Travel Blog

Inside Facebook Headquarters at 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park, California

Earlier this month I was invited to visit Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park for a photo hack and campus photowalk. The Facebook photos team was preparing to pull a late night working on some cool new site improvements, and they wanted input from their photographer feedback group. Joining me was legendary photographer Thomas Hawk with his wife Julia Peterson, award-winning wedding photographer Catherine Halland Emmy Award winning visual journalist Richard Koci Hernandez.

As we entered Facebook Headquarters, we were greeted by staff in a bright entry hall covered floor-to-ceiling with hand-painted artwork and edgy typographic posters. A row of iPads guided us to check in and pick up our visitor badges. Signing an NDA with my fingertip was a first!

Facebook Headquarters Entrance

We met up with our host, Facebook’s Journalism Program Manager Vadim Lavrusik, and continued over to the photo department for lunch. Note the tall ceilings, open floor plan, and refreshingly casual creative environment.

Facebook Headquarters Photo Department Luncheon

Next, we squeezed into the head of a crowded conference room to sit and discuss the photos experience on Facebook and Instagram:

Facebook Headquarters Photo Hack
Facebook Headquarters Photo Hack
Facebook Headquarters Photo Hack
Facebook Headquarters Photo Hack

After a fun and productive meeting, we gathered our cameras and wandered Facebook’s campus for a while. Facebook HQ is a vast space—nearly one million square feet spread across 57 acres.  Nine buildings wrap around a broad path in a lush park setting lined with trees and speckled with open courtyards.

Facebook Headquarters
Facebook Headquarters
thomashawk
facebookphotowalk
Facebook Headquarters

The environment is very open, collaborative, and social.

Facebook Headquarters
insidefacebook

Giant touch-screen directories are located throughout Facebook campus to help people navigate the massive complex.

Facebook Headquarters

I found a few cluttered corners at Facebook—a familiar state of being for any hardworking creative.

Facebook Headquarters

Here’s a snap of us during our photowalk on Facebook’s campus, taken by Vadim Lavrusik. From left to right: Catherine Hall, Julia Peterson, Hillary Fox, Thomas Hawk, and Richard Koci Hernandez.

Photo Hack at Facebook Headquarters
I had a fantastic time meeting some of the great minds behind the world’s biggest social network. I’m looking forward to returning one day!