It seems that most large universities, as well as some smaller ones, have a “quad.” When I was a campus minister at University of Arizona, there was a massive quad where students and faculty hung out, played Frisbee, studied, slept, nuzzled with someone special, or whatever else they could find to do.
For an old college instructor like me, being on the quad of any school is thrilling. From the moment I first set foot in a classroom as a teacher, from kindergarten through university, I have loved teaching and being on a campus, being a part of campus life. I think I’d be deliriously happy just hanging out in a university library doing research in musty old tomes.
My visit to Stanford University (guided by a friend who is a Professor Emeritus from the Medical School there) included their quad. He added to my limited knowledge of the campus.
As we approached the main building of the quad, I was drawn to the floral arrangement in the center of the vast lawn.
It wasn’t until I stood a little elevated and distant from the floral arrangement that I realize the flowers created a large “S” for Stanford. I wondered if everyone else who visits miss it at first like I did.
Everything about the Stanford campus has history behind it. A walk along the corridor of the main building takes us back more than a century.
One of the stones on the floor of the corridor commemorated the centennial.
Each graduating class added a stone showing the year. This is the first one, laid by the graduating class of 1892!
You can walk along the corridor and see a class for every single year since then. A nice tradition!
And here is the latest one – for the class of 2009.
One of the pillars shows some of the damage done by the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989, almost twenty years ago. You can read more about it here and here.
Other news articles discuss the donations and work done to renovate the Stanford campus . . .
. . .and how it looked 15 years later.
That last link has excellent pictures and history of the quake, including more information about the World Series that had to be cancelled that day. To read about damage that is more specific to Stanford, go here.
One dominating attraction on the quad is the Memorial Church
This chapel was built by Jane Lathrop Stanford in memory of her husband, Leland Stanford in 1899.
This close-up shows the intricate and exquisite mosaic artwork.
Due to regular church services being held, visitors were not permitted to enter, so I took many shots outside. I loved this sign in several languages.
The courtyard of the chapel offers areas to stroll, rest, meditate.
The jacaranda were in full bloom in the chapel courtyard.
So many tucked away treasures like these side doors of the church.
Every detail was considered, as evidenced by this mosaic floor in the foyer of the chapel.
I have included a slide show below of all photos I took around the chapel, many more than are in this post. Today, I end with a shot of these marvelous sculptures near the chapel. In a few weeks, I will do another post that shows the individual statues and who they represent.
A hui hou!
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
To watch a larger version of this slideshow, click here, then click on the large arrow.
Wonderful post and amazing photos. I feel like I was there.