I saw it coming down yesterday from Valero across the street and was surprised. "Didn't you guys read the plaque?"

It's been in the works for a while. This article is from April 2013:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23003899/cassidy-readers-inspi...

According to this it was not "practical" to save the building.

There's a plaque on San Antonio Ave in Mountain View dedicated to the invention of the transistor at Shockley labs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View,_California#Econo...

I believe the transistor was invented at Bell Labs, though Shockley was involved in the invention

Yeh, there's also one on the sidewalk there. Hopefully they keep both. I talked to one of the demolition guys and he said they are taking a few more of the buildings down in the area and being replaced with a new shopping center. https://cloudup.com/cRsaA-QRV6F

First Asimov's house and now this.

Don't you appreciate a bit that it's a part of history of humanity that you just torn down? Not just yours, which would be still a shame.

The physical lab wasn't a part of the history of humanity, what was done there -- that's what is important. The building was not in good shape and the landlord(s) have had trouble finding long term tenants for the site for decades. A shopping mall and high density housing are a much better use for the site. The building may be gone, but memories of Shockley, both the good and the bad, live on.

By that reasoning, BT's plans to build on Bletchley Park would have been fine. The physical context of a place is often a central part of understanding the an activity and how the people involved worked.

Context: http://www.mhpbooks.com/petition-for-a-historical-marker-at-...

For those who haven't seen it, Geek Silicon Valley gives a great tour of historically significant locations throughout the area: http://www.amazon.com/Geek-Silicon-Valley-Sunnyvale-Francisc...

Might be time to visit some of these places before they're gone forever.

Spent many hours in the laundry mat across the street in the 90s and had no idea.

Are they sure it wasn't the laundry mat that was supposed to have been torn down? :-) :-(