On this page
Ask most Bay Area residents where Stanford is and they will point to Palm Drive. Since 2019 the honest answer has been "in two places." A few miles up the Peninsula, on the east side of Redwood City, Stanford runs a second campus of office buildings, plazas and gardens. Thousands of staff work there every weekday. Few visitors know it exists.
This page explains what Stanford Redwood City is, where it came from, who works there and what the public can use, based on what Stanford publishes about it. For the main campus, start with our guide to visiting Stanford. For the city around it, see our Redwood City guide.
What it is
Stanford Redwood City is the university's first significant location beyond its main campus, according to the campus website. It sits on a 35-acre site in Redwood City, with the mailing address Redwood City, CA 94063. Stanford Report says the campus began operating in March 2019.
It is an administrative campus. Stanford's own description says the site "allows for growth of the University and for much of the administrative staff to relocate here." There are no undergraduate dorms, lecture halls or museums. Stanford lists about 2,700 employees on site, which it says makes the university Redwood City's third-largest employer.
Departments based there include:
- Parts of the School of Medicine
- Libraries and archives
- Business affairs and human resources
- Development, the university's fundraising office
- Land, Buildings and Real Estate
Stanford also says three of the university's eight vice presidents work from the Redwood City campus.
From Ampex to Stanford
The land has a tech history of its own. Stanford says the site was once home to Mid-Point Technology Park, to the 1990s internet company Excite@Home and to Ampex, "the electronics company that pioneered reel-to-reel tape recorders." Stanford bought the 35 acres in 2005. Construction began in 2017 and staff began moving in during March 2019.
Stanford's ties to Redwood City are older than the campus. The university's Redwood City site notes that in 1905 the Stanford Boat Club built a boathouse on Redwood Creek. In 2009 the Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center opened nearby, ten years before the main campus buildings. Our history of Stanford Medicine places that clinic in the wider growth of the medical center.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1905 | Stanford Boat Club builds a boathouse on Redwood Creek |
| 2005 | Stanford buys the 35-acre site |
| 2009 | Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center opens nearby |
| 2017 | Construction begins |
| 2019 | Campus opens in March |
What is on the campus
The first phase, as Stanford describes it, includes four office buildings, a cafe with an outdoor promenade, plazas, a child care center, a parking garage and an employee wellness center. Stanford says the buildings were designed to stay flexible "for future academic, office, research and medical uses," so the mix could change over time.
The architecture deliberately borrows from the main campus. Stanford points to French limestone exteriors, terra cotta details, covered arcades and bright, open interiors that "echo elements of newer buildings on the Stanford campus." Anyone who has walked the arcades of the Main Quad will notice the family resemblance, in a more corporate key.
Services listed on the campus site include the Cardinal Café, the Recreation and Wellness Center, Pine Cone Children's Center, a branch of Stanford Federal Credit Union, wellness and lactation spaces and a lending library service. Stanford Recreation describes the wellness center as having a six-lane rooftop pool, an indoor basketball court, fitness equipment and an outdoor fitness courtyard. Its pages present it as a facility for the Stanford community and do not describe public drop-in use.
Its own energy plant
Heating and cooling come from an on-site Central Energy Facility. Stanford describes it as a smaller version of Stanford Energy System Innovations, the heat recovery system that serves the main campus. Our page on Stanford's Central Energy Facility explains how that system works.
What the public can use
Stanford Redwood City is a workplace. There are no public tours, exhibits or visitor centers. Stanford does publish a few ways the campus serves its neighbors:
| Feature | Who it is for, per Stanford |
|---|---|
| Shuttles to Redwood City Caltrain | Open to the public as well as Stanford commuters |
| 2.4 acres of open space near Spinas Park | Employees and neighbors |
| Barron and Warrington avenues | Public streets extended through the site |
| Office buildings | Staff and their visitors |
| Recreation and Wellness Center | Stanford community programs; no public drop-in described |
| Cardinal Café | Listed as a campus amenity; public hours not published |
When the campus opened in 2019, Stanford also announced community programs for Redwood City residents, including an entrepreneur boot camp, a speaker series and leadership training. Check the campus site's events page for anything current before you go, since we could not confirm which programs still run in 2026.
How it compares with the main campus
People sometimes expect a smaller copy of the Farm. The two campuses serve very different purposes.
| Main campus | Stanford Redwood City | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 8,353 acres across six jurisdictions | 35 acres in Redwood City |
| Mailing address | Stanford, CA 94305 | Redwood City, CA 94063 |
| Main use | Teaching, research, housing and athletics | Administrative offices and some School of Medicine staff |
| Visitor sights | Main Quad, museums, Hoover Tower, the Dish | None |
| Free shuttle | Marguerite, open to the public | Marguerite RWC line and Midpoint shuttle, open to the public |
Unless you have business with one of the offices, your time is better spent on the main campus. Our self-guided campus walk links the highlights into one route.
Getting there
The campus is a short shuttle ride from the Redwood City Caltrain station. Two services cover the trip on weekdays:
- Commute.org MPT Midpoint shuttle: runs during the morning and evening peaks, with stops at 505 Broadway and at Barron Avenue and Broadway.
- Stanford Marguerite RWC line: free, fills the middle of the day on weekdays and skips Stanford holidays.
From Palo Alto, Caltrain to Redwood City is a two-zone fare. Our Redwood City station guide covers parking and connections. Our Marguerite shuttle guide covers the full Stanford system. Neither shuttle runs on weekends, which matches the campus's weekday rhythm.
If you are in the area
There is little reason for a visitor to make a special trip to an office campus. Redwood City itself is worth the stop. Downtown is a short drive or bus ride west.
- Downtown Redwood City: Courthouse Square, the San Mateo County History Museum and the restaurant streets. See our downtown Redwood City guide.
- Food: our list of where to eat in Redwood City covers Broadway and beyond.
- Shows: the restored Fox Theatre on Broadway books concerts and comedy. See our Fox Theatre guide.
Why it matters to Palo Alto
For Palo Alto, the Redwood City campus is part of a bigger story about where Stanford grows. Stanford chose the site partly for its closeness to the main campus and its access to several transportation corridors, according to the campus website. Moving much of the administrative staff a few miles north leaves the main campus more room for teaching and research. The campus is one more sign that Stanford's footprint on the Peninsula now reaches well beyond the land Leland and Jane Stanford gave in 1885.
Frequently asked questions
What is Stanford Redwood City?
It is a 35-acre Stanford campus in Redwood City that opened in March 2019. It is mainly an office campus for about 2,700 university employees in departments such as the School of Medicine, libraries and archives, business affairs, human resources, development and Land, Buildings and Real Estate. It is not used for undergraduate classes.
Is Stanford Redwood City open to the public?
Only in part. Stanford says its shuttles to the Redwood City Caltrain station are open to the public and that 2.4 acres of open space near Spinas Park are available to employees and neighbors. Barron and Warrington avenues were extended through the site. The office buildings are workplaces, not visitor sites. There are no tours.
How do I get to Stanford Redwood City by train?
Take Caltrain to Redwood City station. On weekdays the Commute.org MPT Midpoint shuttle runs at the morning and evening peaks, with stops at 505 Broadway and at Barron Avenue and Broadway. Stanford's free Marguerite RWC line covers the middle of the day on weekdays.
What was on the Stanford Redwood City site before?
Stanford says the site was once home to Mid-Point Technology Park, Excite@Home and Ampex, the electronics company known for pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorders. Stanford bought the land in 2005 and construction began in 2017.
Does Stanford Redwood City have its own power plant?
Yes. Stanford says the campus has a Central Energy Facility for heating and cooling that is a smaller version of Stanford Energy System Innovations, the system that heats and cools the main campus.