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The Farm

Stanford University

Stanford's Main Quad was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the successors of Henry Hobson Richardson. They blended his round-arched Romanesque style with a California Mission theme, building in local yellow sandstone under red tile roofs.

  • 5Buildings
  • 3Traditions
  • 1903Oldest · Stanford Memorial Church
  • 2013Newest · Bing Concert Hall

Planning the visit

  • Fly intoSan Francisco International Airport (SFO)

    SFO is roughly a half-hour drive north of campus. San José's Mineta airport (SJC) is a similar distance to the south.

  • Getting aroundWalking / Marguerite Shuttle

    The core of campus around the Main Quad is easy to walk. The free Marguerite shuttle connects the campus with the Palo Alto Caltrain station.

  • Colors and teams

    Students call the campus 'The Farm', after Leland Stanford's horse farm that once stood here, and Memorial Church is simply 'MemChu'.

5 buildings to stamp

  1. Main Quad
    Photo: Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Main Quad

    Main Quad, Stanford, CA 94305

    The oldest part of Stanford is a ring of sandstone buildings joined by shaded arcades of round Romanesque arches. It survived two great earthquakes and has looked almost the same from outside since 1906.

    Built
    1906
    Architect
    Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge
    Style
    Richardsonian Romanesque
    Today
    Teaching, research and administration
  2. Stanford Memorial Church
    Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Stanford Memorial Church

    Main Quad, Stanford, CA 94305

    Jane Stanford built this church in memory of her husband Leland. Romanesque in form and Byzantine in detail, it is inspired by the churches of Venice and Ravenna, and nearly every surface inside is covered in mosaic or carving.

    Built
    1903
    Architect
    Charles A. Coolidge
    Style
    Romanesque Revival
    Today
    Non-denominational church
  3. Hoover Tower
    Photo: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Hoover Tower

    Stanford, CA 94305

    Inspired by the tower of the New Cathedral of Salamanca, this 87-metre tower was finished for Stanford's 50th anniversary. It houses Herbert Hoover's library of war, revolution and peace, a 48-bell carillon and an observation deck with views to San Francisco on clear days.

    Built
    1941
    Architect
    Arthur Brown Jr.
    Style
    Mediterranean Revival
    Height
    87 m (285 ft)
    Today
    Hoover Institution library and archives
  4. Hanna–Honeycomb House
    Photo: Fizbin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Hanna–Honeycomb House

    737 Frenchmans Road, Stanford, CA 94305

    Frank Lloyd Wright's first work in the Bay Area is laid out on a hexagonal grid, the first non-rectangular plan he ever designed. Built for a Stanford professor, it is now a National Historic Landmark.

    Built
    1937
    Architect
    Frank Lloyd Wright
    Style
    Usonian
    Today
    Conference center
  5. Bing Concert Hall
    Photo: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Bing Concert Hall

    327 Lasuen Street, Stanford, CA 94305

    An oval hall with 842 seats arranged in vineyard-style terraces around the stage, so that no seat is more than 75 feet from the conductor. The acoustics are by Yasuhisa Toyota, who also tuned Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    Built
    2013
    Architect
    Richard Olcott, Ennead Architects
    Style
    Contemporary
    Today
    Concert hall

3 traditions to check off

Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.

  • Class Plaques of the Inner Quad

    Each graduating class buries a time capsule and marks it with a bronze plaque in the walkway around the Inner Quad, starting with 1896 in front of Memorial Church. Walk the arcade and look for a class year.

  • Hoover Tower Observation Deck

    An observation deck 250 feet up gives wide views of campus, and on clear days the San Francisco skyline. The tower also holds a carillon given by the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

  • Memorial Church Cherubs

    Local legend says the stone cherubs carved above the chancel niches and on the pillar capitals were modelled on children living on campus while the church was built. Look up and find them inside the church.

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