Menlo Park, Pretoria

Menlo Park is a suburb in the city of Pretoria, South Africa. It borders other upmarket areas Waterkloof, Brooklyn and Lynnwood. When it was first established between the 1950s and 1970s, 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.

Menlo Park has a central position near the N1 highway, within easy reach of the CBD, is near major shopping malls (Menlyn and Brooklyn Mall), and has a revamped heart, with a theatre, coffee bars, restaurants and cafés. It is the site of Menlo Park High School (as well as Menlo Park Primary School) and lies near the University of Pretoria.

Together with Brooklyn and Lynnwood, 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 Waterkloof (which has many street names reflecting the British Empire).

The suburb was the home of iconic South African artist Walter Battiss, 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), as well as abstract artist, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard.

It is also the site of a Sentech VHF (radio and television) repeater.

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