Silicon Valley is not a place found in a map, nevertheless, it is an existing place located in Northern California.
Silicon Valley is a moniker given to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Formerly known as the Santa Clara Valley, it used to be simple, uninteresting suburban office parks.
Many years later, however, Silicon Valley has become extremely popular, being the home to a slew of mammoth high-tech companies in the world. A large number of tech start-up corporations are also built in the area.
Renowned architects, such as Frank Gehry, have transformed the place into something mesmerizing by building permanent grandiose campuses for the likes of Google, Apple, and Facebook.
Silicon Valley As Famous Tourist Destination
Tourists now travel to Silicon Valley to see where prominent devices and apps are developed. Moreover, they wait for their turn to take their photos with the "like" sign outside Facebook's headquarters. They also eat, shop, and play at Apple's visitor center and Google's vibrant candy land with the Android mascot.
Le Zhang who owns a start-up and his friend who works at Apple in China came to visit, NPR shared. They rode their bikes to see each of the prestigious sights within the valley including Steve Jobs' childhood home, the HP Garage, and more. Zhang said coming to Silicon Valley is more a pilgrimage rather than a simple vacation.
While it is now arguably a famous destination that lures tourists and many tech fans from around the world, Silicon Valley lacks an architectural icon to represent itself. For comparison, Hollywood has the Hollywood sign that is hard to miss and New York City has the monumental Empire State Building.
Monument Design Competition Approved
However, that is about to change. Soon, Silicon Valley would have an iconic landmark of its own, symbolizing its greatness. San Jose City Council already gave a green light to a design contest for a landmark structure that would be placed in a city park with privately raised funds.
San Jose Light Tower Corporation, which backs this project, said that the monument will "make a statement that defines and unites the citizenry's technological prowess in harmony with our natural surroundings."
"This is what rich and powerful people have done throughout history. Louis XIV built Versailles. The pope built St. Peter's. The pharaohs built the pyramids, " said Louise Mozingo, a professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at UC Berkeley. "And at this moment, the really rich and powerful are the technology companies."
