Stanford University was devised as a land grant university under the 1862 Morill Act. In 1888 Leland Stanford asked Olmsted, who by this time had designed many campuses around the country, to design the campus for his new university.



Olmsted wanted to create a compact campus. He envisioned a campus with few planted areas. He saw the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican as inspiration for the design, feeling that it would emphasize the architecture of the inner quadrangle.



He was also concerned with the idea of community. He reserved the areas around the three main quadrangles for residential areas. This way he felt that all the residents would benefit from the proximity to the grand buildings of education.