Words by Dylan Lanier
All aboard! The Menlo Park Station is a gateway to Caltrain rides up and down the Peninsula, but it also provides a journey into the past. Built in 1867 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company, the structure is the oldest railroad passenger station in California. The main building’s nostalgic design reflects the styles of a bygone era. First fashioned in the image of a picturesque 1850s cottage, the station received Victorian ornamentation in the 1890s to appeal to the students and visitors of the recently-founded Stanford University.
Whereas it previously took three hours to traverse the distance between Menlo Park and San Francisco, the new railway reduced travel time to just 80 minutes. This inspired city dwellers to seek out the Peninsula’s warmer weather, with many building residences, like Leland Stanford and University supporter Timothy Hopkins. In 1884, the station began providing the first telephone exchange for the area. A northwest extension was built after an influx of military personnel followed the establishment of Camp Fremont, a World War I military base located in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. For more than 50 years, up until 2020, the station provided a home for the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce in the repurposed “ladies waiting room.” No faded relic, the Menlo Park Station remains a rich connection between the city’s past and present.