Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Mountain View Waymo Self-Driving Car Garage
Waymo Self-Driving Car Garage is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

AO Edited

Waymo Self-Driving Car Garage

A fleet of automotive automatons sleep in this otherwise unremarkable urban garage.

Mountain View, California

Added By
AJK
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
An image of the garage.   AJK / Atlas Obscura User
A Google self-driving Lexus   Mariordo
Google Self-Driving Car Garage   smoothgroover22
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The future of transportation is sitting in a garage, waiting. Waymo (spun off from Google in 2016) self-driving cars will soon be unavoidable, zipping around at exactly the speed limit on roads all over the world. But on a quiet night, you can get a peek at these four-wheeled robots. Before they get a peek at you.

At first glance, there’s not a whole lot going on in Mountain View at night. A bar scene, a multiplex cinema, and thousands of homes in some iteration of Netflix and/or chill. But the 22nd century may just be hanging out, lurking just off a mundane public street. The self-driving cars are here. Humming. Waiting.

Until we eventually accept our robotic overlords, there is going to be something a bit eerie about self-driving cars. The tinted windows, the panopticon camera, and the fact that they’re always so darn clean make them stick out in Silicon Valley’s suburban streets. But what’s really weird is when two dozen of them are huddled together. It is nearly impossible not to ascribe some human agency to them.

It's rare to see a self-driving car sitting still and not, well, self-driving. Very few non-engineers ever get the chance to meditate on what an autonomous Lexus looks like and what it might mean for society. But the garage is well-lit and perhaps warm. It seems to act like a sort of incubator. The future is in there, ready to be set free. On a quiet night, you can get a glimpse of the future first.

Update: Waymo was spun off from Google in December 2016 as a separate self-driving car company under Google's holding company, Alphabet.

Related Tags

Cars Automotive History

Know Before You Go

Biking's probably the easiest, especially if you park your car at the nearby cineplex.

Community Contributors

Added By

AJK

Edited By

mlaursen, EricGrundhauser

  • mlaursen
  • EricGrundhauser

Published

March 29, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/
Waymo Self-Driving Car Garage
1608 Plymouth St
Mountain View, California, 94043
United States
37.416798, -122.084279
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Android Lawn Statues

Mountain View, California

miles away

Utah Teapot

Mountain View, California

miles away

Computer History Museum

Mountain View, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mountain View

Mountain View

California

Places 7
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Android Lawn Statues

Mountain View, California

miles away

Utah Teapot

Mountain View, California

miles away

Computer History Museum

Mountain View, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mountain View

Mountain View

California

Places 7
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Sunrise, Florida

    Dauer Museum of Classic Cars

    Curated collection of classic cars restored to immaculate condition.

  • Can’t forget the firetruck.

    Harrisville, West Virginia

    Cliff’s Museum of Car Memorabilia

    A lifetime collection of thousands of automobile and vintage gas station items at no charge to view.

  • Douglas, Arizona

    Art Car World

    Dozens of elaborate works of automotive art have been preserved at this Arizona museum.

  • The main floor of the Malta Classic Car Collection.

    St. Paul's Bay, Malta

    Malta Classic Car Collection

    One Maltese man’s hobby became an extensive collection of restored automobiles, motoring paraphernalia, and antiques.

  • Brussels, Belgium

    Autoworld

    From motorcycles to firetrucks and sports cars to horse-drawn carriages, this Belgian collection goes beyond rare cars.

  • Automuseum Exhibits

    Vilnius, Lithuania

    Automuseum Vilnius

    Discover the car that once belonged to the King of Nepal in a former Soviet-era taxi park.

  • Temple 2000

    Manchester, England

    Temple 2000

    A small statue shaped like the grill of a Rolls-Royce marks the suburban location where the company’s first automobiles were manufactured.

  • Rolls-Royce Reg. No. AX148 in the Science and Industry Museum.

    Manchester, England

    Rolls-Royce Reg. No. AX148

    One of the oldest Rolls-Royce automobiles in existence, this vehicle was once driven by Henry Royce himself.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.