About
The neighborhood of Allied Arts & Downtown, comprising of Downtown Menlo Park and Allied Arts, is sometimes known as Stanford Park, and presents the dichotomy of Menlo Park. While much of Menlo Park is quite suburban, Allied Arts & Downtown is a mix of tranquil, family-friendly neighborhoods with a convenient retail and commercial district.
Downtown Menlo Park is home to a diverse mix of restaurants, shops, and multi-family housing. Santa Cruz Avenue is the main artery of Downtown Menlo Park, and has a variety of commercial establishments, from upscale clothing, and homewares to modest mom-and-pop shops. These shops and restaurants draw in visitors from all over San Mateo County. Residential properties are found starting about two blocks on either side of Santa Cruz. People that live downtown have to deal with car and pedestrian traffic, particularly on weekends. The trade-off, however, is the abundance of convenient shopping and fine dining.
Just across Middle Avenue and right next to Downtown is Allied Arts, also called Stanford Park. Despite being just blocks from Downtown, Allied Arts has an old town, quiet-country feel accentuated by its tree canopy and creek-front location. Just crossing the lamp-topped entrance pillars on University Drive is like a trip back in time. Homes in this area are single-family residences, with newer, luxury properties sitting next to quaint cottages. Homes that are located away from the busy El Camino Real, such as those on Princeton and Yale, typically demand higher prices than those closer to El Camino Real.
Although quiet and suburban, modern amenities can hardly be more convenient to residents of Allied Arts. This area’s centerpiece, the Allied Arts Guild, is a beautiful and historic garden oasis, home to unique shops, artist studios, and the Blue Garden Café. A nearby pedestrian bridge across the San Francisquito Creek leads to Stanford Shopping Center, a premier open-air shopping and dining destination for many visitors in Northern California. Allied Arts is close to parks and shopping yet still retains its original charm and rich character with a quiet atmosphere. These attributes have caused Allied Arts to continually grow in popularity, and thus, it is likely this area will see above average appreciation in the coming years.
