Official name | City of Menlo Park |
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Native name | |
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Settlement type | City |
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Map caption | Location in San Mateo County and the state of California |
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Pushpin map | |
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Pushpin label position | |
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Coordinates display | inline,title |
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Coordinates region | US-CA |
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Subdivision type | Country |
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Subdivision name | United States |
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Subdivision type1 | State |
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Subdivision name1 | California |
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Subdivision type2 | County |
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Subdivision name2 | San Mateo |
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Leader title | Mayor |
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Leader name | Rich Cline |
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Leader title1 | |
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Established title | Incorporated |
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Established date | March 23, 1874 |
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Established title2 | |
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Established title3 | |
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Unit pref | |
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Area total km2 | 45.1 |
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Area land km2 | 26.2 |
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Area water km2 | 18.9 |
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Area total sq mi | 17.4 |
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Area land sq mi | 10.1 |
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Area water sq mi | 7.3 |
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Area water percent | 41.88 |
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Population as of | 2010 Census |
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Population total | 32026 |
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Population density km2 | 1222.4 |
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Population density sq mi | 3170.9 |
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Timezone | PST |
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Utc offset | -8 |
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Timezone dst | PDT |
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Utc offset dst | -7 |
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Elevation footnotes | |
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Elevation m | 22 |
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Elevation ft | 72 |
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Postal code type | ZIP codes |
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Postal code | 94025-94029 |
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Area code | 650 |
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Blank name | FIPS code |
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Blank info | 06-46870 |
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Blank1 name | GNIS feature ID |
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Blank1 info | 1659108 |
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Website | http://www.menlopark.org/ |
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Menlo Park, California is a city in San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the east, and Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City to the west. Menlo Park had 32,026 inhabitants according to the 2010 United States Census.
History
(Quercus agrifolia) on the Civic Center grounds. This species is the city logo.]]
In the nineteenth century two Irish immigrants, Dennis J. Oliver and his brother-in-law D. C. McGlynn, purchased a tract of land on the former
Rancho de las Pulgas. In the 1850s they erected a gate with a wooden arch bearing the inscription "Menlo Park" at the entrance to their property (now the intersection of Middle Ave and
El Camino Real). The word "Menlo" derived from the owners' former home of
Menlo in County Galway, Ireland.
Politics
The city is mostly Democratic, with 47% being registered Democrats and 32% being Republicans. In the
state legislature Menlo Park is located in the 11th
Senate District, represented by
Democrat Joe Simitian, and in the 21st
Assembly District, represented by Democrat
Rich Gordon. Federally, Menlo Park is located in
California's 14th congressional district, which has a
Cook PVI of D +18 and is represented by Democrat
Anna Eshoo.
For over twenty years Menlo Park has had a well-defined local partisan split over environmental, traffic, and other issues, between many residents and business interests. This crosses traditional party lines (Republican/Democratic).
Economy
Much of Menlo Park's economy centers around the companies on
Sand Hill Road, consisting of venture capital, private equity, financial services, law firms, and other professional service companies and investment vehicles focusing on technology.
Geron,
Robert Half International,
Exponent and
SRI International are among the companies based in Menlo Park.
Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
|1
|Oracle America
|3,114
|-
|2
|SRI International
|1,350
|-
|3
|Tyco Electronics
|1,057
|-
|4
|Intuit
|417
|-
|5
|Pacific Biosciences
|406
|-
|6
|Safeway
|291
|-
|7
|SHR Hotel
|250
|-
|8
|City of Menlo Park
|241
|-
|9
|United Parcel Service
|224
|-
|10
|Randtron Systems
|222
|}
Features
Home to the Western Region office of the United States Geological Survey.
Sand Hill Road, location of many Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
Home to SRI International, formerly Stanford Research Institute.
Home to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Corporate offices and show gardens of Sunset Magazine.
Google Inc. was founded here on September 7, 1998
Adjacent to Menlo College. (Famous alum includes Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.)
Adjacent to Stanford University and Stanford Shopping Center.
Home to Saint Patrick Archdiocesan Seminary and University.
Home to Fuller Northern California
Home to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church since 1873.
Home to Geron Corporation, a biotechnology company focusing on telomere and stem cell research.
Home to the original store of the Round Table Pizza chain.
Historic Landmarks
California Historical Landmarks
Campsite and terminus point of the de Portolá Expedition from November 6, 1796 through November 10, 1796.
Home to the oldest continually operating train station in California, making it State Historical Landmark #955.
Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments, State Historical Landmark #939.
Camp Fremont, 1917 - 1919. Training camp for the 8th Division, U.S. Army before their planned deployment to France in World War I, and for the 41st Division of the California National Guard. Covering more than in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, Camp Fremont had 27,000 men and 10,000 animals at its peak.
Historical California Posts: Camp Fremont
National Historical Landmarks
National Register of Historic Places lists:
Barron—Latham—Hopkins Gate Lodge #8600195
Church of the Nativity (Menlo Park, California) #80000855
Menlo Park Railroad Station #74000556
Rock Magnetics Laboratory(USGS) #94001647.
460 Cotton Street, Home to many Famous People
Notable residents
Joan Baez, folk singer
Sergey Brin, Google founder
Lindsey Buckingham, musician
Henry Cowell, composer
Jeanne DuPrau, author
Nancy Farmer, author
John Vesely, musician/songwriter
Chris Gulker, photographer, writer
Vince Guaraldi, jazz musician
Ken Kesey, author
Milton Latham, railroad baron/politician/California Governor (shortest term – five days)
Fred Moore, political activist
Stevie Nicks, musician
Ariel Rittenhouse, Olympic diver
Shirley Temple Black, actress and diplomat
Courtney Thorne-Smith, actress
Isaac Baron, professional poker player
Thorstein Veblen, sociologist known for "Theory of the Leisure Class"
Traffic and parking
Menlo Park suffers from
traffic congestion at peak use hours owing to its proximity to
Stanford University, and existing traffic demand between
Interstate 280 and
U.S. Route 101 that exceeds built supply. Much of the city's arterial network consists of two-lane roads.
Since 1963, Menlo Park has had an ordinance that prohibits parking between 2 AM and 5 AM on all residential streets in the city. The city has cited a number of benefits from this rather strict policy including: easier street maintenance, reduced crime, and easier access for nighttime emergencies.
See also
Menlo Park City School District
German-American International School
Menlo Park, New Jersey
Menlo Park (Pretoria, South Africa)
Notes
References
External links
City of Menlo Park
Official Guide from the Chamber of Commerce
Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library Foundation
Menlo Park Historical Association
Walking Tour of Menlo Park
San Mateo County Visitors Bureau Guide
Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California
Category:Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Cities in San Mateo County, California