Ten Campus Secrets

By Dylan Houle, Director of Internships and Career Services

Founded in 1927, with a history reaching back to 1915, Menlo College has its share of stories to tell. Here are the 10 most secretive, odd and mysterious places on campus. (In order of least mysterious to most mysterious:)

10. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Did you know that Menlo College is home to two electric vehicle charging stations? Installed in 2011 with grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, they are located just behind the Fitness Center and accessible to the public.

9. The Outdoor Photo Gallery

One of the landmarks of Menlo College is the big “M” at the entrance to the quad. Ever wonder how it got there? Photographs of its installation are discreetly installed on the side of the Sports Pavilion that’s closest to the M.

8. The Secluded Redwoods Grove

This grove is technically part of the adjacent Menlo School campus, but when the gate is open, students can enjoy being enveloped in the quiet solitude of a dozen redwoods—a great place to take a deep breath.

7. The Clandestine Trail To Downtown

The red fence along the southeast border of the campus opens onto Victoria Drive, a “locals only” shortcut to downtown Menlo Park. This quiet street is lined by beautiful homes and, if the rumors are true, a famous former 49er lives in one of them.

6. The Open Air Gym

Behind Michaels Hall, there are three pullup bars set at three different heights. But what makes them somewhat odd is that they are accompanied by no other exercise equipment! When were they installed? By whom? Why? If you have any information about these bars, please contact us!

5. The Hidden Bust

Go through El Camino Hall’s Russell Center to find this cute patio featuring a wall of red bricks inscribed and donated by alumni. Peek into the far left corner and you’ll find a magnificent bust of former Director of the College and the School of Business Administration John D. “Judge” Russell, who was affiliated with the college for 45 years, from 1938 to 1983.

4. The Kratt Graffiti Room

In 2016-2017, Menlo College renovated the lower level of Kratt Hall into a crisp, well-lit space for the athletics department… but this one room remained untouched because, for many years, student-athletes were allowed to cover its walls with their names, inside jokes and drawings. Today, it is a bright reminder of the many alumni who’ve played for the Oaks.

3. The Mystery Novel

One year before Menlo School officially expanded into a college curriculum, author Earl Reed Silvers published a book called The Menlo Mystery (1926) about a group of boys attending Menlo School’s summer camp who soon find themselves involved in a mysterious adventure capturing robbers!

2. The Shed With A Deadly Secret

Phar Lap was a champion thoroughbred racehorse - and Australia’s greatest - who, in 1932, met his final day on what is now known as Cartan Field, near where Menlo College’s baseball field is now located. One rumor is that he had been poisoned by a competitor...but is it true? To this day, Phar Lap’s heart is on display at the National Museum of Australia.

1. The Lucky Horseshoe

Nailed atop the entrance to the Russell Center is an ancient-looking horseshoe. No record of its history, purpose or intention exists to this day, but for many long years it has hung as a quiet symbol of good luck (the traditional symbolism of a horseshoe) for the college and its students.