Tales of the San Francisco Peninsula
by
Theron G. Cady
A series of articles first published in 'Peninsula Life Magazine'
Published by C-T Publishers, San Carlos, California, 1948
In the picturesque rolling
hills of the Santa Cruz range, at Palo Alto, Stanford University with its
many imposing structures is located on the spacious Stanford Farm of 8,800
acres. The world-famous university, which received its first class
in October, 1891, now has an attendance of nearly 5,000. The university
houses the Herbert Hoover War Library, the most complete collection of
World War I material; the Daniel Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, one
of the first to be endowed by that foundation for aeronautical research;
and the Harris J. Ryan High Voltage Laboratory, noted for valuable experiments
in high voltage. Stanford Memorial Church, constructed by Mrs. Stanford
in memory of Senator Stanford, is famous the world over for the gorgeous
mosaic of the facade.
The series of mosaics
in the church cover almost the whole of the interior walls of vestibule,
nave, transepts, and aspe, as well as the facade facing the Inner Quadrangle.
The stained-glass windows, nineteen in all, were designed and executed
by Frederick Lamb of New York. Both windows and mosaics, harmoniously
adapted to position and light and to each other, were planned as an aid
to worship and to the cultivation of a devout and reverent spirit.
The windows, transcribed from the works of modern painters, depicted scenes
in the life of Christ, the more elaborate mosaics, from medieval paintings,
represented scenes from the Old Testament. A replica of Cosimo Rosselli's
Last Supper, from the Sistine Chapel at Rome, was placed behind the marble
altar. A striking representation of the Sermon on the Mount forms
the central feature of the facade.