Vallombrosa: Placid Amid the Noise and Haste

Despite having lived on the Peninsula for over 30 years, I had never been to the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park.

Vallombrosa ("shady glen") was built by E.W. Hopkins, the nephew of San Francisco railroad magnate Mark Hopkins, after the Civil War. Acquired by the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1947, the ten-acre site serves as

an ideal location for groups seeking a quiet and serene setting, with its beautiful grounds, comfortable accommodations, and friendly, helpful staff. It is also a gathering place for friends and neighbors to rest, to worship, to learn and grow.

Before our meeting on Friday, I strolled the buildings and grounds. Given the premium on Peninsula land (Facebook paid $400 million for a 56-acre property on which it will build housing in Menlo Park---simple interpolation puts Vallombrosa's land value at $72 million), a place like this would not be constructed today.

Vallombrosa's unlikely existence is a reminder that not every organization needs to have "highest and best use" as its highest principle.