The Stanford Mausoleum, located in the Northwest of the

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 ...

campus in the

Stanford University Arboretum The 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. Background The arboretum began with the indigenous live oaks on Leland Stan ...

, holds the remains of the university's namesake Leland Stanford, Jr. and his parents Leland and

Jane Stanford Jane Elizabeth Lathrop Stanford (August 25, 1828 – February 28, 1905) was an American philanthropist and co-founder of Stanford University in 1885 (opened 1891), along with her husband, Leland Stanford, in memory of their only child, Leland S ...

. Once per year, the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

is opened to the public and a wreath laid (usually in October during the reunion weekend) as part of the annual Founders' Day activities.

History

The original intent of the Stanfords was to build a family mansion here. They had only gotten as far as planting a cactus garden (still present) before the death of their only son. They changed their plans to building a university in his name instead. Nearby is a memorial (the '' Angel of Grief'') 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 Story William Wetmore Story (February 12, 1819 – October 7, 1895) was an American sculptor, art critic, poet, and editor. Life and career William Wetmore Story was the son of U.S. Supreme Court judge Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. ...

Appearance

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.

Halloween Mausoleum Party

Stanford Mausoleum is also the site of the traditional Mausoleum Party, informally referred to as Maus, a student

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

party held each year at 10:00pm on the last Friday or Saturday of October. After being temporarily cancelled from 2002 to 2005, this tradition was revived in 2006. It is sponsored and planned annually by the Stanford Sophomore Class.

References

External links

Virtual Reality of Stanford Mausoleum
a QuickTime panorama by Erik Goetze
Stanford Mausoleum
at Stanford Buildings & Ground Maintenance
Founders' Celebration
by Stanford University, with information about the annual opening to the public of the Mausoleum {{Stanford Places Buildings and structures in Palo Alto, California Mausoleums in the United States

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

Burial monuments and structures in California Halloween