Photos

Old walnut and liquid ambar trees shade the modest homes of the South of Seminary neighborhood where Laura and Mark Rich have lived for 24 years. The couple has raised their two children there, and Ms. Rich's favorite part of living in this neighborhood continues to be watching the children on the block grow up.

"Even though Middlefield is close by, the kids ride their skateboards, play ball and do chalk drawings on the street," she says.

South of Seminary is geographically defined by Middlefield Road, Willow Road, Coleman Avenue and Santa Monica Avenue, and is bordered by modest homes and apartment buildings, with the new development of Vintage Oaks in the center.

Most homes were built in the 1940s and early 1950s. The neighborhood was named because of its proximity to St. Patrick's Seminary, which was dedicated in l898 and once occupied 86 acres donated to the Catholic Church by Kate Johnson.

The neighborhood consists of one-story houses on small lots, with some apartments lining the edges along Coleman Avenue and Willow Road. There are sidewalks, but no curbs. And residents are walking distance to a small supermarket and Sunset Magazine and Books.

Residents say it's a friendly neighborhood where people are welcoming. When neighbors get sick, word gets out and food magically appears. And neighbors gather every year for the Fourth of July and again in the fall for a block party on Nash Avenue.

"There hasn't been a lot of change on our block," says Ms. Rich. "The Vintage Oaks subdivision is the biggest change in the neighborhood."

Forty-six acres of this former pastoral retreat is now known as Vintage Oaks, and consists of 131 homes and 14 duet-style townhouses. The latter are reserved for people who work for the city, such as government officials and school teachers.

Dr. Richard Green and his wife Lynda moved into Vintage Oaks in the first of the three phases of development. "We all moved in at the same time, so we became very close," he says — a seemingly universal sentiment in the area — encouraged by neighborhood BBQs and book groups.

"There are six floor plans, and each plan offers several style choices, such as Tudor, Craftsman, English cottage. Also, a certain number of the floor plans are reversed. Combine that with different color choices and it explains why it doesn't look like a development," he says.

Anne Butler's home in Vintage Oaks was one of the first three houses built there 13 years ago.

Ms. Butler says she loves living in the neighborhood. She moved from a bigger house in Woodside and enjoyed watching the other homes being built. Today, her favorite activity is watching the young families and children in the neighborhood, she says.

She chuckles and says that "my age skews the demographics — but it's one of the nicest things about living here."

Although you no longer see the seminary students coming out every Thursday on their bikes — their black robes streaming — the neighbors still enjoy the seminary bells.


=B FACTS==


CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOLS: Footsteps Preschool, 490 Willow Road, Menlo Park: The Roberts School, 641 Coleman Avenue, Menlo Park

FIRE STATION: 300 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park

PARK: Seminary Oaks Park, Santa Monica Avenue, near Middlefield Road, Menlo Park

PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Menlo Park Elementary School District — Laurel School, 95 Edge Road, Atherton; Encinal School, 195 Encinal Avenue, Menlo Park; Hillview Middle School, 1100 Elder Avenue, Menlo Park.

Sequoia Union High School District — Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton

SHOPPING: Downtown Menlo Park

MEDIAN 2008 HOME PRICE: South of Seminary: $1,460,000 ($1,460,000-$1,850,000); Vintage Oaks: $3,230,000 ($2,500,000-$33,550,000)

HOMES SOLD: South of Seminary: 4; Vintage Oaks: 9

View the neighborhood map (PDF)

— Susan Golovin and Karen Canty