Cantor Arts Center - A Museum Born of Grief

Photo: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

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

This neoclassical building holds one of the oldest chapters of Stanford's story. Before it was the Cantor Arts Center, it was the Leland Stanford Junior Museum, built around the objects young Leland had collected on his family's travels in Europe. It opened in 1894, and it was one of the first large public buildings in the country made of reinforced concrete. That strength helped the original block survive the 1906 earthquake, even as much of the rest of the museum came down.

Years of slow rebuilding followed, and then a second blow: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake closed the museum for a decade. It reopened in 1999 with a new wing and the names of donors Iris and B. Gerald Cantor. Today it holds more than 38,000 objects, from ancient art to contemporary work, and admission is free.

Next door, the Anderson Collection, opened in 2014, shows modern American painting, including Jackson Pollock's Lucifer. Either museum is worth a stop; check their websites for current hours.

Getting here: Walk west about 400 meters from Bing Concert Hall to the large classical building of the Cantor Arts Center.

Did you know?: When the museum reopened in 1909 after the earthquake, only about a quarter of the old building was usable, and part of that went to classrooms and laboratories instead of galleries.

Photo op: Back away from the building until you can take in its full neoclassical front in one shot.

More on Wikipedia: Cantor Arts Center · 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

Cantor Arts Center - A Museum Born of Grief

Stops on this tour