The Oval and Palm Drive - A Grand Front Door

A stop on Stanford University Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

You are standing on the Oval, the sweeping lawn that greets nearly everyone who arrives at Stanford. Behind you, Palm Drive runs straight back toward the old railroad station, lined with tall Canary Island date palms. Ahead, framed by the entrance to the Main Quad, the gold mosaic on the front of Memorial Church glows on a sunny day.

This whole entrance is part of a memorial. Leland and Jane Stanford's only child, Leland Jr., died of typhoid fever in Florence in 1884, at age 15. The grieving parents founded a university in his name, and it opened in 1891. The firm of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted laid out the plan, with Palm Drive as the main axis ending here at the Oval, centered on the Quad's entrance and looking out to the foothills.

The road was first called University Avenue, and its palms went in around 1893. Today the Oval is where students toss frisbees, stretch out between classes and line up for graduation photos.

Getting here: Start on the Oval, the large lawn where Palm Drive ends in front of the Main Quad.

Did you know?: Palm Drive had traffic trouble early on: by 1905 it was limited to carriages, bicycles and walkers, and the trustees did not lift the ban on automobiles until 1914.

Photo op: Stand on the Oval's center line facing the Main Quad and frame the arched entrance with the Memorial Church mosaic glowing in the middle.

More on Wikipedia: Stanford University · Leland Stanford Jr. · Frederick Law Olmsted

The Oval and Palm Drive - A Grand Front Door

Stops on this tour