Downtown History

Santa Cruz Avenue has been the soul of Menlo Park since before the city had a name. What began as a mule path through California's coastal foothills, later known as Golder's Lane, then formalized as Santa Cruz Avenue by 1870, grew into the beating heart of a community that refused to be ordinary. In 1965, a scrappy band of musicians called the Warlocks played their first-ever gig at Magoo's Pizza Parlor at 639 Santa Cruz Ave. You may know them better as the Grateful Dead. This street has always had that kind of energy.

The downtown you love today was built on vision, sacrifice, and a particular kind of civic faith. After World War II, Mayor Charles P. Burgess persuaded more than fifty families, widows, shopkeepers, church congregations, and neighbors, to deed their homesteads to the city so that a thriving business district could rise in their place. Menlo Park gained national attention in 1948, and the downtown that emerged became a model for how a small city could create a big sense of place.

Today, Santa Cruz Avenue remains a place where people come together. Independent shops, beloved restaurants, and community gathering spots share blocks that have been shaped by generations of people who chose to put down roots here. This is a downtown built and sustained by neighbors.