Menlo Park in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Menlo Park Railroad Station

State Historic Landmark #955 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mathew H. Kohnen

1. State Historic Landmark #955

Inscription. This building, constructed in 1867 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company, is the oldest railroad passenger station in California. The Victorian ornamentation was added in the 1890s when the station was remodeled to serve the newly-opened Stanford University. The extension on the northwest was added to accommodate increased traffic generated by the establishment of Camp Fremont nearby during World War I.

Erected 1983 by State Department of Parks & Recreation, City of Menlo Park. (Marker Number 955.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the California Historical Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.

Location. 37° 27.294′ N, 122° 10.956′ W. Marker is in Menlo Park, California, in San Mateo County. It is on Merrill Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1100 Merrill Ave, Menlo Park CA 94025, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area,

in Silicon

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Valley,

and on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Portola Journey's End (approx. 0.8 miles away); Early People of the Creek (approx. 0.8 miles away); El Palo Alto (approx. 0.9 miles away); San Francisquito Creek Watershed (approx. 0.9 miles away); a different marker also named San Francisquito Creek Watershed (approx. 0.9 miles away); History of Tower Well (approx. one mile away); 401 Florence (approx. 1.2 miles away); Hostess House (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Menlo Park.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The Hostess House War and Veterans Memorial (was approx. 1.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Additional commentary.
1. The Library of Congress Historical Survey Statement of Significance:
The

Menlo Park Railroad Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mathew H. Kohnen, September 5, 2007

2. Menlo Park Railroad Station

oldest railroad station still in use in California, this station was built in 1867 by the first incorporated railroad line in the state. The coming of the railroad marked the beginning of a double transformation: the growth of the town and the development of the countryside by fashionable estates. The railroad reduced the traveling time from Menlo Park to San Francisco from 3 hours to 80 mins. This wood frame structure was built by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company, the earliest incorporated line in the state. The original depot was rectangular in plan with a bay window on the south and a gable roof on the north-south axis with an additional steep gable in the center of the east side. The major decorative element was the use of flat arch drip moldings over the doors and windows, as illustrated in architectural handbooks of the period. In its form and details, this 1867 structure was typical of a popular house type of the 1850's and 60's called the "picturesque cottage." The present depot displays rich ornamentation resulting from its expansion in the late nineteenth century in accord with the rising prosperity of the region.

Photographed by Jesse Monroy (from Wikipedia), June 29, 2006

3. Menlo Park Railroad Station

The image is of the train station from the north pointing south; taken at sunset.

The station was enlarged with the addition of an ell at the south west corner and a later extension to the north with its corresponding ell to the west. A wide variety of machine carved elements were applied including door and window hoods, eave brackets, shingled gable ends, incised carvings, finials, roof cresting, etc. The waiting shed at the north end was added during World War I. The depot remains a center of activity and a charming document of the changing, fanciful taste of the late nineteenth century in the Bay Area.

— Submitted April 10, 2009.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 29, 2006

4. Menlo Park Railroad Station

South Side of Depot Showing Menlo Park Sign

Menlo Park Railroad Station - Southeast and Northeast Sides image. Click for more information.

Historic American Buildings Survey-Library of Congress, circa 1994

5. Menlo Park Railroad Station - Southeast and Northeast Sides

HABS CAL,41-MENPA,4-2 (LOC)
For survey statement of significance see Comment #1

Also see attached link for additional photos.
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 13, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. This page has been viewed 2,734 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 13, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. 2. submitted on September 17, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. 3. submitted on April 7, 2008, by Matt Gholson of Houston, Texas. 4. submitted on August 13, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 5. submitted on April 10, 2009. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Current photos of the marker and station • Can you help?