|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Before stepping into the Riekes Center gym, first-time visitors might be surprised to encounter what resembles the front of a house — with a brick exterior, red door and a porch lamp. This is the original door that once opened to the home at 1700 Fernside Street in Woodside, where Gary Riekes started it all.
As a community center with members ranging from ages 3 to 93, the Riekes Center serves as a fitness, art and learning hub for anyone to join. For nearly 30 years, the center has mentored professional football players, award-winning artists, paralympians and more.
The Riekes Center is Menlo Park’s “best kept secret,” said Executive Director Caroline McNally.
Riekes history
Founded by Riekes in 1973, the Riekes Center was intended to be a home for all. Riekes, a former Stanford football player, began offering fitness training at his home in Woodside while recovering from a football injury. Over the years, his house became a community hub that soon drew so many people that it outgrew his home.
In 1996, the Riekes Center registered as a nonprofit and moved into its current Menlo Park location — a 40,000-square-foot facility equipped with a gym, basketball court, batting cages, auto shop and music studio. Since its founding, the organization has grown to offer programs in not only athletic fitness but also art, photography, community service and nature education.
Riekes died in 2021 but his legacy lives on through the Riekes Center and its community.
Annually, the Riekes Center serves over 7,000 children, seniors, veterans and adults. Its location in Menlo Park puts it in close proximity to communities it serves in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Palo Alto and Atherton.
To join, “just walk in,” said Maria Ornes, marketing and events manager. Ornes joined the Riekes Center as a student at Menlo-Atherton High School and joined the staff 10 years later. She’s one of many former Riekes participants turned staff members.
Opportunities for everyone
Attendees for a fitness class for adults do a round of boxing jabs on Monday Morning. August 4, 2025. Photo by Ximena Natera 
Mark Bakunin, a summer camp instructor at Reikes, leads a stop-motion animation class for elementary school children. August 4, 2025. Photo by Ximena Natera 
A group of students at the music summer camp at Riekes Center have a jam session after lunch in a music studio. August 4, 2025. Photo by Ximena Natera 
The Riekes Center, a Menlo Park-based nonprofit organization, offers fitness, art and community-focused programming for people of all ages. Photo by Ximena Natera
The Riekes Center is used by people of all ages, creating a space that encourages intergenerational connections. Through its various programs, every participant is able to grow their skills and build new ones.
Community service students who volunteer at the Riekes Center can gain leadership skills with the support of the staff. These students lead tours of the center, help others in workouts, maintain the garden and cook food for the community.
“It’s a way for students to not only help support the community, but give back to the community here at the center,” said Isaac Hartman, a Riekes staff member.
The Riekes Center also hosts summer camps for youth teaching them Lego animation, video editing and photography. Offsite, Riekes’ kids can be seen roaming the grounds of Filoli and Huddart Park in Woodside as a part of the nature awareness program which teaches outdoor survival skills, camping, knife safety and fire-making.
Veterans and seniors can also find a place at the Riekes Center through programs such as strength training, boxing and archery. The organization also offers adaptive sports programs for individuals with disabilities as well.
The center encourages growth and therefore, programs are always evolving, said Ornes. When a participant is looking to gain experience in something that isn’t offered at the center, the staff will take their time to learn it so they can come back to the center to teach others, said Hartman.
The team also supports students who want to start their own programs. Most recently gaming and fashion have been adopted into the center.
A place for discovery
The walls of the Riekes Center are covered in framed photos of its community, newspaper clippings of participant achievements and autographed photos of those who have gone pro. The entire facility feels like a giant family photo album.
According to staff, Riekes experienced bullying as an athlete and when creating a community space, he made it a goal to foster an environment that focused on non-judgment and respect. His community often referred to his Woodside house as their home and Riekes wanted to recreate that feeling in Menlo Park, said Isaac Hartman, a Riekes staff member.
At the center, community members are asked to uphold certain standards: maintain sensitivity to others, no labels and limitations and no swearing, he said.
With varying programs in different fields, participants might initially become a Riekes member for one reason but soon discover a passion in another. McNally said a former member started his journey at the Riekes Center as a high school athlete but found his passion for photography through the center’s program. That student, Ben Mullin, is now an Emmy-winning cinematographer.
Mullin is one of many Riekes alumni who have participated at the Menlo Park facility. Other participants include football star Tom Brady, Paralympic gold medalist Katie Holloway, WNBA champion Sue Bird and Paralympian Steven Toyoji, who is now the senior director of programs for the center.
With over 100,000 alumni, the center has grown some of today’s leading artists, athletes and professionals. While they may be far from their humble beginnings, the Riekes Center maintains its open arms for all.
“You can always come home to Riekes,” said Ornes
