History

Get a virtual tour of the Valley Relics Museum on July 6

by Contributed Content on July 2, 2020

Get a guided tour of a one-of-a kind pop culture museum featuring neon signs, classic cars, advertising art, film sets, playable retro arcade and much more on Monday, July 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Register online.

Inside an airplane hangar in Los Angeles County, the Valley Relics Museum boasts avast collection of historical artifacts pertaining to the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

The collection includes rare documents, photographs, vintage neon signs, postcards, yearbooks, negatives, clothing, books, art, automobiles and BMX bikes from The Valley’s past. The museum is a nonprofit organization 501(c)3 dedicated to preserving local history while educating the public on the history of the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

This free event received partial funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.

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LGBTQ+ : A history in San Mateo County is topic on June 23

Learn about the rich, lively LGBTQ+ history of San Mateo County, in a presentation by Michael Flanagan full of stories and images from newspapers and advertisements of the day. 1936: Arrest of Henry Cowell (pictured as a young man) in Menlo Park, on morals charges 1962: Closure of The Carriage, a Menlo Park gay bar […]

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“Avid-art” Art with Avideh on June 17

The women of Gee’s Bend — a small, remote, African-American community in Alabama — have created hundreds of quilt masterpieces dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Gee’s Bend quilts carry forward an old and proud tradition of textiles made for home and family. These traditional quilts are composed boldly in unequal shapes and […]

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Neighborhood walking: The story behind the Fromhertz House on Portola Road

Editor’s note: We continue to highlight some of the stories behind buildings that you may have walked by many times before but never knew their history. The Fromhertz House, located at 210 Portola Road in Portola Valley, was originally built by George Fromhertz who was born in Baden, Germany in 1840. When he first came […]

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25 years after the Oklahoma City bombing – a quieter remembrance today in Menlo Park

Twenty five years after responding to the Oklahoma City Bombing, members of California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3 did not head back to Oklahoma City nor did they have a local service at the memorial they built at their Training Center in Menlo Park (pictured above), due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Sixty […]

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Neighborhood walking: All about the Chilean Woodchopper’s House

When you take a drive down Portola Road — or walk along its adjacent pathway — you will see a little white house in a sadly decrepit state. It stands at 683 Portola Road, close by the road between the Jelich Ranch buildings and Springdown Equestrian Center. It is known as the Chilean Woodchopper’s House. […]

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Neighborhood walking: A visit to the last surviving Grand Dame of Menlo Park

Editor’s note: We received an email from neighbors of this small lane today and ask that you read about but not visit this historic home: “We had an influx of people today. Many residents on this small road are in high-risk groups for coronavirus & would prefer not to be a tourist attraction at this time.” […]

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Menlo Park Historical Association is co-sponsor of talk about Alpine Inn on March 8

Update March 6: This talk has been cancelled. “In accord with the County of Santa Clara’s recent Public Health Department update, the Palo Alto Historical Association Board of Directors has decided to postpone the meeting planned for this Sunday, March 8. The latest recommendation from the County applies to large gatherings of seniors; thus, we […]

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The Menlo Quilt – now on display – is last remnant of the area’s quilting history

When Menlo Park Historical Association Board Member Martha Lancastremere traveled recently to Las Cruces, New Mexico, she visited the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum where  quilts from the early 1800s were on display. She remembered that MPHA was in possession of  the Menlo Quilt, created in 1894 and described in a story written […]

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Visit with Harriet Tubman at Menlo Park Library on Feb. 8

Meet the legendary Harriet Tubman, as portrayed by actress Betty Jewell Slater at the Menlo Park Library on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 11:00 am to noon. Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman became one of the chief “conductors” in the Underground Railroad after her own escape. The abolitionist rescued approximately 70 enslaved people over the course […]

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Yet another band with local roots – R. J. Toast was the name

This saga begins with Tim Johnston posting the photo above in the Do You Remember the Old Menlo Park Facebook group. He thought that it may have been taken at M-A. To which Robert Gunderson responded: “I don’t know where you found the photo, Tim, but it’s from 1972 or ’73 at the Menlo College […]

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