Menlo Park (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

: '' Menlopark'') is an upmarket suburb in the city of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. It borders other upmarket areas

Waterkloof Waterkloof (Afrikaans for "Water Ravine") is a upmarket suburb of the city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, located to the east of the city centre. It is named after the original farm that stood there when Pretoria was founded ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

and

Lynnwood Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...

. When it was first established between the 1950s and 1960s, it was the most eastern suburb of Pretoria, but the city has since considerably expanded eastwards. Today these suburbs are known as the Old East and can boast to have some of the city's most high-end residential properties.

History

The Old East is characterized by established residential suburbs with mature tree lined streets and established gardens. The original stands were the "Burger Erf" of 2552 m² allocated to returning Servicemen of World War II. Some of these stands have been subdivided into two properties and some into security clusters of 4 units to suit the need for the modern "lock-up-and-go" lifestyles. Menlo Park has a central position near the N1 highway, within easy reach of the CBD, is near major shopping malls (

Menlyn Park Menlyn Park Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Menlyn, Pretoria, South Africa, owned by development company Pareto. It is designed around three spaces – the Food Court, the keyhole malls and focal points, and a large internal garden sq ...

and

Brooklyn Mall Brooklyn Mall is a shopping mall in Brooklyn, Pretoria, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the ...

), and has a revamped heart, with a theatre, coffee bars, restaurants and cafés. Together with

and

, it was most likely named after American counterparts. Residents think that this reflects the suburb's less “stuffy” image, when compared to that of leafy

(which has many street names reflecting the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

). The suburb was the home of iconic South African artist

Walter Battiss Walter Whall Battiss (6 January 1906 – 20 August 1982) was a South African artist, also known as the creator of the "Fook Island" concept. Early life Battiss was born into an English Methodist family in the Karoo town of Somerset Eas ...

, whose erstwhile home has been converted into a residential development with guesthouse known as ''Fook Island'' (named after the Battiss-created utopian “independent nation” with murals created by Battiss protégé

Norman Catherine Norman Catherine (born September 1949 in East London, South Africa) is a South African artist whose body of work spans painting, sculpture, printmaking and mixed media. He collaborated closely with iconic South African artist Walter Battiss o ...

), as well as abstract artist,

Bettie Cilliers-Barnard Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, DMS (18 November 1914 – 15 September 2010) was a South African abstract artist, generally known for her large canvases of birds in flight. She was also the mother of well-known South African actress, Jana Cilliers. ...

Education

Menlo Park houses primary and high school education with

Hoërskool Menlopark Die Hoërskool Menlopark (colloquially known as Menlo or Parkies) is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in the suburb of Menlo Park in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The school learners call themsel ...

(as well as Laerskool Menlopark) serving mainly

speakers. It also lies near the well-known

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

References

Suburbs of Pretoria 1950s establishments in South Africa {{Gauteng-geo-stub