Main Quad (Stanford University)
The Main Quadrangle, or more commonly Main Quad or simply Quad, is the heart and oldest part of Stanford University in California. The collection of connected buildings was started in 1887 and completed in 1906. The Quad was damaged in the 1906 earthquake, repaired, less severely damaged in an 1989 earthquake, and repaired again. The exteriors have remained almost the same since the beginning, though the interiors of most of the buildings have changed radically. The Main Quad is still used for its original purposes of teaching, research, and administration. Description The Main Quad is built on a slight slope so that though the back of the structure is level with the ground, the front is elevated. It is oriented slightly east of north along the Memorial Church–Memorial Court–Palm Drive axis. The front approach is at the end of a mile-long road, Palm Drive, which leads from the main entrance onto the university grounds and is lined with Canary Island palm trees. At its southwestern (campus) end, Palm Drive becomes a one-way loop that encircles a large lawn called the Oval. Immediately in front perpendicular to Palm Drive is Jane Stanford Way (once known as Serra Mall), which is restricted