RON HENGGELER

February 6, 2024
Stanford Memorial Church

Stately architecture, substantial building, beautiful stained glass windows and most of all the largest use of art mosaics for mural decorations in America combine to make it a structure more than unique in character, one worth visiting and remembering.

The church is located at the center of the Stanford University campus. Leland Stanford Junior University, or more commonly Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. It is one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Stanford University was founded by Leland Stanford, a railroad magnate, U.S. senator, and former California governor, together with his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford. It is named in honor of their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died in 1884 just before his 16th birthday. His parents decided to dedicate a university to their only son, and Leland Stanford told his wife, "The children of California shall be our children."

Stanford Memorial Church is located at the end of the mile-long axis of Stanford University, visible from a distance; the main vista begins at the main entrance, continues to Palm Drive, traverses "the Oval" (a large oval lawn), enters the Main Quad (the core of the university), and finally crosses Memorial Court and the Inner Quad courtyard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Memorial_Church

Stanford Memorial Church has been called "the University's architectural crown jewel". Designs for the church were submitted to Jane Stanford and the university trustees in 1898, and it was dedicated in 1903. The building is Romanesque in form and Byzantine in its details, inspired by churches in the region of Venice, especially, Ravenna.

A view of the Hoover Tower seen from the Memorial Court

The church was commissioned by Jane Stanford (1828–1905) as a memorial to her husband, Leland Standford (1824–93). The Stanfords had intended that a church should become "the centerpiece of the university complex". They were deeply religious, and for their day and social standing, "open-minded ecumenicalists", so they included in the university's original charter that a church built on campus should be a "nondenominational—if essentially Protestant—house of worship".

"The Annunciation" inspired by Frederic Shields, located in the East Nave

The Chancel viewed from the Crossing under the dome

Three stained glass windows in the apse depict the nativity,crucifixion and ascension of Christ. The mosaics between them show angels, those on the left carrying a cross, those on the right carrying a crown. On the longer sections of the chancel wall, on either side of the windows, are mosaics depicting a choir of angels. Above them is a tier of mosaics with representations of the prophets and kings of Israel. Other mosaics abound in the transepts, clerestory, and the choir loft at the northern end of the church. A series of mosaics in the upper transepts depict Old Testament figures on the east side and Christian saints on the west side. On Jane Stanford's direction, they alternate male and female.

Leland Stanford Junior at the Age of Four c. 1872
By Willian Cogswell 1819-1903
Oil on canvas 
Stanford Family Collection
Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

The Stanford Memorial Church's stained glass windows and extensive mosaics are based on religious paintings the Stanfords admired in Europe. The church has five pipe organs, which allow musicians to produce many styles of organ music. Stanford Memorial Church has withstood two major earthquakes, in 1906 and 1989, and was extensively renovated after each.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Memorial_Church

The view looking towards the West Transept as seen from the East Arcade

On either side of the nave, both on walls rising from the forward sloping floor and in the clearstory, the splendors of stained glass reproductions of masterpieces of the old world are presented in colorful beauty. Looking skyward under the dome in front of the chancel the visitor sees four adoring angels, done in mosaic, apparently rising from clouds, in the spandrels over the four large pilasters. A closer view of the chancel reveals artistic work of a kind seldom seen anywhere. In the center is a white marble communion table.

The Stanfords had traveled Europe for many years, visiting churches, museums, and notable buildings and finding inspiration for the architecture of both the university and church. They received their greatest inspiration from the Piazza San Marco in Venice.

The mosaic project began in 1900 and took five years to complete. Jane Stanford chose mosaics to decorate her church because of the similar weather in Italy and Northern California, where the moderate climates and rainy seasons in both settings protect the images from erosion and clear the pollution that accumulates on many buildings in large cities. As Hall states, the "mosaics on the facade are always clear and brilliant." Their "shimmering quality" was created by different tones of green and gold; the artists that installed the mosaics had over 20,000 shades of colors to choose from. The images cost US $97,000, and were based upon original watercolors created by artist Antonio Paoletti.Jane Stanford worked closely with Paoletti, planning a combination of Old Testament and New Testament scenes that represented men and women equally. After Stanford approved Paoletti's designs, full-sized images were created as patterns, and then divided into two-foot-square sections, which were made into glass by other artists. The mosaics were made in Venice, shipped by boat in pieces to New York and then by railroad to California, where they were placed on the church's walls.

The East Arcade seen from the West Arcade

The art contained in the church "greatly occupied" Jane Stanford; as former chaplain Robert Gregg put it, "The structure was to be without flaw". Stanford was determined that the quality of the church's workmanship would equal the medieval churches she had admired in Europe.

Portrait of Leland Stanford Jr. with Skates 1880
By Thomas Kirby van Zandt 
Oil on canvas 1881 
Stanford Family Collection
Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Directly above the crossing is a dome supported on pendentives. Around the base of the dome are decorative gilt bands, the lower depicting a scrolling vine. Jane Stanford intended the dome's decoration of to be of mosaic tiles showing a variety of symbols, but the church's builders thought it would make the dome too heavy, so the decorations were painted. On the spandrels of the pendentives are mosaics of four angels measuring 42 feet (13 m) from wing tip to wing tip, rising from clouds. The angels survived the 1906 earthquake, but the angel looking downward was severely damaged during the 1989 earthquake because an 8-foot section of its left wing fell 70 feet.

"The Home at Nazareth" inspired by Heinrich Hofmann, located in the East Nave

Adaptations of several styles of architecture have been used in the Memorial Church.Surrounding it the modified mission predominates, while the church is more Romanesque, especially in the interior. The buff sandstone readily lends itself for the lacy carving in the arches over the entrance and windows. It also conveys the impression of solidity when seen in the mass, either smooth or rough. Its neutral tone serves well to bring out by contrast the bright colors in the mosaics and windows. 

https://archive.org/stream/stanfordmemorial00hallrich/stanfordmemorial00hallrich_djvu.txt

On the spandrels of the pendentives are mosaics of four angels measuring 42 feet (13 m) from wing tip to wing tip, rising from clouds. The angels survived the 1906 earthquake, but the angel looking downward was severely damaged during the 1989 earthquake because an 8-foot section of its left wing fell 70 feet.

In the back of the church near the right-hand door and the church’s original baptismal font, is a unique window portraying Leland Stanford Jr. ascending toward the throne of heaven.

The mosaic with the alternating medallions represents the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the Alpha and Omega. The other medallion is the Chi Rho, Christ's monogram combining the first two letters for Christ in the Greek alphabet. This mosaic design covers the wall of the Vestibule at the enterance into the church.

Mosaics are "virtually everywhere" inside the church and have been described as "a perfect complement to Frederick Lamb's stained-glass windows".

Portrait of Leland Stanford Jr.

1884 

Oil on canvas 

By Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois

The arches, balcony rails, and pillars throughout the church have relief carvings created by a team of 10 men who worked for two years from scaffolding. A large double pillar before the entrance of the west transept have inscriptions dedicated to members of the Stanford family. After the 1989 earthquake, a third of the west transept was converted into a small chapel. The altar and chairs in this chapel were designed by Bay Area artist Gail Fredell who decorated the chapel's altar by using Salvatti's original mosaics, which had been stored since the church's reconstruction following the 1906 earthquake.

The "shimmering quality" of the church's mosaics was created by different tones of green and gold; the artists that installed the mosaics had over 20,000 shades of colors to choose from. The images cost US $97,000, and were based upon original watercolors created by artist Antonio Paoletti. Jane Stanford worked closely with Paoletti, planning a combination of Old Testament and New Testament scenes that represented men and women equally. After Stanford approved Paoletti's designs, full-sized images were created as patterns, and then divided into two-foot-square sections, which were made into glass by other artists. The mosaics were made in Venice, shipped by boat in pieces to New York and then by railroad to California, where they were placed on the church's walls.

Jane Lathrop Stanford

1881 

Oil on canvas 

By Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat 

France, 1834-1922

Jane Stanford once remarked: "While my whole heart is in the university, my soul is in that church".

A view from the Vestibule looking towards the East Transept

Leland Stanford Jr.

1884 

Oil on canvas 

By Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat France, 1834-1922

Stanford Memorial Church houses five organs, a "situation only a few places in the nation can boast", since most churches only have one. The presence of multiple and high-quality organs makes Stanford an ideal location for accomplished musicians, and the sanctuary one of California's best settings for instrumental and choral performance. The church's organist is Robert Huw Morgan.

"The Nativity" in the Chancel

Inspired by Edward Fellowes-Prynne

The ceiling in the Nave

Senator Leland Stanford 1890
Oil on canvas
By Georgiana Cambell 
1861-1931

Looking skyward under the dome in front of the chancel the visitor sees four adoring angels, done in mosaic, apparently rising from clouds, in the spandrels over the four large pilasters.

At first the impression is that the facade is painted over in a 
most artistic manner. Figures are distinct, colors bright, harmonizing, contrasting and the whole work fixing attention. Three carved stone arches on massive bases form the lower portion of the facade. On the spandrels are Biblical pictures of Faith, Hope, Charity and Love.

During one of the Stanfords' European trips they befriended Maurizio Camerino, an artist with a reputation for producing high-quality mosaics, who was managing theAntonio Salviati studios in Venice. Jane Stanford visited Camerino, who had taken over the ownership of Salvati and Company in 1890, and commissioned him to produce mosaics for the church. Stanford spent two months in Venice, working closely with Camerino and selecting the watercolors he created that were eventually developed into the mosaics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Memorial_Church 

Nowhere else in America can such an extensive use of this form of decoration be seen. The facade, however, is only an introduction to a more lavish use of this artistic work. Passing through the entrance and by the bronze scroll doors the visitor enters a mosaic decorated vestibule. Pursuing one's way into the nave one looks forward to the chancel, where the blendings of stained glass window lights on mosaics at first dazzle with their brilliance. On either side of the nave, both on walls rising from the forward sloping floor and in the clearstory, the splendors of stained glass reproductions of masterpieces of the old world are presented in colorful beauty. 

https://archive.org/stream/stanfordmemorial00hallrich/stanfordmemorial00hallrich_djvu.txt

To speak of the church's history, it was built primarily by Mrs. Stanford as a memorial to her husband and to fulfill one of the objects of the university's establishment. The founders' deed of gift provided that non-sectarian religious study should be a part of the work undertaken. In 1898 Mrs. Stanford and the trustees asked San Francisco architects to submit designs. Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in making the original sketch followed the motif of Trinity Church, Boston. Clinton E. Day of San Francisco prepared the plans and Charles E. Hodges was the supervising architect. Mrs. Stanford made a special tour of Europe to select designs and methods of decoration. It was on January 25, 1903, that the church was sufficiently advanced in construction for dedication. At the ceremony were clergymen of all denominations. By their participation they demonstrated a friendliness non-sectarian in nature that has been fostered and has grown under the guidance of Dr. D. Charles Gardner, pastor of the church and chaplain of the university. From 1906 to 1913 the building was not in use, as during that time work was in progress repairing the damage suffered in the earthquake. Since then it has been in constant use. It is open every day for visitors. 

https://archive.org/stream/stanfordmemorial00hallrich/stanfordmemorial00hallrich_djvu.txt

"The Flight into Egypt" inspired by Bernhard Plockhorst in the East Nave

Leland Stanford Jr. on His Pony, Gypsy,
Palo Alto, May 1879
Photo taken by Eadweard Muybridge

Plaster Death Mask of Leland Stanford Jr. 1884
After Leland Jr.’s death from typhoid fever in 1884 in Florence, Italy, the boy’s grieving parents requested this last remembrance of their son, a death mask cast in plaster from a wax facial mold made at the time of the body’s preparation for burial.

Stuffed Owl
From the Stanford Collection at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

You can find a 360° view of Memorial Church’s interior here. You can also download the Memorial Church Self-Guided Tour Brochure.