The Other Side of the Creek: MacArthur Park

Editor’s note: “The Other Side of the Creek,” is a series designed to capture the life and spirit of the shared landmark — San Francisquito Creek — that separates Menlo Park from more southern communities.

The graceful, red-roofed structure that houses MacArthur Park at 27 University Avenue is a place where the air seems to change as soon as you step inside. Sunlight filters through high windows to illuminate Julia Morgan’s signature exposed-truss ceilings, and the massive brick fireplaces stand as silent witnesses to a century of gathered neighbors.

To many of us today, it is simply a beloved Palo Alto institution, a convenient landmark just steps from the Caltrain station where the scent of oak-grilled ribs greets commuters. However, if you look closely at the history etched into its timber, you will find that this building is actually a traveler. It is a survivor of a lost city and a physical manifestation of the deep, often invisible ties that bind Menlo Park and Palo Alto together across the waters of San Francisquito Creek.

To understand the soul of this building, we have to look back to 1918, when the map of our community looked radically different. During World War I, Menlo Park was transformed into Camp Fremont, a sprawling military city that housed nearly 27,000 personnel. This was not a collection of permanent brick and mortar, but a temporary landscape of wooden barracks and dusty drill grounds that stretched across the Peninsula.

In the middle of this masculine, utilitarian environment, the YWCA saw a desperate need for a touch of humanity. They commissioned Julia Morgan, California’s first licensed female architect, to create a “Hostess House.” Her mission was to design a sanctuary where young soldiers, many away from home for the first time, could meet their mothers, wives, and sweethearts in a setting that felt dignified and warm rather than cold and clinical.

Morgan did not merely build a room; she built a protective living room for an entire generation. She used the Craftsman style to create a sense of permanence and domesticity, focusing on the hearth as the emotional center of the space. For a few intense months in 1918, the Hostess House sat on Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park, serving as the heart of the camp. It was a place where the harsh realities of war were briefly held at bay by the simple comforts of a shared meal and a comfortable chair. But when the Armistice was signed, the “temporary” city of Camp Fremont began to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. While other structures were sold for scrap or pulled down, the Hostess House was recognized as something far too precious to lose.

In a remarkable act of civic foresight, the building was purchased by the City of Palo Alto for the symbolic price of one dollar. In 1919, the structure was painstakingly moved from its original site in Menlo Park, crossing the San Francisquito Creek to its current home near the railroad tracks. This move was more than just a relocation; it was a transformation. It became the first municipally sponsored community center in the United States, proving that the building’s purpose — to provide a safe and welcoming space for the public —transcended its military origins. It eventually served as a veterans’ hall before becoming the restaurant we know today, earning its place as California Historical Landmark No. 895.

Today, the Hostess House stands as the only remaining structure from California’s World War I Army training camps. It serves as a living bridge between our two cities, shaped by the wartime needs of Menlo Park and preserved by the civic imagination of Palo Alto. When you next visit, take a moment to look up at the ceiling or run your hand along the brickwork. It is a reminder that San Francisquito Creek is not just a line on a map that separates us, but a seam that stitches our shared history together. The building serves as a testament to the idea that when we value beauty and community, we can save the best parts of our past and carry them with us across the creek into the future.