4,500 customers to lose power https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/08/16/storm-brings-fires-power-outages-to-the-bay-area. |
| December 2014 | Flood | Palo Alto | - | Flooding reported on Stanford Campus on Campus Drive west between Lot E and the MCL building. |
| December 2014 | Flood | Palo Alto | - | One lane of westbound Oregon Expressway Underpass is closed due to standing water on the roadway. |
| May 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Palo Alto | - | A funnel cloud was reported over the mud flats on the East side of HWY 101 in Palo Alto.. No buildings and only low vegetation exsist in this low lying area so it could not be confirmed if the funnel actually touched down in this area. |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore Zschokke Cottages | under 500 feet | 2020 | |
 | Palo Alto Southern Pacific Railroad Depot | 0.1 miles | 1996 |
 | Ramona Street Architectural District | 0.1 miles | 1986 |
 | Hostess House | 0.1 miles | 1976 |
 | U.S. Post Office | 0.3 miles | 1981 |
 | Palo Alto Medical Clinic | 0.4 miles | 2010 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 90000119 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Santa Clara County | All 117 listed properties in this county. |
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