The Laurence Frost Amphitheater, commonly known as Frost Amphitheater, is a prominent

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. It first opened in 1937 and was the site of

commencement A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called commencement, congregation, convocation or invocation. The date of the graduation ...

ceremonies for the university from 1938 until 1984. It can hold about 8,000 people.

History

The amphitheater built in 1937 was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Frost in memory of their son, John Laurence Frost, who graduated in 1935 and died of polio in the same year. It is a tree lined, grassy, tiered bowl designed by landscape architect

Leslie Kiler Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

. Throughout the years, the amphitheater has been the host to many events including a prominent speech by

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in 1992.

Music venue

The

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played 14 shows at the Amphitheater in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989. Since 2012, the Stanford Concert Network, a student organization, has hosted the annual Frost Music and Arts Festival at the Amphitheater each May, which has featured headliners

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, Dispatch,

Flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...

, and

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, as well as Eyes Lips Eyes,

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, Delorean, Kuroma,

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, and

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. The amphitheater usually hosts a concert (either jazz or classical) and fireworks on July 3.

History

Music venue

References

Further reading