Tech

PHOTOS: We Took A Tour Inside Facebook's 'Mini Palo Alto' Headquarters

Robert Johnson
2014-04-15T02:07:00Z
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Silicon Valley is awash with extravagant workplaces but Facebook's is low key and village-like.

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The main part of campus was built to resemble downtown Palo Alto. With 1 million-square-feet of space, the campus is spacious, but the number of people walking around make it feel more intimate. It's casual, but well-planned.

We visited Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters in March as the trees were blooming. The following pictures offer a glimpse of what it's like working inside the social network.

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Facebook's new Menlo Park headquarters is a sprawling compound of buildings that once belonged to Sun Microsystems.

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As massive as it is, the campus only supports 3,600 commuting vehicles so the company buses in workers where it can.

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Source: ZDNet

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Employees arrive to work here in a variety of ways.

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Some ways are more plush than others.

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Immediately inside the new Facebook compound is this small green space where the Facebook foxes were born.

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Source: Facebook

The Facebook foxes had two cubs who still appear on campus.

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The foxes have since relocated to the nearby salt flats, we're told.

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The flats are just beyond Facebook's parking lot. A trail opens up there to let workers go for a run during the day.

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Inside the work space buildings, employees are encouraged to decorate walls however they like.

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When an engineer walked by this mural being painted, he told the artist his snippet of code was gibberish and gave the painter actual Facebook code to include.

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For its bolder wall art, Facebook hired David Choe to decorate its walls. This is Munko, Choe's buck-toothed whale.

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Source: Vice

CEO Mark Zuckerberg chose Choe specifically.

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Choe is so popular that a three-foot by one-foot painting commands nearly $25,000. But he refused cash to paint Facebook's walls.

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Source: David Choe Art

Choe instead opted for stock options in exchange for his work. Following Facebook's IPO, the stock was worth $200 million.

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This mural is made of LEGOs.

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And this electronic wall in one of the dining areas scrolls "Make It Happen" in letters several feet high.

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Maybe the best thing about the art at Facebook's new headquarters is that it's always a surprise.

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Like the yellow brick road that got laid after a new coffee shop started drawing pedestrian traffic across the grass.

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The coffee shop is just one of many places to eat and drink available to Facebook employees at no charge.

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Harvest is the place for salads.

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Teddy's Nachos is supposed to have one of the best burritos in the Bay area. The heart of campus here is styled after downtown Palo Alto.

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Source: Yelp

There's a burger place, which smells amazing.

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And a medley of cafeterias places for employees to grab a free meal.

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It's tough to find a Facebook employee who doesn't seem to enjoy where they work.

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But then, this is a place where even the interns make $67,000 a year.

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Salon haircuts are not free, but they are very convenient.

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Vending machines scattered around the work spaces dispense computer related items, also free of charge.

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Many small group seating areas dot the buildings. The decor is eclectic.

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Employees may also enjoy auto maintenance at work ... and auto detailing.

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Despite appearances, people here work hard.

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Facebook may seem casual, but its goals are not. Zuckerberg wants to, "connect everyone, understand the world and help build the knowledge economy."

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Source: Seeking Alpha

That was a slice of life at Facebook.

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Now check out Twitter's new HQ >

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