In 1989, Apple Computer was based in Cupertino, California, with its corporate address at 20525 Mariani Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014. This was the Mariani Avenue headquarters era, before the Infinite Loop campus and decades before Apple Park.
That answers the question about Apple’s corporate location. It does not mean every Apple office, development group, or manufacturing operation occupied that one address.
The address recorded in 1989
A contemporary source gives the address directly: the July 1989 issue of Training & Development Journal lists Apple Computer, Inc. at 20525 Mariani Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014. It appears in a product-information entry for the Apple II Video Overlay Card, on printed page 89—the first page of this archived July 1989 product section.
This is useful period evidence because the address is printed in a document from the year in question. It is a corporate contact listing, not a floor plan, employee directory, or claim that the whole company operated in a single building.
Later histories identify the headquarters building at this address as Mariani One. The distinction matters when comparing old stationery with campus photographs: a company’s printed headquarters address and the name of a larger collection of nearby buildings need not be identical.
Why other Apple addresses cause confusion
Apple’s history includes several well-known locations. The problem is usually the date attached to each one, rather than whether the location has any connection to the company.
| Place | Connection to Apple | Does it answer the 1989 headquarters question? |
|---|---|---|
| 20525 Mariani Avenue, Cupertino | Corporate address documented in 1989; headquarters associated with Mariani One | Yes |
| Bandley Avenue offices, Cupertino | Part of Apple’s earlier office and development history | Not the specific corporate address documented here |
| Infinite Loop, Cupertino | A later campus that opened in 1993 | No; its campus history belongs to the following decade |
| Apple Park, Cupertino | The later headquarters campus, with employee occupancy beginning in 2017 | No |
The history of Apple’s earlier campuses distinguishes Mariani One from the later Infinite Loop development. It is especially easy to compress this history too far: the opening of a campus and its designation as headquarters are not necessarily the same event. You do not need to settle every later move to identify Apple’s 1989 address correctly.
Apple’s own 2017 Apple Park announcement says employees would begin moving into that campus in April of that year. A photograph of the familiar circular building therefore cannot illustrate Apple’s offices in 1989 as though it were taken then.
Headquarters and factories are different locations
If you are researching an old Apple product, “where was Apple located?” may actually mean where that item was manufactured. The Cupertino headquarters address does not establish the factory that made a particular computer.
For that question, use the machine’s manufacturing label and model-specific records. A corporate contact address on packaging or a manual can tell you where to write to the company without identifying the assembly site. Keep those two kinds of evidence separate.
For the same reason, “Silicon Valley” is a useful regional description but less precise than Cupertino when you need the city. “California” is correct as a state, but it leaves the specific question unanswered.
Conclusion
Use Cupertino, California, and 20525 Mariani Avenue for Apple’s corporate location in 1989. Keep later campus names and product manufacturing locations separate; those are the two common ways an otherwise plausible answer ends up describing the wrong place or period.
Ethan Miller
Ethan Miller writes about home improvement, interior design, cleaning, and everyday living at Home & Living Daily. He shares practical tips and simple ideas to help readers create more comfortable and functional homes.
