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Our Favorite Places

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The Anderson Collection

Musicians in the Andersen collection

Stanford University is the home to the core of the Anderson Collection, one of the world’s most outstanding private assemblies of modern and contemporary American art.

Arboretum 

Art installation of The Stanford Columns, 2022

In the vast arboretum, you’ll find Angel of Grief (1900-01) carved by the Bernieri Brother of Tuscany and Beverly Pepper’s The Stanford Columns (2022), standing among the California oaks across Lomita Drive from the Anderson Collection.

Cactus Garden

Cactus garden

The garden was designed for Jane and Leland Stanford by landscape architect Rudolf Ulrich between 1881 and 1883. During the early years of the university, the Cactus Garden became the meeting place for many courting Stanford students.

Cantor Arts Center

Families at Cantor

The Cantor Arts Center’s diverse collections span continents, cultures, and 4,000 years of art history and include the largest gathering of Rodin bronzes outside Paris. Come see a wide range of changing exhibitions and take advantage of docent tours, lectures, gallery talks, symposia, classes, and special events.

David Rumsey Map Center

Cantor

A collections-based resource designed to provide access to cartographic information in all of its forms, from paper to digital.

Denning House

Denning House with the 17-foot sculpture, MOCNA, by Ursula von Rydingsvard in front

Denning House, a gorgeous timber-framed facility overlooking Lake Lagunita on the Stanford campus, is the convening space for Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University. Built in 2018 specifically to house Knight-Hennessy Scholars, it provides an inspiring venue for scholars, staff and visitors, and a magnificent setting for art. A gift from Roberta Bowman Denning, '75, MBA '78, and Steve Denning, MBA '78, made the building possible. Monthly 30-minute tours can be booked at the link above.

Frost Amphitheater & Stanford Live

Frost with crowd

Stanford Live presents a wide range of the finest performances from around the world fostering a vibrant learning community and providing distinctive experiences through the performing arts.

Hanna House

Hanna House

The Hanna Honeycomb House has been designated by the American Institute of Architects as one of 17 buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright that exemplify his contribution to American culture. To visit the house, please reserve your spot in a guided tour.

Hoover Tower

Enjoy a panoramic view of the Stanford campus and the surrounding Bay Area from the Hoover Tower observation platform.

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve

Image of a group walking across a bridge ina

The 1,189 acre preserve provides a natural laboratory for researchers from all over the world, educational experiences to students and docent-led visitors, and refuge to native plants and animals. 

Lake Lagunita

Stanford students and conservationists created signs that explain Lagunita’s uses and biodiversity.

Lake Lagunita is a beloved space that contains little water these days, but has a long history in the Stanford community for recreation and conservation efforts. Lagunita’s circumference remains a favorite running path for members of the Stanford community. Occasionally, after heavy rains, the bottom of the former reservoir fills.

Memorial Church

Stanford Memorial Church

Explore Memorial Church and its fascinating history, including stories of its endurance through two damaging earthquakes.

O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm

Group education at the farm

The educational farm is Stanford's home for hands-on learning in sustainable agriculture.

Papua New Guinea Sculpture Walk

Papua New Guinea

Created on-site at Stanford by artists from Papua New Guinea, the garden contains wood and stone carvings of people, animals, and magical beings that illustrate clan stories and creation myths. 

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Statues on campus

The Rodin Sculpture Garden is open all hours, with lighting for nighttime viewing.

Science and Engineering Quad: “Pars pro Toto” art installation

Alicja Kwade’s Pars pro Toto (2021), installed throughout the Science and Engineering Quad

Stanford commissioned international artist Alicja Kwade to create a site-specific work, titled Pars pro Toto, as a surprising and provocative addition to the Science and Engineering Quad. The work is composed of twelve dazzling stone spheres sourced from eight countries, ranging in size from a diminutive 16 inches to a colossal 98 inches. Visit the Quad in person or explore the space virtually in this video introducing the installation. 

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

SLAC offers an interactive, self-paced virtual tour or an on-site tour of SLAC (including an educational tour option). The tour destinations are designed to give you the most exciting and informative views of the lab.

Stanford Art Gallery 

Hoover Tower is visible behind the Stanford Art Gallery

Stanford Art Gallery visiting dates and hours vary by exhibition. Public access is only available when exhibitions are on display. The 1,900-square-feet exhibition space is an integral part of the programs, research, and curricula of the Department of Art & Art History. Constructed in 1917, the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery was the first building to anchor a planned library quadrangle just east of the University’s center. High-quality exhibitions are presented by the department to engage the university and wider community in stimulating dialogue facilitated by historical and contemporary visual language and culture.