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menlo park neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Allied Arts / Stanford Park, Menlo Park Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A creekside grid of university-named streets between Middle Avenue and San Francisquito Creek, laid out as Stanford Park and named for the 1929 Allied Arts Guild at its edge.
Allied Arts / Stanford Park by the numbers
allied arts / stanford park by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Allied Arts: Middle Ave, San Francisquito Creek, Arbor Rd and El Camino Real (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in allied arts / stanford park · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Allied Arts / Stanford Park
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Allied Arts from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Allied Arts: Middle Ave, San Francisquito Creek, Arbor Rd and El Camino Real (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Allied Arts / Stanford Park came to be
This corner of Menlo Park was once part of Rancho de las Pulgas, the land grant held by the Argüello family. Its street grid comes from a later real estate venture: in city parcel records about two-thirds of today's parcels (406 of 606) still sit on the recorded "Stanford Park Map No. 2", and a Stanford Park Annex map continues north of Middle Avenue into downtown. The streets took university names, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cambridge and Cornell among them, plus a plain College Avenue, a fair pitch for a tract one creek away from Stanford.
Building came slowly. Of the 338 single-family parcels with a recorded year, only about 30 list a date before 1930, and about half list the 1930s or 1940s. The anchor arrived in 1929, when Delight and Garfield Merner bought 3.5 acres of the Murray farm at the edge of town to start a crafts guild. Architect Gardner Dailey and artist Pedro de Lemos added Spanish Colonial buildings, kept the old Murray barn and sheds, and built the main building on the frame of the farmhouse. The Allied Arts Guild still operates at 75 Arbor Road, and the city zones it as its own Allied Arts Guild Preservation district. The neighborhood carries its name.
The El Camino Real edge is where change happens now. It falls under the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan, and newer townhomes line Artisan Way off El Camino. In October 2020 the council approved a three-story building at 201-211 El Camino Real, at Cambridge Avenue, with a restaurant and shops below 12 apartments and two townhouses behind it on Cambridge. Across El Camino, Stanford's Middle Plaza at 500 El Camino Real is the planned western end of a bike and pedestrian tunnel under the Caltrain tracks to Burgess Park.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
College Avenue and Cambridge Avenue run the full width of the neighborhood, from Arbor Road to El Camino Real, parallel to Middle Avenue. University Drive, Yale Road and Princeton Road cross them on the diagonal, Partridge and Harvard avenues and Cornell Road fill the El Camino end, and Creek Drive follows the curve of San Francisquito Creek. Blocks are short, and most through traffic stays on Middle Avenue and El Camino Real.
The single-family streets, College, Yale, Princeton, the south end of University and the Arbor and Middle edges, are zoned R-1-U. Lots mostly run about 6,900 to 8,300 square feet, a size where a 1930s cottage and a new two-story house can sit side by side. City records show about 214 single-story and 101 two-story houses, and about 90 single-family parcels list a year built of 1990 or later, so expect original cottages, expanded older houses and new construction on the same block.
Partridge, Cambridge, Harvard and parts of Creek Drive are zoned R-2, which allows a second unit on a standard lot, so you will see duplexes, small condo buildings and townhome pairs mixed with houses. About 110 parcels in the neighborhood are condominium units. Along El Camino Real the zoning switches to the Specific Plan, with two- and three-story townhomes and mixed-use buildings.
streets in allied arts / stanford park
- Middle Avenue
- Arbor Road
- El Camino Real
- College Avenue
- Cambridge Avenue
- University Drive
- Yale Road
- Princeton Road
- Harvard Avenue
- Cornell Road
- Partridge Avenue
- Creek Drive
- Blake Street
- Artisan Way
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Allied Arts / Stanford Park
- landmark
Allied Arts Guild
75 Arbor Road at Cambridge Avenue: Spanish Colonial buildings, gardens, artist studios and shops including Cafe Wisteria, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Allied Arts Guild Auxiliary runs it, and profits support uncompensated care at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.
- creek
San Francisquito Creek
The southern edge and the county line, with Palo Alto and Stanford land on the far bank. The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority, formed in 1999 after the 1998 flood, works on flood protection for Menlo Park, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.
- park
Nealon Park
Just across Middle Avenue at 800 Middle Avenue: tennis and pickleball courts, a softball field, an all-abilities playground and weekday morning off-leash dog hours.
- shopping
Stanford Shopping Center and downtown
Stanford Shopping Center is about 0.4 mile southeast across the creek in Palo Alto, and downtown's Santa Cruz Avenue shops are about 0.6 mile north (straight line).
- landmark
Middle Plaza and the planned Middle Avenue crossing
Stanford's Middle Plaza at 500 El Camino Real faces the neighborhood across El Camino. The city's planned undercrossing would link its plaza to Alma Street and Burgess Park; the council approved the updated concept in August 2023 and construction funding is still being sought.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Allied Arts addresses are served by the Menlo Park City School District (TK-8) and the Sequoia Union High School District. No public school sits inside the neighborhood. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district (MPCSD has an online school locator) before you rely on it.
Menlo Park City Schools guide · Las Lomitas guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Palo Alto Transit Center (Caltrain) is about 0.6 mile southeast and Menlo Park Caltrain about 0.7 mile north, both straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood; allow roughly 15 to 20 minutes on foot.
- SamTrans ECR runs along El Camino Real at the neighborhood's east edge.
- US 101 is about 2 miles east and I-280 at Sand Hill Road about 3 miles southwest (straight line).
- The city's Middle Avenue Complete Streets project proposes bike and pedestrian improvements on Middle Avenue between El Camino Real and Olive Street.
- The planned Middle Avenue Caltrain undercrossing would connect El Camino Real at Middle Plaza to Alma Street and Burgess Park; it is in design and environmental clearance.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Allied Arts / Stanford Park: what we check
Buying here
- Many houses date from the 1930s and 1940s: check the foundation, original wiring and plumbing, and the sewer lateral (West Bay Sanitary District) before you remove contingencies.
- A few creekside parcels are in FEMA flood zone A in city records; for anything near Creek Drive or the Guild, check the current FEMA map, ask for an elevation certificate and get an insurance quote early.
- Know the zoning: R-1-U lots are single-family (7,000 sq ft standard), while Partridge, Cambridge, Harvard and parts of Creek Drive are R-2 and allow two units. Lots under the standard size can trigger use permit or architectural review for a new house; ask about ADU and SB 9 options too.
- Large trees are part of the look and are regulated: check the city's heritage tree rules before you plan an addition, driveway or pool.
- A handful of parcels carry historic-resource codes in city parcel records; check a property's status with the planning division before planning a demolition or major exterior change.
Selling here
- Lead with location facts: the Guild down the street, two Caltrain stations each roughly 15 to 20 minutes on foot, and Stanford Shopping Center across the creek.
- On remodeled or rebuilt houses, have permits and final inspections organized; buyers compare them against the many new houses nearby.
- For an original 1930s or 1940s house, a pre-listing inspection and sewer lateral report help buyers price the work and the lot.
- Creekside sellers should hand over flood zone information and any elevation certificate up front.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Allied Arts / Stanford Park questions, answered
Why is it called both Allied Arts and Stanford Park?
Stanford Park is the name of the recorded subdivision most lots trace to; Allied Arts comes from the Allied Arts Guild, the crafts center founded in 1929 at 75 Arbor Road.
How old are the houses?
City parcel records list about 30 single-family houses from before 1930, about half from the 1930s and 1940s, and about 90 built since 1990, most of them two-story.
Can I visit the Allied Arts Guild?
Yes. It is at 75 Arbor Road at Cambridge Avenue, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sundays and national holidays, with shops, studios, a cafe and docent-led garden tours.
Is Allied Arts in a flood zone?
Nearly all parcels are in FEMA zone X in city records, but a few creekside parcels are in zone A. Check the current FEMA map for the exact address.
How far is the train?
About 0.6 mile to the Palo Alto Transit Center and 0.7 mile to Menlo Park Caltrain, straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood.
Which school districts serve Allied Arts?
Menlo Park City School District for TK-8 and Sequoia Union High School District for high school. Confirm the exact address with each district.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Allied Arts / Stanford Park? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
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