Arizona (Cactus) Garden
Arizona Garden was planted sometime between 1881 and 1883 for Leland and Jane Stanford for their proposed mansion. When their only son, Leland Jr., died in 1884, the Stanfords scrapped the plans to build the residence and instead, built a university in memory of their son.
The garden is a popular place for courting Stanford students (Atlas Obscura cheekily stated that the suggestive shapes of the cacti are not the cause).
Stanford Mausoleum
Near the Arizona Garden is the mausoleum where the Stanford family is buried.
Jane Stanford commissioned two Greek sphinxes to guard the mausoleum. She did not find the bare-breasted female figures appropriate, had them moved to the back, and replaced them with two male, Egyptian-styled sphinxes.
Next to the mausoleum is a statue of the Stanford family (Leland Sr., Leland Jr., and Jane).
Angel of Grief
North of the mausoleum is an Angel of Grief statue. The Angel of Grief replica was carved by Antonio Bernieri and commissioned by Jane Stanford in 1901 in memory of her brother, Henry Clay Lathrop. (Fun fact: the full name of the original piece is The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life.) The Angel of Grief marks Lathrop’s grave as his ashes were placed in a bronze urn underneath it.
The statue was replaced in 1908 without the cupola after being severely damaged in the 1906 earthquake. The statue was neglected over the years but eventually restored in 2001.
Unfortunately, the Angel of Grief was completely boxed off when I visited. There was no sign explaining why or when the statue would be reopened; and the most current thing I found online about the statue was that someone tore off the front left forearm in 2015. The mystery remains…
January 31, 2021 Update
Photos taken January 2021.