The Quad - The Open Heart of Campus
Photo © Scott Lincke
A stop on Menlo College Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.
You are on the Quad, the big open lawn at the center of Menlo College. Turn slowly and you can see most of student life from here: the library behind you, the classroom halls of Florence Moore and Brawner to the south, the dining hall to the west, and the residence halls to the north. On a sunny day students study, toss a ball and cut across this grass between classes.
The campus covers about 45 acres, small enough to cross in a few minutes. It has been shaped by a lot of history. In 1931, during the Depression, the Town of Atherton deeded a strip of land to Menlo so it could expand. For decades the college shared its grounds with Menlo School, and in 2008 the two became fully separate institutions with their own parcels of land.
Menlo has also used its open spaces for art. Keep an eye out for outdoor sculptures as you walk, part of the college's program of public artworks.
Getting here: From the library, walk west onto the lawn and stop near its middle.
Did you know?: In 2020 Menlo hosted Silicon Valley Sculpture, an outdoor sculpture show spread across the campus, designed so visitors could enjoy art at a safe distance.
Photo op: Stand near the middle of the lawn and shoot toward the residence halls with the large trees framing the sides of the picture.
Stops on this tour
- Admissions Building - Where Visits Begin
- Haynes-Prim Pavilion - Home of the Oaks
- Bowman Library - From Dining Hall to Study Hall
- The Quad - The Open Heart of Campus
- Florence Moore Hall - Science and New Ideas
- Brawner Hall - Business School and Douglass Hall
- Dining Hall and Student Union - Where Campus Gathers
- Wunderlich Field - Soccer and Softball
- Residence Halls - Arrillaga, Kratt, Howard and Michaels