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Most Palo Alto neighborhoods are named after a subdivision, a school or a street. This one is named after a building. The Community Center neighborhood takes its name from the Lucie Stern Community Center on Middlefield Road and the civic campus that grew up around it. Within a few blocks you will find the city's public pool, its children's zoo, a library, an art center, two theaters and its second oldest park.
Around that campus is a small residential neighborhood of older houses and rebuilt ones. This guide covers where it is, how the civic center came to be, the homes, the public buildings, schools, getting around and what living here is like.
Where the Community Center neighborhood is
The neighborhood is in north Palo Alto, east of Middlefield Road. Palo Alto Online describes its edges as Middlefield Road, Channing Avenue, Newell Road and Embarcadero Road. That makes it a compact block of streets, home to about 2,000 people according to a 2015 profile.
Its neighbors are some of the city's best known areas. Crescent Park lies north of Channing Avenue. Duveneck/St. Francis begins east of Newell Road. Across Embarcadero Road to the south is Old Palo Alto. West across Middlefield are Professorville and downtown.
How the civic center grew
Rinconada Park came first. It opened in 1922 and is the city's second oldest park. In the early twentieth century some of the surrounding lots held small bungalows that San Francisco families used as summer getaways from the fog, according to Palo Alto Online. Many of those cottages have since been replaced by larger houses.
The civic campus took shape in the 1930s thanks to Lucie Stern, a philanthropist who moved to Palo Alto after the death of her husband, Louis Stern, a nephew and business partner of Levi Strauss. Stern hired the local architect Birge Clark, who designed her own home on Cowper Street. She went on to fund a community center for the city. The city dates the Spanish Mediterranean style complex at 1305 Middlefield Road to 1934. Stern also paid for wings of the center, the community theater, the Children's Theatre and the Children's Library with its Secret Garden. She died in Palo Alto in 1946.
Today the same cluster also includes the Junior Museum and Zoo, Rinconada Library and the Palo Alto Art Center. Our history of Palo Alto places Clark's work and Stern's gifts in the story of the growing town.
The civic buildings
Most visitors come to this neighborhood for its public buildings. Here is what sits within a short walk of Middlefield and Embarcadero:
- Lucie Stern Community Center at 1305 Middlefield Road. It houses the city's recreation offices, a community theater and the Palo Alto Children's Theatre. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley stages part of its season at the Lucie Stern Theatre. See our guide to theater in Palo Alto.
- Junior Museum and Zoo at 1451 Middlefield Road, which reopened in a new building in 2021. From November 1, 2026, it closes at 4:30 p.m. Read our Junior Museum and Zoo guide for tickets.
- Rinconada Park at 777 Embarcadero Road, with lawns, playgrounds, tennis courts, a grove of redwoods and Rinconada Pool, the city's public pool.
- Rinconada Library at 1213 Newell Road, one of the city's library branches.
- Palo Alto Art Center beside the library on Newell Road, with free galleries and classes.
The Rinconada Park guide covers the park, the pool and parking in detail. Our Palo Alto Art Center guide lists exhibitions and hours.
Homes and streets
The residential blocks around the civic campus mix eras. Palo Alto Online described styles ranging from Victorians to Mission-style houses, along with modest early twentieth century bungalows and newer homes built where cottages once stood. Lots are on a regular grid and streets are shaded by mature trees.
The neighborhood has become noticeably wealthier over the decades. Longtime residents have said so in profiles. Rebuilds are common and construction is a normal part of street life.
Schools
Walter Hays Elementary on Middlefield Road borders the Rinconada lawn. Palo Alto Online and Palo Alto Weekly guides have listed Addison, Duveneck and Walter Hays elementary schools, Greene Middle School and Palo Alto High School as serving the area, depending on the address. Attendance boundaries can change, so confirm any address with the PAUSD school finder. Our schools guide explains the district.
Shopping and food
The neighborhood itself is residential and civic, with no commercial strip. Downtown Palo Alto and University Avenue are a 20-minute walk or a few minutes by bike to the northwest. Town & Country Village is west along Embarcadero Road near Palo Alto High School. Edgewood Plaza in Duveneck/St. Francis and the Midtown shopping area on Middlefield Road also cover everyday errands.
Getting around
The Palo Alto Caltrain station at University Avenue is the nearest, about a mile from the civic center. Many people walk or bike there through Professorville. Bryant Street, the city's original bike boulevard, runs parallel to Middlefield a few blocks west and is the calmest way to ride north or south.
Embarcadero Road and Middlefield Road carry heavy traffic, especially at rush hour and when Palo Alto High School and Walter Hays let out. Cross at the signals. City lots around the community center, the zoo and the library handle most visitor parking. See our getting around guide for buses and shuttles.
Good to know
- Parking lots fill on summer weekends, during swim lessons and before evening performances. Arrive early or ride a bike.
- The park is free. The pool, the zoo and theater performances charge admission.
- Fire Station 3 is on Embarcadero Road nearby. Pull over for emergency vehicles on Embarcadero and Middlefield.
What living here is like
Residents point to how much is close at hand. One association leader told Palo Alto Online that the neighborhood has everything within a couple of blocks. Kids can walk to school, the library, the pool and the zoo. Annual traditions have included a Labor Day block party, summer concerts in Rinconada Park and art festivals. The neighborhood association follows city projects that affect the civic block and its traffic.
Walkers get the most out of the neighborhood. A loop from Lucie Stern down Middlefield Road to the zoo, through the Rinconada redwoods and back along Newell Road past the library and art center takes under half an hour at an easy pace. Add a few blocks north on Newell into Crescent Park to see some of the city's grandest 1920s houses, or cross Middlefield toward the Gamble Garden.
The trade-off is activity. The civic buildings draw visitors from across the city, so evenings and weekends bring cars, school pickup lines and theater crowds. Blocks closer to Channing Avenue are quieter.
For visitors, the neighborhood works well as a family base. You can look for a rental near Rinconada Park or compare hotels near downtown, which is a short walk or ride away. For more family ideas see Palo Alto with kids, or return to the neighborhoods overview.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the neighborhood called Community Center?
It is named for the cluster of civic buildings at its core. The Lucie Stern Community Center, Rinconada Park and pool, the Junior Museum and Zoo, Rinconada Library and the Palo Alto Art Center all sit within a few blocks of Middlefield and Embarcadero roads.
Who designed the Lucie Stern Community Center?
Palo Alto architect Birge Clark designed it. The city dates the Spanish Mediterranean style complex to 1934. It was funded by philanthropist Lucie Stern and today houses the city's recreation offices, a community theater and the Palo Alto Children's Theatre.
Where is the Community Center neighborhood?
It sits in north Palo Alto east of Middlefield Road. Palo Alto Online describes its edges as Middlefield Road, Channing Avenue, Newell Road and Embarcadero Road. Crescent Park is to the north and Old Palo Alto is across Embarcadero to the south.
Which schools serve the Community Center neighborhood?
Palo Alto Online and Palo Alto Weekly guides have listed Addison, Duveneck and Walter Hays elementary schools, Greene Middle School and Palo Alto High School, depending on the address. Confirm any home with the Palo Alto Unified School District school finder.
Is there public parking near Lucie Stern and Rinconada Park?
Yes. City lots sit around the community center buildings, the Junior Museum and Zoo and Rinconada Library, plus street parking on nearby blocks. Lots fill on summer weekends and during theater performances, so arrive early or bike.