Frost Amphitheater, Open-air theater at Stanford University, United States

Frost Amphitheater is an open-air theater on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California, built into a natural hillside that forms a grass slope for seating. The stage sits at the bottom of the slope, with the lawn rising gradually behind it to give all seats a clear view.

The amphitheater opened in 1937 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Howard Frost in memory of their son John Laurence Frost, a 1935 Stanford graduate who died of polio that same year. It served as the site of Stanford's commencement ceremonies from 1938 until 1984. Landscape architect Leslie Kiler designed the 20-acre tree-lined grassy bowl.

The amphitheater is named for John Laurence Frost, a 1935 Stanford graduate who died of polio the same year; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Frost, gave the venue in his memory. Since 2012 the student-run Stanford Concert Network has held the Frost Music and Arts Festival there each May, with headliners including Modest Mouse, MGMT, Flume and Fetty Wap.

Bring a blanket or a low folding chair, since most of the seating is on an open grass slope. The Stanford campus is large, so allow extra time to walk from parking areas to the venue entrance.

The Grateful Dead played 14 shows here between 1982 and 1989, and Mikhail Gorbachev spoke at the amphitheater in 1992. Since 2012 the student-run Stanford Concert Network has held the Frost Music and Arts Festival here each May, with headliners such as Modest Mouse, MGMT and Fetty Wap.