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COVID-19 Update

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Memorial Church is currently closed for tours and visits. The Church is open for scheduled religious observances, weddings, memorials, concerts, and events. For more information, please see our listing of events.

Banner image featuring a photograph of the interior ceiling, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo Credit: Eugene Zelenko

Memorial Church

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Stanford Memorial Church is part of a linked, complex system of arcades that make up the Quad, which serves to unify the entire complex, is more reminiscent of European public spaces than American ones, and "is probably one of the most important feature of the original Stanford architecture". It was built during the American Renaissance period and features a kaleidoscope of intricate detail that reveals itself upon each additional visit to the grounds. Here you can find additional information about the church and it's storied history. 

c. 1903-1906 Memorial Church from the Quadrangle, with steeple, before the April 1906 earthquake. A man sits in a chair in the foreground. Memorial Church, built in memory of her late husband by Jane Stanford, was completed in 1903. The steeple fell in the 1906 earthquake and was not rebuilt.

Memorial Church History

Read about the creation of the church and more. 

Tile image featuring  1/23/1997 Memorial Church wall engraving. Credit: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service

Memorial Church Inscriptions

Carved into Memorial Church’s interior sandstone walls are a collection of instructive and inspirational sayings assembled by Jane Stanford over the years. 

Tile image featuring  1/1979 Memorial church, interior, mosaics, angels with scroll. Credit: Chuck Painter / Stanford News Service

Memorial Church Layout

View a floor plan of the memorial church. 

Memorial Church Organs

Memorial Church houses many wonderful organs, explore more about them here.

Tile image featuring Architectural details of the sandstone arcades in the Main Quadrangle of Stanford University.

Memorial Church Quatrefoils

Of special scholarly and artistic interest are the ancient religious symbols and the carved quatrefoils that provide their settings. 

The tulip magnolia trees behind Building 530 in full bloom. Credit: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service

Visit Memorial Church

Planning a visit to the church? Check here for additional information.