News Tidbits 8/1/09: Edelman Realty Puts Sorority House on the Market

http://aedelman.com/search.php?mls=129820&startat=20&price1=&price2=&area=&elemsch=&school_district=&new=1&luxury=

Realtor Description:
Own a piece of Cornell History. Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority is an arts & crafts style stone & stucco building on The Knoll. Built circa 1915 with up-to-date sprinkler, fire alarm & other safety systems. Compliant w/all inspection by the City and Fire Department. Living room, chapter room, paneled dining rm, commercial kitchen. 15 rooms for up to 25 occupants.There is an also a one bedroom two-story caretaker’s cottage with a separate driveway. Approximately 18 parking spaces+driveway to cottage.

The house’s list price is $795,000. Technically, the property has two units, the second being the small building in the second photo (both of these photos are from the listing).

Personally, I think my photo is more flattering.

Exploring West Campus

First off, let me say I do not support nor condone any illegal activity, especially for the purpose of information gathering. That being said, going into prohibited construction sites is a lot of fun if you’re careful where you step and you can avoid the workers leaving for the evening.

So, this started when a friend of mine who happened to figure out that I was the writer of this blog sent me a message asking if I could go through the new West Campus and take some photos. Knowing he wasn’t in Ithaca, I decided that I would be happy to oblige this time  (but I certainly won’t be making it a habit).

Token War Memorial shot.

First off, the War Memorial. These photos are actually from my fraternity photo tour last month. The War Memorial was constructed from 1926 to 1931. It honors the 264 Cornellians who were killed in action in World War I. However, it does not honor a 265th death, that of Hans Wagner 1912, who was killed in action while fighting for the Axis Powers [1].

Noyes and Hans Bethe dining hall have grass roofs. Cornell, take note to not follow IC’s folly and set off fireworks right next to a building with a grass roof; it just might catch fire.

Any makeshift fence can be scaled. But why bother when there’s a narrow space between it and the wall?

Base of the War Memorial steps, being renovated.

A new central plaza area between House 5 and Bethe.

House 5, south face

Don’t mind my shadow.

Curious horizontal window slits near the entrance of House 5.

Nameplate, unfinished for now.

House 5 Dining area, NW corner

north face, house 5

House 5 dining area interior, unfinished

Keeton House, north face

Noyes, from Keeton

A corner plaza next to Keeton. Psi Upsilon is in the back.

A plaza/planting area just outside of Keeton.

Keeton’s connective corridor.

A staircase at Keeton that leads under the corridor.

A large blank wall next to the previously mentioned staircase.

Note the coloration of the glass in the connective corridor.

Keeton’s south wing. Notice how the top floor has a different window pattern and uses different materials.

An interesting if not aesthetically pleasing entrance area for Keeton’s north wing.

Had to hide from construction workers by hiding behind the board next to the Penske truck.

The unfinished nameplate for Keeton.

Keeton’s balcony.

An architecturally interesting juxtaposition of Baker Tower, Becker House and the Johnson Museum.

Keeton’s lobby area

The dining area and an adjacent lounge in Keeton House.

A random hall of dorm rooms in Keeton.

***

Boldt Hall and Tower

ATO painted their house, it seems.

As for the photo request…consider it fulfilled.

[1]http://cornellsun.com/node/19107

North by Northwest of Campus

The house of the Chi Psi fraternity of Cornell University. Chi Psi has had a colorful if traumatic history in its century-plus long history here at Cornell. The Chapter at Cornell was founded in 1869. While they lived elsewhere, Jennie McGraw, the daughter of John McGraw, who was a wealthy lumber merchant and one of the first trustees of Cornell (for whom McGraw Hall is named) [1], fell in love with the first university librarian Daniel Willard Fiske. She was old for loving at the time, pushing forty. She was also suffering from terminal tuberculosis. Regardless, she and Willard eloped and engaged in a whirlwind tour of Europe, while an opulent mansion was built on the edge of the gorge. She lived just long enough to see it with her own eyes, passing as they arrived home in 1881 [2]. Willard moved in, but his behavior was considered a little too exuberant for someone whose wife just died. Plus, due to some legal issues with Jennie’s will (which might make for a good entry another day), he and Cornell ended up on really bad terms, and he spent most of the rest of his life in Italy (on the bright side, he somewhat reconcilied with Cornell in later years and donated his library upon his death in 1904 [3]).

That story is tangent to Chi Psi. Willard sold the opulent McGraw-Fiske mansion to the fraternity around 1881[4]. It was during the cold night of December 6th 1906 that the second deadliest campus tragedy in Cornell’s history occurred. 

Sources tend to indicate it was caused by flammable polish being used on the floors. Others have gone as far to suggest that the house was cursed due to Jenny and Willard’s indiscretions. Regardless, the house caught fire. And in the days before real fire engines, any water to be used on the house (that wasn’t frozen) was a mere trickle. Of the twenty-six fraternity brothers living in the house, four died. When one of the exterior stone walls collapsed, it landed on volunteer firemen from the city of Ithaca, killing three of them. By the end of the night, the house was destroyed, and seven people were dead [5].

Photo Courtesy of "Greetings from Ithaca"

Through the tragedy, the fraternity persevered. They built the current house the following year (known as “The Lodge”), and have lived there since.

So, I took two photos partially to get a good idea of the shape and ornamentation of the house, but more because a woman in a towel came up from the gorge as I was taking photos…and I didn’t want to give the wrong idea. I ran south after a large guy appeared by her side, and she probably thinks I’m a creeper and pervert. I prefer photos of ornamental busts to womens’ busts.

***

The Thurston Court Apartments is a 22-person university-owned apartment building with one and two-bedroom student apartments [6]. Primarily used for grad housing, in recent years the building has been opened up to undergrads as well. The building was built in 1932 (fun fact: the entire building was once painted white, including the ornamentation).

The house of Seal and Serpent fraternity, Cornell’s independent fraternity. The fraternity was founded in 1905, and the current house was built in 1929 in the Tudor Style [7]. In the past several years, the fraternity has suffered from a chronic shortage of interest; rumor mill says they only had three pledges last spring.

Maybe this has something to do with it:

“…Fraternities have a reason to fear such stereotyping. The Seal and Serpent society, a house which was primarily gay in the 1980s but now has just two gay brothers out of 16, has had some difficulty overcoming “the gay” label during rush…”

I s’pose this doesn’t help – I still hear this from a lot of people both in and out of the Greek community  (the quote is from a Nov. 2000 Sun article).  Going through this blog’s search bar history, there are over 200 hits for “gay fraternity”.  I’m willing to bet it’s not with good intention.

The house of Alpha Phi sorority. Alpha Phi Cornell was founded in 1889 with assistance from the Alpha Chapter at Syracuse University [8]. Originally based out of Sage College, they lived with Alpha Zeta for a year  and on their own in a couple different houses until they bought their current house from an Alpha Phi alum in 1921. The side wings were added in 1937, and a back wing (not pictured) was added in 1961. Alpha Phi has one of the highest sorority membership numbers at Cornell.

Hardly 500 feet away is the house of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. I know Kappa has been in the news lately; and it really sucks to be them right now (unless you like embarassment over attention). The sorority’s Cornell (Psi) chapter was founded in 1883, and moved into the current house in 1921 [9]. 

Louie’s Lunch was founded in around 1918 by Louie Zounakos, who emigrated to NYC from Greece, and later moved up to Ithaca. The original Louie operated the truck up until 1955 [10]. The original truck was replaced in the late 1940s. The truck was then owned by the Machen family until 1997, and is now currently operated by Ron Beck. I do have a preference to one truck over the other, but I won’t say which.

Photo courtesy of "Greetings from Ithaca"

The house of Zeta Psi fraternity. The house, built in 1930, was originally that of Theta Xi. Zeta Psi, meanwhile, has the distinction of being the first fraternity founded by Cornell, even if it was decided by a coin flip (see the entry for Chi Phi). The chapter built a luxurious house in 1891 on the corner of Williams Street and Stewart Avenue, but moved out in the 1940s due to low numbers as brothers left to go fight in WWII. The original house burnt down in the late 1940s, and was replaced by a parking lot. In the meanwhile, Zeta Psi lived with Young Israel for a short while before moving into 660 Stewart Avenue in the late 1950s. A donation from a wealthy alumnus allowed them to buy the current house in 1972 [11].

 

 

 

[1]http://www.cornell.edu/search/index.cfm?tab=facts&q=&id=497

[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennie_McGraw

[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Willard_Fiske

[4]http://www.adphicornell.org/adphicor/files/FraternityRow.pdf ***

***Page 10 has a picture of the McGraw estate in its heyday

[5]http://www.chipsi.org/news/6143/Cornell-Fire-Centenary.htm

[6]http://www.campuslife.cornell.edu/campuslife/housing/graduate/thurston-court-apartments.cfm

[7]http://www.sealandserpent.org/house.html#

[8]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=4679

[9]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=3280

[10]http://www.louieslunch.com/history.htm

[11]http://www.psiofzetapsi.org/History.html

[12]https://cornellsun.com/node/1720

Northwest of Campus

The house of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Sigma Alpha Epsilon is one of those fraternities that tends to come to mind when people want to typecast the Greek system at Cornell. It’s large (~80 men), and prestigious, and is the subject of so many dirty rumors (true or not) that it would make Lindsay Lohan blush. The house goes by the formal name “Hillcrest”, and was built in 1915 [1]. An addition was built in the early 1960s (on the left side of the photo). This is the fourth house of SAE and the second “Hillcrest”, the first having burnt down in a spectacular fire around 1911. SAE and Chi Psi have a standing rivalry.

Next door to SAE is Alpha Delta Phi, colloquially known as Alpha Delt. The fraternity was established in 1868, and was among the first to build a chapter house, which was constructed in 1878 [2]. As students moved to different areas of campus, Alpha Delt launched plans to construct a new building in the prairie house style (which you can see on their homepage). This house was built around 1903, but due to electrical malfunctions, burnt down in a spectacular fire in February 1929. A new house, built in the collegiate gothic style (the current house) was built in 1931.

Alpha Delt has always struck me as a more upscale version of SAE. But, they’re not above visual humor; like their parking lot for instance.

I wouldn’t be a good photographer if I didn’t get a photo of their super-sketchy windowless ritual building in front of the house.  Rumor mill says someone received third-degree burns in a ritual gone wrong two years ago at their initiation. Ah, so this is why fraternities like Delta Upsilon and Phi Kappa Tau were founded; to go against the cloak-and-dagger behaviors of other organizations.

***

Although in a tightly packed area of high-profile houses, Phi Gamma Delta, or FIJI as it more commonly known, retains a distinct character. The house, known as “The Oaks”, is fairly nice-looking from the outside, especially since it was built around the 1900s. But, well, the inside…kinda scared me. That, and the Halloween party I went to there freshman year where some guy was randomly hitting people in the crowd with a whip as he stood on a table. After the marks from that, I haven’t been inside since. Regardless, it’s a large house with a large membership.

One last thing…it rained shortly after I had taken this photo. The mattress in the pickup was still there when I passed by a second time…and it was thoroughly soaked.

***

Mixed into the hodgepodge of frats is Watermargin, a co-op established in 1947 (co-ed since 1961/1968, the latter being the year it was formally approved[3]) by WWII verterans to promote undertanding and diversity in religion and race [94]. The name Watermargin comes from a Chinese Classical literary work, translated by Pearl Buck (All Men Are Brothers), in which fugitives fight the injustice of the Ming Dynasty at the water’s margin. Prior to 1947, the house served as a home for Phi Kappa Psi. The house was built in 1890 in the Colonial Revival style [5]. I’m still trying to determine what the house served as between 1912 and 1947.

Next door and contuinuing up University Avenue is Theta Delta Chi. They are colloquially known as “Thumpty”, or the much-maligned “Theta Drug”, supposedly because of the relative ease of obtaining drugs at the house. The house dates from the 1920s, making it one of the later constructions in the area. The running joke that I’m aware of suggests that its members are stoned all the time. Still, although they are the put of many jokes, they’ve managed to stay continuously active at Cornell since 1870, so they might as well take it in stride.

Sigma Pi is further up University Avenue. The original house on the property was built in 1870, burnt down in 1994, and a new, roughly-similar looking house, was designed by local architect Jagat Sharma and built in 1995 [6]. The fraternity was one of the largest at Cornell, until a nasty incident involving a Thanksgiving dinner gone wrong caused four freshmen to have to get their stomachs pumped[7], and Sig Pi having its university charter revoked (i.e. no pledge class). So, how about that fall rush…? 

Going back the other way on University, we have Von Cramm Hall (I’ll hit Chi Psi at a later date). The co-op was founded in 1956 by an endowment from Thomas Gilchrist, in memory of his friend Baron Von Cramm. a Nazi German military officer who died trying to stop the Soviet retreat in 1941[8]. It is also the largest co-op, at 32 members. The house became open to women in the 1970s, and has a very strong leftist bent (Redbud Woods…). The house itself was built in 1955, standing on the property of one of the trio of homes owned by Robert Treman. The house, more of the textbook-style tudor, burned in 1944 [9].

Sigma Nu’s house is tucked way at the end of Willard Way. The house dates from about 1910. The house is one of the more obscure ones to try and locate, but it has fantastic views of the West Hill in the town of Ithaca. Sigma Nu Cornell, founded in 1901, is a fraternity with a strong athletic presence.

Missed it the first time, not the second time. Sigma Phi Epsilon’s house on McGraw Place. The house was built in 1965 [10], replacing their former house at 112 Edgemoor Lane. After Sig Ep was gone in 2004 (google it, rumor mill had a field day with that one), ATO occupied the house, and Delta Chi shared it with them when they were rechaptered in 2006-07.

The Kahin Center is the second of the Treman trio. It was remodeled in 1945 as a lodge and as a communication arts center in 1970 [11]. It also mirrored the first house that burned in 1944.

The last of the trio is 660 Stewart Avenue, built about 1902 as the home of Elizabeth Treman and her husband Mynderse Van Cleef [11b]. The house of Zeta Psi for a few decades ending in 1969, the house is currently a 27-person co-op. Unlike most co-ops, this one does not have a meal plan [12].

This was really cool, since it has polished wood and it provided shelter from a sudden rainstorm. “The Chapel for Prayer and Meditation”. And what a nice little chapel it is. On the outside was the posting for a service to Mahatma Gandhi on 9/11/07. And the other events that have happened on 9/11.

And it had a great view. And this is where I’ll leave off for now.

 

 

[1]http://www.sae-cornell.org/public6.asp

[2]http://www.adphicornell.org/public6.asp

[3]http://cornellsun.com/node/21924

[4]http://www.campuslife.cornell.edu/campuslife/housing/undergraduate/watermargin.cfm

[5]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=4758

[6]http://sharma-arch.com/restoration.htm

[7]http://cornellsun.com/node/26714

[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Cramm_Coop

[9]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=3121

[10] http://www.rso.cornell.edu/sigep/History.html

[11]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=4736

[11b]http://cornellsun.com/node/24153

[12]http://www.campuslife.cornell.edu/campuslife/housing/undergraduate/660-stewart.cfm

Far West Campus, the First Photo Tour

The house of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. As previously covered, the house was this dreadful brutalist monstrosity constructed in 1964 when the fraternity moved from 312 Thurston Avenue [1]. The house was extensively renovated in the second half of the 1990s, gaining a more postmodern appearance that has earned it the nickname “The Gables”. Prior to 312 Thurston (now demolished), Phi Kappa Psi lived in the Watermargin house. It was among the first fraternities chaptered at Cornell, established in 1868.

This house belongs to Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, currently the only sorority on West Campus. The house was built by Sigma Chi in the 19th century, who left it for Greystone Manor in 1923, and Theta Chi fraternity moved in. Bay the 1980s, Theta Chi had moved out of the house for a mansion on Ridgewood Road, and “Theta” moved in. Theta was dispelled from its national in 1965, but returned to campus in 1980 [1], and moved into this house during the 1980s.

Speaking of fraternities founded early in Cornell’s history, Chi Phi and north campus fraternity Zeta Psi were both founded on opening day 10/7/1868. The two flipped a coin to see who would be declared the first fraternity at Cornell. Well, Chi Phi still uses its early start in rush promos, but Zeta Psi is officially the first fraternity (Zeta Psi and Chi Phi have a rivalry to this day). Craigielea, their tudor-esque house, is well over a century old (1890, partiall rebuilt after a 1903 fire), and has continuously been in their posession. The house was designed by W. H. Miller of Uris Libe fame [2].

And this is what’s left of their (pledge?) project, bleachers that they built last April. Shame, really. I wonder if they did it or someone who hates Chi Phi did it.

Delta Kappa Epsilon (DEKE) fraternity house is a Romaneqaue Revival House built in 1893 by W.H. Miller [3]. The house is known as Gray Stone Castle, and sits on the National Register of Historic Places [4]. As amazing as the house is, the chapter hasn’t been doing all too recently; rumor mill says numbers were so low in recent years that actives had two rooms each.

112 Edgemoor Lane, a small campus dorm designed for about 20-25 occupants. As I explained in a previous entry, this house has a lot of significance to me personally. So, the house, built in the Colonial Revival style, was built in 1881. The house was home to Sigma Phi Epsilon up into the 1960s, when Sig Ep moved out and Triangle fraternity moved in. After Triangle was deactivated by its national in 1985, the house was made into part of Cornell’s campus dorms.

Lambda Chi Alpha’s house also sits on Edgemoor Lane. Originally known as ISWZA [5], Lambda Chi was chaptered in 1913, and the house was purchased around 1918 (it was built in 1899). Lambda Chi is known for having a feud with its neighbor Chi Phi. The house also maintains a gazebo on the edge of the gorge, which was built in recent years.

The house of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The house was occupied by Beta Theta Pi, who occupied the house until they moved in 1906. About a decade later when Pi Kappa Alpha colonized on campus, the chapter moved into this house. My slight personal issue was that they had a steep driveway in the back, and some jackass in a Jetta would try to do 0-60 every time he went down the hill. The whining engine gets quite annoying after a while.

The Jewish Living Center. The house dates from the 1890s[6], with the kosher dining center to its south (not pictured) dating from the late 1980s. The center was known as Young Israel until the late 1990s. Judging from their website, the independent organization has had a contentious past with its relations to the University. The old fraternity house for Seal & Serpent (pre-1926) used to be next door, but it was demolished to make room for their parking lot.

[1]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=3278

[2]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=4716

[3]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=4719

[4]http://www.dke-cornell.org/public1.asp

[5]http://www.iswza.org/heritage

[6]http://www.cornellcjl.com/about/history.aspx

Random North Campus Photos

For the prefrosh—

Clara Dickson Hall (left interior corner)

Bauer Hall

Court Hall (left) Kay Hall (right)

Mews Hall

Balch Hall (NE corner)

Risley Hall (with a berry tree in the front, and new brick entry ways)

Akwewon (prononuced Ah-GWAY-go, I think). 

Jameson (High-Rise 5 looks exactly the same).

Hurlbert House (EcoHouse)

Sorry, I forgot to take photos of the low-rises!

Appel Commons (left) and Helen Newman Gym (right).

For more info on these buildings, please see the north campus blog entry.

West Campus Photos

The Hot Truck is a West Campus icon. Located on Stewart Avenue just south of its intersection with University Ave, The Hot Truck[1]. The Hot Truck was founded in 1960 by Bob Petrillose, who called it “The Hot Truck” to differentiate it from “The Cold Truck”, a name that Louie’s Lunch used for its West Campus location from 1962-1981. Today, the truck is operated by Shortstop Deli, and sells subs along with PMPs, a pizza sub sold on french bread.

The West Campus houses, under construction. The house in the middle is House 5 until named otherwise. The house on the left is William Keeton House (House 4), slated to open in August 2008. The other three houses have already been opened; Alice Cook House in 2004, Carl Becker House in 2005, and Hans Bethe House in 2007. The houses are part of Cornell West Campus housing initiative. They are open to upperclassmen and transfers. In my experience, the house were astounding quiet whevered I visited, and although the dining was a pleaant experience, the houses were just a little too quiet for my preference. But then, I lived in the crypt that is Cascadilla, so who am I to comment?

Here, we can see the dining facility for Keeton. Notice that it has a variety of multi-colored glass.

The House of the Cornell chapter of Delta Phi has a truly special history. First of all, the house is colloquially known as “Llenroc”. The house began construction in 1867, as the private residence of Ezra Cornell. However, Cornell passed away in December 1874, and never lived in the house. It was finally completed in 1875, and used as a private residence. The house became the residence of Delta Phi in 1911 [2].

This staircase, also property of Llenroc, was dedicated in 1925 in memoriam to Morgan S. Baldwin 1915 by his father. Baldwin was a member of the Cornell Delta Phi chapter (Pi).

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelliana#Hot_Truck_and_Louie.27s_Lunch

[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llenroc

North Campus, Cornell

So, I’m writing this entry after taking a short trek to Bear Necessities (Bear Nasties) located in Robert Purcell Center on the North Campus of Cornell. Since this is the closest food establishment to me, it serves very nicely as a convenience store for my sudden needs, even if they rip my face off when it comes to their prices. Seriously, like 75% more than the price of the same good at Tops.

So, let me segue into a little history. RPU was built in 1971, but not dedicated until 1982 (named for Robert Purcell- you can also find his name on the wall of donors for the construction of Olin Libe in the late 1950s). The building is known for Marketplace Eatery, Nasties, and the annoying self-operating toilets that never work when you want to, but rather wait until you reach for the t.p. Anyways, the whole place was remodeled in 2001.

The other community center on campus is Appel Commons, completed in 2002. Appel was the centerpiece of the $65 million dollar North Campus Residential Initiative, and was named for Robert ‘53 and Helen Appel ‘55 (yeah, the price tag to name that was $15 million, in case you were wondering). Appel is home to a small fitness area, an open lobby, and North Star eatery. In terms of preference, people tend to switch between Appel and RPU because theyre both fairly popular, but specialize in different foods.

As for the dorms, they were built in spurts. Technically, the first building north of the gorges was Risley Hall, built in 1911. Risley was named for Prudence Risley, the mother of Henry Russell Sage, of Sage Hall/Chapel fame. Note that it was dedicated by her daughter-in-law, for sage was dead by this time. Formerly an all-women’s dorm, unless you’re a thespian or seek to hide away in the only dorm really close to the arts quad, Risley isn’t a popular option. Although, it has the smallest single and largest double on campus, its own dining hall, and it quite opulent on the inside. And as rumor would have it, a healthy drug trade.

The next dorm built was Balch Hall. Balch was dedicated in 1930, a gift of Allan Balch 1889 and Janet Balch M.S. 1888 (Janet Balch’s alma mater, Scripps College, also received a donation that lead to the construction of Janet Jacks Balch Hall at that school in 1929 [1]). Balch Hall is the women’s dorm. The ladies there can be described three ways: 1) Their parents wanted them there 2) They were placed there out of sheer [bad] luck or 3) They genuinely wanted the quiet atmosphere without the distraction of boys. Yeah, I can say I’ve only met a few of the 3’s. Balch had a dining hall until 2000, when it was converted into the Carol Tatkon Center. *Guys, I recommend trying to streak through the Balch, as long as the RAs aren’t on the track team, and you know how to get out or where to hide. * Some RAs will m ake an issue about unescorted boys in the dorm, as will a few of the residents. Personally, I was only ever booted out once, and I was there all hours of the night. What I remember most was the very high ceilings in my friend L.B.’s room.

The next dorm constructed was Clara Dickson, named for A.D. White’s mother (what is up with naming buildings after one’s mother anyway?). Built in 1946, it is still the largest dorm in terms of number of residents in the Ivy League. The building from what I remember often seperated itself by wings and floors- I was an upper 2-5 resident, meaning my boundaries were for the most part the lobby and the side entrance; lower 2-5 was below that, and I never went there much except for a sociology project for my writing seminar. All in all, I associated with the twenty-one residents of my area, and maybe another half dozen scattered throughout the building. That was about it. The higher up you go floor-wise, the more luxurious the furnishings tend to be, and the smaller the rooms tend to be (why, you ask? because the largest spaces are on the “ground” floors, since they can’t be divided up too well due to the entrances).

The next dorm to be built was Mary Donlon Hall, constructed in 1961. This building is shaped like a thong. It’s also regarded as the most social of the dorms. I was in it maybe five times all of freshmen year, and from what I picked up, it really sounded like hit-or-miss when it came to social experiences in that hall. Don’t buy into everything that you hear. It was renovated recently though, so at least the furnishings are nice. Donlon was a women’s dorm for the first ten years of its existence as well.

***An aside, but the gym, Helen Newman (gift of Floyd Newman ‘12, the same one as the Newman Annex across the gorge from the gym), was built in 1963. A little run-down and rusty, the building is set for a $15 million renovation in the next few years, including the addition of a second pool and more fitness facilties [3]. The bowling alley is in the basement.***

Starting in 1970, Cornell planned the high-rise/low-rise system. Some of the buildings are themed; HILC is building 8, JAM is building 9, and Ujamaa is building 10. 6 and 7 are unthemed (and 7 was home to a double murder in December 1983 [2]). The low-rises were completed around 1975. The high-rises would be completed by 1982; Jameson Hall and High-Rise 5. Low-rises 1-4 were never completed due to a lack of funding.

Although a plan was launched to designed additional dorms under the guidence of architect Richard Meier, the plan fell through. It would not be until 2000-2001 that the Mews Hall and Court Hall buildings would be constructed. These are generally regarded well, although I have had friends complains that the suite-style setup was not exactly conducive to getting to know people outside your suite. Perosnally, I was in there maybe four times, so I can’t comment.

The townhouses, a throwback to the 1970s, are rather old-looking with decaying wood trim, and rather isolated from the social scenes of the other freshmen. At least they have a lot more living space. If you’re really unlucky as a freshman, Cornell will run out of space and stuff you into Hasbrouck, the neighboring apartment complex that is home to mostly grad students (and now with the demolition of the transfer center, transfer students may call Hasbrouck home as well). Cornell’s master plan calls for both of these to be demolished in the next ten to twenty years, and replaced with new dorms (the CC parking lot next to Sigma Alpha Mu will be torn out and dorms would be placed there as well).

With the exception of a couple of one offs like the Latino Living Center at Anna Comstock Hall (1932, reprogrammed 1994), that about sums up North Campus facilties. As a freshman, it’s convenient to all be in one place; you get to really bond with your class. As an upperclassman, it’s a pain in the arse to stay in contact with friends who are RAs or in a program house, because the place is just like an enclave and they hardly ever leave except for forays to Central Campus. I hardly visited North Campus during sophomore year because I lived on the exact opposite side of campus. Being closer now, I’m not sure if this makes me more likely to visit, but with the exception of more convenience store trips to RPU, my guess is “no”.

 

 

 

[1] http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/campus-guide/balch-hall.php

[2] http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20A15FA3F5C0C738EDDAB0994DB484D81

[3]http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/initiatives/res/images/helen_newman.gif