Here's The House Where Google Was Born, In Pictures
Ever wondered what the house that built Google looks like inside? Most people haven’t had the chance even to see the outside of the modest 49-year-old ranch-style home in Menlo Park , Calif., where Google GOOG -co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin set up shop shortly after incorporating the company in 1998. It’s largely out of sight from the street, set back down a driveway behind ivy and trees.
Located on a quiet suburban street, it’s also not open to the public. But I snapped a few photos during a Google press event announcing a revamped search engine. So now you can see where they lived and worked–at least until they reached seven employees just six months later and had to move out of what they boldly called their world headquarters. Google bought the four-bedroom, three-bath house in 2006. Just for fun, here’s what I saw, in pictures (some of them a little blurry since I used a smartphone that I apparently didn’t keep steady enough):
Here’s the front of the driveway, festooned with Googley balloons for the event:
The front walk:
And here’s the famous garage. Susan Wojcicki, Google’s senior VP of search and commerce and the person who rented part of the house to Page and Brin, unveils the garage. She and her husband figured they couldn’t quite swing the mortgage alone. (Sorry for the overexposure, Susan.)
Just so you know what Wojcicki actually looks like, from the press event:
Reporters wait for the search event to begin. Wojcicki says that’s the original blue carpet she put in as a perk:
Googley lights in the living room. No, those are not originals from 1998:
Every place Google owns has racks of snacks and candy, and so does this former den:
The kitchen. Can you imagine a couple plus seven guys trying to make dinner in this little kitchen? Neither could Susan and her husband, which is why the company soon moved out.
And here are three views of Larry and Sergey’s office, complete with late 1990s-era personal computers. One of them is even hooked up to a dial-up modem. Google is a stickler for historical accuracy , I guess.
, I guess.
They needed a closet for their vast wardrobes, too:
Today, at least, one of the closets houses servers:
More Google touches: a lava lamp and books bound in Google colors. I’m not sure why.
Plenty of opportunity to relax on the back patio:
And finally, a child’s playhouse with Googley flowers. Sergey and Larry were young at the time, but I’m thinking this was for Wojcicki’s children:
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