diff --git a/runtime/vm/allocation.cc b/runtime/vm/allocation.cc
index 82ec2ef25d4..84cb6e9b8ed 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/allocation.cc
+++ b/runtime/vm/allocation.cc
@@ -10,27 +10,6 @@
 
 namespace dart {
 
-StackResource::StackResource(Isolate* isolate)
-    : isolate_(isolate), previous_(NULL) {
-  // We can only have longjumps and exceptions when there is a current
-  // isolate.  If there is no current isolate, we don't need to
-  // protect this case.
-  if (isolate) {
-    previous_ = isolate->top_resource();
-    isolate->set_top_resource(this);
-  }
-}
-
-
-StackResource::~StackResource() {
-  if (isolate()) {
-    StackResource* top = isolate()->top_resource();
-    ASSERT(top == this);
-    isolate()->set_top_resource(previous_);
-  }
-  ASSERT(Isolate::Current() == isolate());
-}
-
 ZoneAllocated::~ZoneAllocated() {
   UNREACHABLE();
 }
diff --git a/runtime/vm/allocation.h b/runtime/vm/allocation.h
index e77fd3dc629..9c9c56199b1 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/allocation.h
+++ b/runtime/vm/allocation.h
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #define VM_ALLOCATION_H_
 
 #include "platform/assert.h"
+#include "vm/base_isolate.h"
 #include "vm/globals.h"
 
 namespace dart {
@@ -36,17 +37,36 @@ class ValueObject {
 // to a stack frame above the frame where these objects were allocated.
 class StackResource {
  public:
-  explicit StackResource(Isolate* isolate);
-  virtual ~StackResource();
+  explicit StackResource(BaseIsolate* isolate)
+      : isolate_(isolate), previous_(NULL) {
+    // We can only have longjumps and exceptions when there is a current
+    // isolate.  If there is no current isolate, we don't need to
+    // protect this case.
+    if (isolate) {
+      previous_ = isolate->top_resource();
+      isolate->set_top_resource(this);
+    }
+  }
 
-  Isolate* isolate() const { return isolate_; }
+  virtual ~StackResource() {
+    if (isolate()) {
+      StackResource* top = isolate()->top_resource();
+      ASSERT(top == this);
+      isolate()->set_top_resource(previous_);
+    }
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    BaseIsolate::AssertCurrent(isolate());
+#endif
+  }
+
+  BaseIsolate* isolate() const { return isolate_; }
 
   // The delete operator should be private instead of public, but unfortunately
   // the compiler complains when compiling the destructors for subclasses.
   void operator delete(void* pointer) { UNREACHABLE(); }
 
  private:
-  Isolate* isolate_;  // Current isolate for this stack resource.
+  BaseIsolate* isolate_;  // Current isolate for this stack resource.
   StackResource* previous_;
 
   void* operator new(uword size);
diff --git a/runtime/vm/base_isolate.h b/runtime/vm/base_isolate.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f52c1b0a2a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/vm/base_isolate.h
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2012, the Dart project authors.  Please see the AUTHORS file
+// for details. All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+// BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+#ifndef VM_BASE_ISOLATE_H_
+#define VM_BASE_ISOLATE_H_
+
+namespace dart {
+
+class HandleScope;
+class StackResource;
+class Zone;
+
+// A BaseIsolate contains just enough functionality to allocate
+// StackResources.  This allows us to inline the StackResource
+// constructor/destructor for performance.
+class BaseIsolate {
+ public:
+  StackResource* top_resource() const { return top_resource_; }
+  void set_top_resource(StackResource* value) { top_resource_ = value; }
+
+  Zone* current_zone() const { return current_zone_; }
+  void set_current_zone(Zone* zone) { current_zone_ = zone; }
+
+  HandleScope* top_handle_scope() const {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    return top_handle_scope_;
+#else
+    return 0;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  void set_top_handle_scope(HandleScope* handle_scope) {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    top_handle_scope_ = handle_scope;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  int32_t no_handle_scope_depth() const {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    return no_handle_scope_depth_;
+#else
+    return 0;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  void IncrementNoHandleScopeDepth() {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    ASSERT(no_handle_scope_depth_ < INT_MAX);
+    no_handle_scope_depth_ += 1;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  void DecrementNoHandleScopeDepth() {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    ASSERT(no_handle_scope_depth_ > 0);
+    no_handle_scope_depth_ -= 1;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  int32_t no_gc_scope_depth() const {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    return no_gc_scope_depth_;
+#else
+    return 0;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  void IncrementNoGCScopeDepth() {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    ASSERT(no_gc_scope_depth_ < INT_MAX);
+    no_gc_scope_depth_ += 1;
+#endif
+  }
+
+  void DecrementNoGCScopeDepth() {
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+    ASSERT(no_gc_scope_depth_ > 0);
+    no_gc_scope_depth_ -= 1;
+#endif
+  }
+
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+  static void AssertCurrent(BaseIsolate* isolate);
+#endif
+
+ protected:
+  BaseIsolate()
+      : top_resource_(NULL),
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+        current_zone_(NULL),
+        top_handle_scope_(NULL),
+        no_handle_scope_depth_(0),
+        no_gc_scope_depth_(0)
+#else
+        current_zone_(NULL)
+#endif
+  {}
+
+  ~BaseIsolate() {
+    // Do not delete stack resources: top_resource_ and current_zone_.
+  }
+
+  StackResource* top_resource_;
+  Zone* current_zone_;
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+  HandleScope* top_handle_scope_;
+  int32_t no_handle_scope_depth_;
+  int32_t no_gc_scope_depth_;
+#endif
+
+  DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(BaseIsolate);
+};
+
+}  // namespace dart
+
+#endif  // VM_BASE_ISOLATE_H_
diff --git a/runtime/vm/handles.cc b/runtime/vm/handles.cc
index 40956576936..2244c14d7f7 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/handles.cc
+++ b/runtime/vm/handles.cc
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ int VMHandles::ZoneHandleCount() {
 }
 
 
-HandleScope::HandleScope(Isolate* isolate) : StackResource(isolate) {
+HandleScope::HandleScope(BaseIsolate* isolate) : StackResource(isolate) {
   ASSERT(isolate->no_handle_scope_depth() == 0);
   VMHandles* handles = isolate->current_zone()->handles();
   ASSERT(handles != NULL);
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ HandleScope::~HandleScope() {
 
 
 #if defined(DEBUG)
-NoHandleScope::NoHandleScope(Isolate* isolate) : StackResource(isolate) {
+NoHandleScope::NoHandleScope(BaseIsolate* isolate) : StackResource(isolate) {
   isolate->IncrementNoHandleScopeDepth();
 }
 
diff --git a/runtime/vm/handles.h b/runtime/vm/handles.h
index c2987c375c1..cdb24d59d67 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/handles.h
+++ b/runtime/vm/handles.h
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class VMHandles : public Handles<kVMHandleSizeInWords,
 // }
 class HandleScope : public StackResource {
  public:
-  explicit HandleScope(Isolate* isolate);
+  explicit HandleScope(BaseIsolate* isolate);
   ~HandleScope();
 
  private:
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ class HandleScope : public StackResource {
 #if defined(DEBUG)
 class NoHandleScope : public StackResource {
  public:
-  explicit NoHandleScope(Isolate* isolate);
+  explicit NoHandleScope(BaseIsolate* isolate);
   ~NoHandleScope();
 
  private:
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ class NoHandleScope : public StackResource {
 #else  // defined(DEBUG)
 class NoHandleScope : public ValueObject {
  public:
-  explicit NoHandleScope(Isolate* isolate) { }
+  explicit NoHandleScope(BaseIsolate* isolate) { }
   ~NoHandleScope() { }
 
  private:
diff --git a/runtime/vm/isolate.cc b/runtime/vm/isolate.cc
index f59abad2bc6..516b2a08224 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/isolate.cc
+++ b/runtime/vm/isolate.cc
@@ -83,6 +83,14 @@ void IsolateMessageHandler::CheckAccess() {
 #endif
 
 
+#if defined(DEBUG)
+// static
+void BaseIsolate::AssertCurrent(BaseIsolate* isolate) {
+  ASSERT(isolate == Isolate::Current());
+}
+#endif
+
+
 Isolate::Isolate()
     : store_buffer_(),
       message_notify_callback_(NULL),
@@ -90,14 +98,7 @@ Isolate::Isolate()
       main_port_(0),
       heap_(NULL),
       object_store_(NULL),
-      top_resource_(NULL),
       top_context_(Context::null()),
-      current_zone_(NULL),
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-      no_gc_scope_depth_(0),
-      no_handle_scope_depth_(0),
-      top_handle_scope_(NULL),
-#endif
       random_seed_(Random::kDefaultRandomSeed),
       top_exit_frame_info_(0),
       init_callback_data_(NULL),
@@ -119,7 +120,6 @@ Isolate::~Isolate() {
   delete [] name_;
   delete heap_;
   delete object_store_;
-  // Do not delete stack resources: top_resource_ and current_zone_.
   delete api_state_;
   delete stub_code_;
   delete code_index_table_;
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ void Isolate::PrintInvokedFunctions() {
 
 void Isolate::Shutdown() {
   ASSERT(this == Isolate::Current());
-  ASSERT(top_resource_ == NULL);
+  ASSERT(top_resource() == NULL);
   ASSERT((heap_ == NULL) || heap_->Verify());
 
   // Clean up debugger resources. Shutting down the debugger
diff --git a/runtime/vm/isolate.h b/runtime/vm/isolate.h
index 6c94c8b983d..ab8f7001a34 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/isolate.h
+++ b/runtime/vm/isolate.h
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include "include/dart_api.h"
 #include "platform/assert.h"
 #include "platform/thread.h"
+#include "vm/base_isolate.h"
 #include "vm/gc_callbacks.h"
 #include "vm/store_buffer.h"
 #include "vm/timer.h"
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ class StubCode;
 class Zone;
 
 
-class Isolate {
+class Isolate : public BaseIsolate {
  public:
   ~Isolate();
 
@@ -83,9 +84,6 @@ class Isolate {
     return OFFSET_OF(Isolate, object_store_);
   }
 
-  StackResource* top_resource() const { return top_resource_; }
-  void set_top_resource(StackResource* value) { top_resource_ = value; }
-
   RawContext* top_context() const { return top_context_; }
   void set_top_context(RawContext* value) { top_context_ = value; }
   static intptr_t top_context_offset() {
@@ -117,70 +115,10 @@ class Isolate {
 
   TimerList& timer_list() { return timer_list_; }
 
-  Zone* current_zone() const { return current_zone_; }
-  void set_current_zone(Zone* zone) { current_zone_ = zone; }
   static intptr_t current_zone_offset() {
     return OFFSET_OF(Isolate, current_zone_);
   }
 
-  int32_t no_gc_scope_depth() const {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    return no_gc_scope_depth_;
-#else
-    return 0;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  void IncrementNoGCScopeDepth() {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    ASSERT(no_gc_scope_depth_ < INT_MAX);
-    no_gc_scope_depth_ += 1;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  void DecrementNoGCScopeDepth() {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    ASSERT(no_gc_scope_depth_ > 0);
-    no_gc_scope_depth_ -= 1;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  int32_t no_handle_scope_depth() const {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    return no_handle_scope_depth_;
-#else
-    return 0;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  void IncrementNoHandleScopeDepth() {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    ASSERT(no_handle_scope_depth_ < INT_MAX);
-    no_handle_scope_depth_ += 1;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  void DecrementNoHandleScopeDepth() {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    ASSERT(no_handle_scope_depth_ > 0);
-    no_handle_scope_depth_ -= 1;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  HandleScope* top_handle_scope() const {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    return top_handle_scope_;
-#else
-    return 0;
-#endif
-  }
-
-  void set_top_handle_scope(HandleScope* handle_scope) {
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-    top_handle_scope_ = handle_scope;
-#endif
-  }
-
   void set_init_callback_data(void* value) {
     init_callback_data_ = value;
   }
@@ -263,14 +201,7 @@ class Isolate {
   Dart_Port main_port_;
   Heap* heap_;
   ObjectStore* object_store_;
-  StackResource* top_resource_;
   RawContext* top_context_;
-  Zone* current_zone_;
-#if defined(DEBUG)
-  int32_t no_gc_scope_depth_;
-  int32_t no_handle_scope_depth_;
-  HandleScope* top_handle_scope_;
-#endif
   int32_t random_seed_;
   uword top_exit_frame_info_;
   void* init_callback_data_;
diff --git a/runtime/vm/vm_sources.gypi b/runtime/vm/vm_sources.gypi
index 66912d254f2..f47efd2cd4c 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/vm_sources.gypi
+++ b/runtime/vm/vm_sources.gypi
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
     'ast_printer.h',
     'ast_printer.cc',
     'ast_printer_test.cc',
+    'base_isolate.h',
     'bigint_operations.cc',
     'bigint_operations.h',
     'bigint_operations_test.cc',
diff --git a/runtime/vm/zone.cc b/runtime/vm/zone.cc
index 18c0cff9ed8..bd6d8409f05 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/zone.cc
+++ b/runtime/vm/zone.cc
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ void BaseZone::DumpZoneSizes() {
 #endif
 
 
-Zone::Zone(Isolate* isolate)
+Zone::Zone(BaseIsolate* isolate)
     : StackResource(isolate),
       zone_(),
       handles_(),
diff --git a/runtime/vm/zone.h b/runtime/vm/zone.h
index a250afcca28..8c5677a3ccd 100644
--- a/runtime/vm/zone.h
+++ b/runtime/vm/zone.h
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ class BaseZone {
 class Zone : public StackResource {
  public:
   // Create an empty zone and set is at the current zone for the Isolate.
-  explicit Zone(Isolate* isolate);
+  explicit Zone(BaseIsolate* isolate);
 
   // Delete all memory associated with the zone.
   ~Zone();