Memorial Glade - The Campus Front Lawn

Photo: John Martinez Pavliga from Berkeley, USA, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

A stop on UC Berkeley Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

On a sunny afternoon this big lawn fills with students reading, napping and tossing frisbees, with the columned front of Doe Library on one side and the Campanile peeking over the trees.

It was not always this open. The space was part of the grand campus plan drawn up early in the 1900s, but during World War II it was crowded with so-called temporary buildings that stayed for decades. In the 1990s the library's main book stacks were moved into a new underground structure and the old buildings were cleared away, giving the campus its central green.

The glade was dedicated in 1997 in memory of members of the campus community who died in World War II. Look for the reflecting pool at its northwest corner, the memorial at the heart of the dedication.

For prospective students, this is the place to picture yourself: it is where much of campus life happens between classes.

Getting here: Walk northeast about 350 meters, past the west end of Doe Library, to the wide lawn on the library's north side.

Did you know?: Beneath this part of campus sit the Gardner Stacks, four underground floors with about 52 miles of mostly movable shelving.

Photo op: Stand at the north edge of the lawn and frame Doe Library's columns with the Campanile above the trees.

Memorial Glade - The Campus Front Lawn

Stops on this tour