"Menlo" is derived fromMenlo (theanglicized spelling of Irish Gaelic 'Mionloch', meaning 'small lake') inCounty Galway, Ireland, today an outer neighborhood of the city ofGalway. The name "Menlo Park" was given to a ranch purchased by Irish settlers in honor of their home village in Ireland (c. 1850).[11][12][13]
In 1851, two Irish immigrants, Dennis J. Oliver and his brother-in-law, D.C. McGlynn, purchased a 1,700-acre (690 ha) tract of land on the formerRancho de las Pulgas.[12] In 1854, they erected a gate with a wooden arch bearing the inscription "Menlo Park" and the date "August 1854" at the entrance to their property (now the intersection of Middle Ave and El Camino Real).[15][11] The wooden gate was modeled after the stone gate that stands at the entrance to theMenlo Castle estate in Menlo, Ireland.
In 1863, theSan Francisco and San Jose Rail Road had built the railroad from San Francisco to as far as Mayfield (nowCalifornia Avenue station in Palo Alto) and started running trains to the area.[16] They named a nearby station "Menlo Park" after the sign.[12] The 1867 station building still stands on the platform of the currentCaltrain station, used by the local Chamber of Commerce. It holds the record as the oldest, continually operating train station in California.[9] The town of Menlo Park grew up around this station, becoming a popular home forSan Francisco businessmen.[12] A post office was established in 1870, and the city wasincorporated in 1874 (it dissolved after two years, but later was permanently incorporated in 1927).[15][17] The original arch, which gave its name to the stations and ultimately, the city, survived until 1922, when it was destroyed in an automobile accident.[12]Menlo Park, New Jersey, was named after Menlo Park, California, predating any work done there byThomas Edison (who relocated therec. 1876);[18]Menlo, Washington, also derived its name from the California community.[19]
In 1917–18, a large portion of Menlo Park was the site ofCamp Fremont, a training camp for, at its height, 27,000 men being sent to fight inWorld War I. Army engineers paved the first streets in Menlo Park and laid the first water and gas lines.[20][21] In the autumn of 1918, aflu pandemic hit Camp Fremont and killed 147. Although the camp was dismantled after the war, its hospital was retained, today the site of a Veterans Administration Hospital off Willow Road in Menlo Park.[22]
At the start ofWorld War II, the US government bought the 260-acre (110 ha) estate ofTimothy Hopkins from his widow and created the Palo Alto General Hospital, later renamed the Dibble General Hospital (after Colonel John Dibble, who was killed in 1943). After the war ended, some of the land was sold to the city and became the sites of the main library and city hall. More of the land was bought byStanford University to house the increase in students due to theG.I. Bill; the area was known as the "Stanford Village", which existed as student housing until the mid-1960s. This land also was the site of the Stanford Research Institute (nowSRI International) starting in 1947; between 1955 and 1968, SRI bought the rest of the Stanford Village.[23][24][25]
Sunset magazine had its headquarters in Menlo Park from 1951 to 2015, designed by architect,Cliff May, with a similar layout to a Californiaranch-style house.Sunset referred to its Menlo Park headquarters as the Laboratory of Western Living.California]][26]
In the 1960s, the former 600-acre (240 ha) estate of Frederick W. Sharon (1859–1914) (son of SenatorWilliam Sharon) and his wife, Louise Tevis Breckinridge Sharon (1858–1938; daughter ofLloyd Tevis and divorced wife ofJohn Witherspoon Breckinridge), in the hills of south west Menlo Park was developed and called "Sharon Heights".[27][28]
The development of leading Internet search engine providerGoogle occurred in 1998 in the garage in a Menlo Park home owned bySusan Wojcicki.[29] Wojcicki's Menlo Park garage was used as the office for Google co-foundersLarry Page andSergey Brin for $1,700 a month.[30]
In 2015, the Menlo Park Historical Association (MPHA) began a project to raise funds for and build a replica of the original Menlo Park gates. The completed gate was placed in front of the Menlo Park public library at 800 Alma Street, and officially dedicated on March 17, 2019, by Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller.[31][32]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45 km2), of which 10.0 square miles (26 km2) are land and 7.4 square miles (19 km2) are covered by water.[3] Menlo Park is long and narrow on a northeast to southwest axis. The northeast portion borders the San Francisco Bay and includes theDumbarton Bridge that connects Menlo Park toFremont on the east side of the bay. The city shoreline includes the city's largest park, Bedwell Bayfront Park (160 acres; 65 ha) and theDon Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.[33]San Francisquito Creek marks much of the southeast border of the city.West Menlo Park (unincorporated area) alongAlameda de las Pulgas nearly separates the southwestern part of the city (known as Sharon Heights) from the rest. The extreme southwest is clipped byInterstate 280.
TheBayshore Freeway (part ofU.S. Route 101) traverses Menlo Park northwest to southeast near the shoreline and somewhat parallel to the Bayshore Freeway to the southwest isEl Camino Real. The intersection of El Camino Real and Santa Cruz Avenue is considered the heart of the city. Nearby, the Menlo ParkCivic Center is bounded by Ravenswood Avenue, Alma Street, Laurel Street, and Burgess Drive. It contains thecouncil offices, library, police station, and Burgess Park, which has various recreational facilities. Other major roads includeSand Hill Road in the Sharon Heights area.
The residential areas of Menlo Park can be unofficially divided into several neighborhoods. From "east" (northeast toward San Francisco Bay) to "west" (southwest toward the Pacific Coast), they are defined by thePalo Alto Weekly as:[17] Belle Haven, the only neighborhood east of Route 101; much of the rest of that area is business or protected land. Between 101 and the roughly parallel Middlefield Road are the neighborhoods of the Willows, Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor, Flood Triangle, Vintage Oaks, and South of [Saint Patrick's] Seminary. Between Middlefield and El Camino Real are theCaltrain track and Felton Gables, Linfield Oaks, and Park Forest. West of El Camino until the foothills of thePeninsula are the neighborhoods of Downtown Menlo Park, Central Menlo Park, and Allied Arts (named after itsAllied Arts Guild, sometimes also known as Stanford Park). In the hills are Sharon Heights and Stanford Hills. Several other neighborhoods are closely associated with Menlo Park but are actually in unincorporated San Mateo county; these includeMenlo Oaks and Fair Oaks (latter part of theNorth Fair Oaks census area) between Bayshore and Middlefield, University Heights (also known as West Menlo Park) between Sharon Heights and most of the rest of the city, and Stanford Weekend Acres, which is somewhat near Stanford Hills.
Menlo Park, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 98.8% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.8% were institutionalized.[37]
There were 12,743 households, out of which 34.2% included children under the age of 18, 52.2% were married-couple households, 5.7% werecohabiting couple households, 25.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.7% of households were one person, and 10.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.62.[37] There were 8,192families (64.3% of all households).[38]
The age distribution was 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% aged 18 to 24, 29.3% aged 25 to 44, 25.0% aged 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 38.2years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males.[37]
There were 13,857 housing units at an average density of 4,886.1 units per square mile (1,886.5 units/km2), of which 12,743 (92.0%) were occupied. Of these, 52.9% were owner-occupied, and 47.1% were occupied by renters.[37]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $206,588, and theper capita income was $123,422. About 2.3% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line.[39]
The2010 United States census[40] reported that Menlo Park had a population of 32,026. Its population density was 3,271.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,263.1/km2). Theracial makeup of Menlo Park was 22,494 (70.2%) White, 1,551 (4.8%) African American, 156 (0.5%) Native American, 3,157 (9.9%) Asian, 454 (1.4%) Pacific Islander, 2,776 (8.7%) from other races, and 1,438 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 18.4% of the population, most of whom (4,303) were ofMexican ancestry.
The Census reported that 31,181 people (97.4% of the population) lived in households, 599 (1.9%) lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 246 (0.8%) were institutionalized.
Of the 12,347 households, 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 49.9% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 8.4%had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present. About 5.2% wereunmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0.8% weresame-sex married couples or partnerships. About 29.7% were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53. The average family size was 3.20.
In terms of age, 7,805 residents (24.4%) were under the age of 18, 1,817 people (5.7%) aged 18 to 24, 9,563 people (29.9%) aged 25 to 44, 8,263 people (25.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,578 people (14.3%) were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.
The 13,085 housing units averaged 1,336.6 units per square mile (516.1 units/km2), of which 6,927 (56.1%) were owner-occupied, and 5,420 (43.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%; 18,972 people (59.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 12,209 people (38.1%) lived in rental housing units.
On theSan Mateo County Board of Supervisors, Menlo Park is split between Supervisorial District 3 (west of El Camino Real) and Supervisorial District 4 (east of El Camino Real),[42] currently represented by Ray Mueller and Lisa Gauthier, respectively.
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Menlo Park has 19,339 registered voters—9,984 (51.6%) of whom are registered Democrats, 2,989 (15.5%) registeredRepublicans, and 5,683 (29.4%)undeclared.[45]
Appointed December 7, 2010[57] Resigned December 10, 2010, due to Brown Act violations after separately soliciting three councilmembers to appoint her to the position[58]
Private elementary schools include two Catholic parochial schools, St. Raymond Catholic Elementary School and Nativity Elementary School;[62] theEpiscopalianTrinity School;Phillips Brooks School, pre-kindergarten to 5th grade; and Peninsula School, from kindergarten to 8th grade.[63]
There are two libraries, the Main branch and the Belle Haven branch. As part of thePeninsula Library System, they share many resources with other nearby libraries.
Much of Menlo Park's economy revolves around the companies onSand Hill Road, consisting of venture capital, private equity, financial services, law firms, and other professional service companies and investment vehicles focusing on technology.Geron,Katerra,Robert Half International,Exponent, andSRI International are among the companies based in Menlo Park.Meta Platforms moved its headquarters to the former campus ofSun Microsystems in Menlo Park in December 2011.
In 2012, Meta (then known as Facebook) announced it would be Menlo Park's biggest employer, with 6,600 employees.[65] According to the city's 2024annual comprehensive financial report,[66] the city's top employers were:
Menlo Park's transit is primarily served byMenlo Park station, served byCaltrain.SamTrans is the primary provider of bus transport throughout the city. Menlo Park's eastern ends were previously considered for a short-livedBART extension along theBayshore Freeway.[67]
BART and Caltrain are also the primary transit modes for Menlo Park's connections to the San Francisco Bay Area's airports. Menlo Park is located about halfway betweenSan Francisco International Airport andSan Jose International Airport; the former can be accessed by using Caltrain and either BART'sRed, orYellow Line during 3-line service, or SamTrans route 292 (both connecting to Caltrain atMillbrae station), while the latter connects to Menlo Park through Caltrain and VTA services through a transfer atDiridon station. Drivers to and from Menlo Park can connect to both San Jose and San Francisco airports through using US 101.Oakland Airport is the farthest of the three major Bay Area airports from Menlo Park, with drivers having to cross the Bay through one of the three bridges across it, and transit users needing to use either the Dumbarton Express, SamTrans, or Caltrain to connect to BART services..
^Brundage, Sandy (December 10, 2010)."Kelly Fergusson resigns as Menlo Park mayor; revote delayed".The Almanac (Menlo Park).Council member Kelly Fergusson has resigned as the mayor of Menlo Park as a consequence of Brown Act violations she committed by meeting one-on-one with at least three council members to discuss her desire for the position.
