The
Stanford MausoleumA mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
, located in the northwest of the
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
campus in the
Stanford University ArboretumThe Stanford University Arboretum is an arboretum located on the grounds of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is open to the public daily without charge....
, holds the remains of the university's namesake
Leland Stanford, Jr.Leland Stanford Jr. , Leland DeWitt Stanford until age nine, was the only child of Governor Leland Stanford of California and his wife Jane Stanford nee Lathrop and is the namesake of Stanford University in the United States.Leland Jr...
and his parents
LelandAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:Stanford was born in the town of Watervliet, New York on March 9, in 1824; in what is now the town of Colonie. He was one of eight children of Josiah and Elizabeth Phillips Stanford...
and
Jane StanfordJane Stanford , was the daughter of a shopkeeper and lived on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York. She wed Leland Stanford in 1850. They headed west, first to Wisconsin and then to California...
.
The original intent of the Stanfords was to build a family mansion here. They had only gotten as far as planting a
cactus gardenThe Arizona Cactus Garden , also known as the Stanford Cactus Garden, is a botanical garden specializing in cactus and succulents. It is located on the campus of Stanford University , Palo Alto, California, USA, and open to the public daily without charge.-History:The...
(still present) before the death of their only son.
The
Stanford MausoleumA mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
, located in the northwest of the
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
campus in the
Stanford University ArboretumThe Stanford University Arboretum is an arboretum located on the grounds of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is open to the public daily without charge....
, holds the remains of the university's namesake
Leland Stanford, Jr.Leland Stanford Jr. , Leland DeWitt Stanford until age nine, was the only child of Governor Leland Stanford of California and his wife Jane Stanford nee Lathrop and is the namesake of Stanford University in the United States.Leland Jr...
and his parents
LelandAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:Stanford was born in the town of Watervliet, New York on March 9, in 1824; in what is now the town of Colonie. He was one of eight children of Josiah and Elizabeth Phillips Stanford...
and
Jane StanfordJane Stanford , was the daughter of a shopkeeper and lived on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York. She wed Leland Stanford in 1850. They headed west, first to Wisconsin and then to California...
.
The original intent of the Stanfords was to build a family mansion here. They had only gotten as far as planting a
cactus gardenThe Arizona Cactus Garden , also known as the Stanford Cactus Garden, is a botanical garden specializing in cactus and succulents. It is located on the campus of Stanford University , Palo Alto, California, USA, and open to the public daily without charge.-History:The...
(still present) before the death of their only son. They changed their plans to the building of a university instead. Nearby is a memorial (the
Angel of GriefAngel of Grief is an 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story which serves as the grave stone of the artist and his wife at the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. A replica made in 1906 exists at the Stanford Mausoleum at Stanford University. It replaced one created in 1901 that was destroyed in the San...
) to Jane Stanford's brother, Henry Clay Lathrop. This memorial is a 1908 copy of a 1901 copy of an 1894 statue by the prominent American sculptor
William Wetmore StoryWilliam Wetmore Story was an American sculptor, art critic, poet and editor.-Biography:William Wetmore Story was the son of jurist Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo Story...
.
The mausoleum has sphinxes on both the front and the back. The back ones are Greek and female with naked breasts. They were originally on the front but the Stanfords disapproved of them and replaced them with Egyptian style male sphinxes and moved the female sphinxes to the back.
The mausoleum is opened and a wreath laid once a year (in either March or April) as part of the Founders' Day activities. It is also the site of the Mausoleum Party, a traditional student
HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
party that did not occur in recent years, but was revived by student group Absolute Fun in 2006.
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