News Tidbits 8/27/09: Phase Two of Coal Yard Apartments Planned

From the Ithaca Planning Board’s August agenda:

Coal Yard Apartments – Phase 2, 143 Maple Avenue, Steven & David Beer Owner/Applicant.

Declaration of Lead Agency, Public Hearing, Determination of Environmental Significance, Consideration of Preliminary & Final Approval. The applicant is proposing to construct an Energy Star-rated, 25 unit apartment building located between the existing coffee shop and the existing 10 unit apartment building that was constructed in 2007. The new building will have four residential stories built on top of a 16-space underground parking garage. The new building will have four 3 bedroom units, seven 2 bedroom units and fourteen 1 bedroom units and will have an elevator. The applicant anticipates that the majority of the bedrooms will be singly occupied. It will have a flat roof, and will include many of the design elements of the 10 unit building. Lower levels of the façade will be brick and upper levels will use similar fiber cement clapboard and solid board panels used on the 10 unit building. Colors will match or complement the existing building. The target market for the building will be graduate and profession students, professional academic staff and faculty, and seniors. The project is in the R3b Zoning District and will require a variance for height. This is a Type I Action under the City of Ithaca Environmental Quality Review Ordinance in accordance with §176-4 B (k) and an Unlisted Action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and is subject to environmental review.

The property is part of the Beer Properties portfolio, which includes the Grandview House in central Collegetown. The trick here will be getting the height variance approvalas Ithacans are very protective of their sight lines. Here’s a picture of the 10-unit building taken from their website:

 

 

 

The apartments are aptly named, since this used to be the coal yard for the city of Ithaca back in the day [1]. Prior to discontinuation of passenger train traffic in 1963, the site was also home to the East Lehigh Valley Railroad Depot. The coffeeshop referenced in the city agenda is the “Queen of Tarts”, which sounds like a great name for a madam as well as being a cute pun.

The project falls outside of the Collegetown Vision area and would not be affected by any zoning changes as a result of the Collegetown plan.

 

[1]http://www.beerproperties.com/cya.html

News Tidbits 4/16/09: Little Ithaca Grows Up

Looks like Ithaca’s downtown area is seeing some long awaited expansion.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090416/NEWS01/904160358&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Major downtown construction projects are slated to move forward this year, a sign of Ithaca’s relative resilience in troubled economic times, city officials say.

The Hotel Ithaca project at the eastern end of The Commons should break ground this fall, and construction is scheduled to start by summer on the Cayuga Green condominiums between the Cayuga garage and Six Mile Creek, Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson said.

This summer should also see the completion and opening of the new Cinemapolis in the ground-floor of the Green Street garage and Urban Outfitters on the ground-floor of the Cayuga Green apartment complex.

Hotel and condos

The $30 million, 100-room Hotel Ithaca project this month received city approval for zoning variances, and Common Council approval to jut several feet over the top of the Green Street garage. It’s scheduled to come for site plan review to the Planning and Development Board April 28.

The $12 million, 7-story Cayuga Green luxury apartment/condo project is the last piece of the years-long Cayuga Green downtown development. It already has needed approvals.

Ferguson said when he talks with fellow economic development planners around the state, “they’re just green with envy.”

“One, we’ve been planning them for some time so it’s not like these are just popping out of the ground. But secondly, while the economy’s been rough, this still is a very strong economy relative to other parts of the state, other parts of the country,” he said. “I think this malaise, if you will, is worse in a lot of other places and actually makes Ithaca look even more attractive to people.”

Bankers still seem to have faith in Ithaca, said Phyllisa DeSarno, deputy director for economic development for the city. This is evidenced by the fact that Cayuga Green developer Ken Schon has retained his financial backing.

“We were all crossing our fingers . . . because so many developers are losing their funding and banks are not going with projects,” she said. “But he said it does not look like that’s going to be his issue. He is moving ahead.”

The Hotel Ithaca was proposed to go up to the limit of 85 feet allowed by zoning, but the project developer received approval to go up an additional 21 feet, in order to enclose the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Under the city’s zoning, that kind of equipment is never considered part of a building’s height.

“This was a very, very major coup, really,” DeSarno said. “We were so thrilled that this happened because it sets a bar now I think for other developers, other builders to do something about mechanicals, which are really such a blight. When you’re coming off any of the hills, coming down from Ithaca College or Cornell (University), it’s going to be so much more aesthetically nice to have that screening there.”

The rooftop enclosure will also include meeting and conference space “to offset the cost of the structure,” according to information provided to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

Openings

Construction continues on the future homes of Cinemapolis and Urban Outfitters on either side of Green Street.

Cinemapolis is scheduled to open in late May, potentially in conjunction with Ithaca Festival, said Lynne Cohen, one of the executive directors of Seventh Art, which oversees Cinemapolis.

Construction is scheduled to be complete in about a week, then all that will be left is to paint and install seating, projection equipment and refreshment equipment, Cohen said.

“With a little imagination, you can see what the theater’s going to look like,” she said.

Compared to the existing Cinemapolis theaters in Center Ithaca and at Fall Creek Pictures, the new location will have “fewer seats but better allocated,” Cohen said.

Cinemapolis’ contract at Fall Creek Pictures runs through the end of this year, but Seventh Art has not yet decided whether they’ll continue showing films there once the new location opens, said Rich Szanyi, Cohen’s husband and another Seventh Art executive director.

Tsvi Bokaer, founder of Fall Creek Pictures, could not be reached for comment.

Urban Outfitters, which will occupy the eastern half of the ground floor under the Cayuga Green apartments, is on schedule to open July 2, project architect David Levy said by email.

“Now obviously Urban Outfitters will be a big draw and all of the neighbors around Urban Outfitters, including The Commons, will benefit from them being here,” DeSarno said.

Ithaca will be the second Upstate New York location for college-age focused Urban Outfitters. The other is in Buffalo.

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit also plans to rent space on the ground floor of the apartments, and Schon is in discussion with two local small businesses about filling the remaining area, DeSarno said.

“Obviously there are cuts throughout our city and the county in our businesses and in our employers,” she said. “But we certainly, like Bob Sweet from National Development Council always says to me, ‘(Ithaca is) an oasis amongst a muck and mire.’ “

The Hotel Ithaca was proposed to go up to the limit of 85 feet allowed by zoning, but the project developer received approval to go up an additional 21 feet, in order to enclose the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Under the city’s zoning, that kind of equipment is never considered part of a building’s height.

“This was a very, very major coup, really,” DeSarno said. “We were so thrilled that this happened because it sets a bar now I think for other developers, other builders to do something about mechanicals, which are really such a blight. When you’re coming off any of the hills, coming down from Ithaca College or Cornell (University), it’s going to be so much more aesthetically nice to have that screening there.”

The rooftop enclosure will also include meeting and conference space “to offset the cost of the structure,” according to information provided to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

~~~

For the record:

Red box is part of the Hotel Ithaca site, green box is the Cayuga Green Condos site. Cayuga Green Apts, shown as under construction in this map, are where Cinemapolis and Urban Outfitters are going to be located. As Mr. Nagowski noted, Cinemapolis will be in the garage side of the construction area. Urban Outfitters is on the first floor of the apartment building.

Hotel Ithaca proposal:

http://www.gemstoneresorts.com/Properties.aspx

Cayuga Condos

http://www.josegarciadesign.com/images/cayuga-condo00.jpg

For reference, the height of Seneca Place is 121 feet, according to Emporis. The new apartment building on Green Street is 60 feet.

The Planning Board’s Lack of Logic

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090319/NEWS01/903190358/1002

Goody Clancy’s suggested plan:

The recommendations from the planning board

Note the differences. There are many. It’s as if they looked at the $200,000 study, said “it’s nice, but-”, and went the opposite direction.

So, the planning board has not only not accepted Goody Clancy’s advice, it’s doing the reverse – it’s making zoning even more restrictive, and (as suggested) making parking tighter in Collegetown in favor of garages in the city. I’m sure they’re patting themselves on the back for “preserving the neighborhood”. In my opinion, considering the parking and discouragement of multi-unit buildings, this seems to be a not-too-subtle suggestion to students from permanent residents: we don’t want you here.

My suggestion to permanent Collegetown residents: too bad. As Cornell’s class sizes increase, where do you think they’ll move? North is well protected as a historic district (Cornell Heights – and Cayuga Heights has had restrictions in place for years). West is largely undevelopable due to topography and the cemetery. Living outside the close proximity of Cornell will lead to students bringing cars with them, resulting in more traffic congestion, which is (and should be) discouraged.  Students will therefore move to Collegetown, and I’m willing to bet that as opprotunities arise, landlords will buy up the owner-occupied properties and turn them into student occupied houses, since there will be more demand. This may pass for now, but in the long term, the anti-development crowd is going to dwindle down. There’s nothing Mary Tomlan and the planning board can do about that.

One Stormy Day on Campus, Part II

I’m snowed in in little Ithaca right now, so I might just as well kill some time.

The story of Barnes Hsll is a rather interesting one.  The architect, William Henry Miller (of Uris Libe Fame) produced two designs- a gothic design, and a Romanesque Revival design [1]. Although the Gothic design fits in better with Sage Hall and Chapel, the Romaneque design was considered more up-to-date, and was completed in 1888. The building is named for Alfred Smith Barnes, a publisher and (at the time) a Cornell trustee [2]

One goal of the building’s construction was to do away with Cornell’s image as a heathen school, being the first building in the nation specifically built for a college Christian association (in this case, the CUCA, Cornell U. Christian Association). The building also functioned as the first student union on campus, and he Cornell Store, then a co-op, was based out of its basement.

When it was first constructed, many believed that Barnes Hall was cursed. This was due to a series of unfortunate coincidences. Alfred Barnes passed in 1888, as the building was nearing completion. So did his daughter…and the superintending architect (not Miller)…and the contractor…the gas contractor…and the gentleman who did the stone carving died of consumption before it was completed (Bishop, “History of Cornell”, pg. 269). The “evil omens” ceased as the building was completed.

McGraw Hall, the most prominent of the Old Stone Row. McGraw relatively utilitarian design comes from the tastes of old Ezra Cornell himself; he believed in function over form, so he wasn’t one to worry about ornamentation. The building was designed by Archimedes N. Russell, a prominent architect out of Syracuse (Russell designed one of Syracuse University’s most prominent buildings, Crouse College, which I happen to have a picture of).

McGraw Hall faces the wrong direction due to Cornell’s ever changing master plans. Frederick Law Olmsted (who also designed Central Park), designed the first master plan, with the general theme to be a “grand terrace” ovelooking Cayuga Lake. As plans changed over the years, the grand terrace was dropped, but the nod to Olmsted’s master plan is obvious with McGraw Hall [3]. 

McGraw Hall was the first new building to completed, with construction completed in 1872 [4]. The tower at the top originally housed the chimes until they were moved to the clock tower in 1891. The building is named for John McGraw, a wealthy lumber merchant and original trustee.

To quote the university’s website, “It is said that John McGraw and Henry Sage were so appalled at the exhausted look of A.D. White and Ezra Cornell at the opening ceremonies that they committed themselves to the University’s cause on the spot. [4]” The stone used in the original stone row was quarried from the base of Libe Slope.

Today, the building is home to the Anthropology, Archaeology and History Department, as well as the Knight writing institute. It was in this building that I had my “History of Cornell” class.

Carpenter Library is the primary library for the Engineering school. The building was named for William Carpenter 1910, who made a $1 million donation towards its construction (which cost $946,662, meaning Cornell had money left over in some sense) [5]. Carpenter Library was completed in 1957, partially renovated in 2002, and is slated to be demolished under the current Cornell master plan.

Personally, if I donated money for two buildings on campus, and both of them were set to be demolished, my spirit would be pretty pissed.

Anabel Taylor Hall is the second half of the Taylor complex. Completed in 1953 (shortly after the death of Anabel Stuart Taylor herself), the building was the long intended partner to the main structure, hence its relatively dated Collegiate Gothic design for the time. The tower on the right side is a memorial to those Cornellians who lost their lived fighting in World War II. Today, the building serves as the primary religious facility for campus (CURW the successor of CUCA, is besed out of Anabel Taylor Hall).

Snee Hall is home to the geological sciences department. The building was completed in 1984 and is named for William Snee ‘24, an entrepeneur in the oil and gas industry [7]. At a glance, the lare atrium and overly 80s design reminds me of  chain hotels in northern New Jersey, but the building does have some nice assets. A seismic vault for recorded earthquake data is stored below ground level.  Also, if you ever happen to find yourself in Snee, be sure to check out the very large hydrologic sedimentation and erosion display (essentially, a stream-and-silt machine). The building also houses the Heasley Mineralogy Museum [8].

 

[1]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=2009

[2]http://www.cornell.edu/search/index.cfm?tab=facts&q=&id=53

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

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

[5]http://www.cornell.edu/search/index.cfm?tab=facts&q=&id=109

[6]http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilinfo.cfm?facil_cd=2038

[7]http://www.cornell.edu/search/index.cfm?tab=facts&q=&id=665

[8]https://cornellsun.com/node/9051

Everyone Loves Historical Throwbacks

So, if you haven’t been living under a rock in the past year, there are plans for a 9-story, 102-room hotel just off the commons, to be designed by Scott Whitham of Thomas Group Architects in conjunction with Ithaca Properties LLC / Rimland Associates. Well, it looks like they have a hotel operator in Gemstone Hotels & Resorts, a boutique hotel operator based out of Utah [1]:

Hotel Ithaca

Hotel Ithaca, currently in final planning and approval, is expected to open in 2011. The property will be a nine-story, full-service boutique hotel at the intersection of State and Aurora Streets. The hotel will feature 125 luxury rooms and suites and 2,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The hotel will be built on the same site as the original Hotel Ithaca. In addition, the hotel will be the home of the original Zinck’s Bar, a cherished icon of the city’s past.

“We welcome the opportunity to be involved with the first luxury boutique hotel in the Ithaca area,” said Thomas Prins. “Because the city is also home to the world renowned Cornell Hotel School, we are very excited to set a new standard in concept and operations and set an example for students and the many hotelier alumni who visit the school.”

I have no clue where they had the idea it was a 125-room hotel. Everything I’ve read has stated 102 rooms.

That being said, since the last Zinck’s closed over forty years ago, the only things most of us modern Cornellians know about it is from “Give My Regards to Davy” [/We'll all have drinks at Theodore Zinck's/]. Cornell’s alumni associations make use of the Zinck’s nostalgia in its alumni events:

“Theodore Zinck was a saloonkeeper in Ithaca, and his pub, the Hotel Brunswick, was a popular gathering place for Cornellians in the 1890s. After his death in 1903, several bars using his name continued to provide a haven for students. When the last Zinck’s closed in the mid-1960s, celebrating the spirit of Zinck’s became a favorite Thursday night Collegetown tradition for undergraduates. It wasn’t long afterward that Cornellians began to continue the tradition in their hometowns. This year, alumni will celebrate this uniquely Cornell event in more than 90 cities around the world. So wherever you are, remember your days at Cornell on October 16. [2]“

Currently, the University uses “the Spirit of Zinck’s night” as a way to promote alumni involvement (e.g. solicit donations). With the historical name being reused at a drinking establishment once again, it looks like they might be able to celebrate at Zinck’s a couple of years from now.

[1]http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9097563&nav=menu35_8

[2] http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/zincks/index.cfm

News Tidbits 8/15- CU ERL Project

So, I’m writing this as I’m sitting at a desk within the hotel; granted, I’m on the job, but it would help if I had more than one customer every forty-five minutes. It’s a bit of a running joke among Cornell Store employees that the Statler requires a dress shirt, tie and a really long book. Luckily, one of the few benefits to working the Statler Hotel gift shop over the main store is that we actually are permitted to browse the internet (with discretion).

So, doing as I often love to, I was perusing the planning board notes for the August 19, 2008 meeting of the Town of Ithaca planning board. And lo and behold, look what pops up:

8:00 P.M.        

Consideration of a sketch plan for the proposed Cornell University Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) project located north of the Pine Tree Road and Dryden Road (NYS Route 366) intersection, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.’s 63-1-8.2, 63-1-2.2, 63-1-12, 63-1-3.1 and 63-1-3.3, Low Density Residential Zone.  The proposal involves construction of an underground accelerator tunnel (14-foot diameter and 2 km long), a cryogenic facility and associated electric substation (+/- 15,000 square foot footprint), and an extension to the existing Wilson Laboratory (+/- 185,000 gross square feet of building space).  The project will also involve new stormwater facilities, parking, outdoor lighting, and landscaping.  Cornell University, Owner; Steve Beyers, P.E., Engineering Services Leader, Agent.

The other agenda items aren’t notable (a radio tower, continued discussion about the IC Athletic Complex, and the continued use of an equestrian facility).

So, the construction of 200,000 sq. ft of physical plant, a cryogenic facility and an accelerator tunnel require a bit of investigation.

The first thing I came across is this week-old Cornell Chronicle item. The particle accelerator has a planned timeframe of construction that would allow for the beginning of operations in 2011 [2].

Rather than try and explain the operations of the particle accelerator itself, I’m just going to quote the article (I’m excusing myself on the grounds that I study thermodynamics, not quantum physics).

“The ERL would accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light in a linear accelerator (linac) made of two straight tubes, each about 330 meters (0.2 miles) long, then feed them into the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, Hoffstaetter said. After a single rotation around the ring, the electrons would return to the linac, where their energy would be recovered and used to accelerate the next batch of electrons.

Meanwhile, at various points around the ring, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source would use the electrons to produce ultra-bright, ultra-fast pulsing X-ray beams capable of imaging structures just a few atoms wide, and whose oscillations would be resolved with sub-picosecond resolution (less than a millionth of one millionth of a second). [2]“

On another note, the building is visible in the master plan diagrams, as the large expansion that exists to the east of the current Wilson Lab structure:

So, our physical plant will continue to expand for some time yet.

[1]http://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/

[2]http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug08/ovp.forum.erl.html

Milstein Hall: Just Build the Damn Thing

So, continuing with my ongoing fascination with proposed facilities for the university, it would be impossible to forget Milstein Hall. Wait…yes it would. The building has been through so many redesigns and so many hold-ups that if it takes any longer, I won’t be here to enjoy the finished product. And that makes me sad.

But anyways a brief review. Milstein Hall is the proposed addition to the neverending red tape architecture school, curently in its third rendition, a $40 million, 43,000 sq. ft box [1].

In Koolhaas’s own words, “It is a box that is contaminated by its neighbors and will contaminate its neighbors.” Um, I’m not exactly sure that’s the best way to put it. I’m no architecture student, but I get this vague uneasiness of another Uris Hall situation.

But this is the third rendition. And the other two weren’t exactly pretty either. The saga starts in 2000, when Paul Milstein, a prominent NYC developer, donated $10 million towards the construction of a new facility in February 2000 [6]. Milstein himself did not attend Cornell, but two of his kids did (a third sorta did, she transferred to Yale).

The first design was chosen in a four-way competition that concluded in April 2001. The winner was Steven Holl, for his proposal to build a seven-story cube on the location of Rand Hall, which would have been demolished. The project was set at $25 million, and to be completed in late 2004 [2] (fun tidbit: chair of the selection jury was James Polshek of Polshek Architects, the same firm responsbile for the design of Gates Hall).

Well, the demolition of Rand Hall didn’t sit too well with people, and a lot of people had some critiques for the design (more renderings at http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?type=educational&id=73). It was a box with cutouts on the west side. Once again, I’m not an architect, but it looks to me like taking a pair of scissors to a paper cube and calling it a design. This is cutting edge…?

So, the university dropped their deal with Holl in July 2002, and by November had selected Barkow Leibinger Architects as the firm to design the building. With a pegged completion date of fall 2006 [3]. Once again, the design was rather…interesting.

For a larger photo, go to www.barkowleibinger.com, and go under competitions, 2003. There you can see that this cutting-edge building also planned to tear down Rand Hall. And once again, there were issues with the design. I can’t say I’m personally too fond of it either, though I like it more than Holl’s design. It says this was to be 6000 sqm, or about 65,000 sq. ft.

Well, that didn’t pan out either, so by September 2006, Rem Koolhaas, the designer of the much celebrated (and 15x more expensive) CCTV tower in Beijing, was announced as the lead architect of the Milstein Hall Project. The square footage had shrunk by a third, and the price tag was up 75%, but there was hope that the damn thing might be built by 2010 [4]. Well, until the City of Ithaca and Cornell decided to have a fight over who controls University Avenue [5].

Long story short (unless you like hearing about SEQR determinations and environmental reviews), the fact that Milstein is designed to stand on both sides of University Avenue 15 feet above the ground kinda posed some issues. Namely, who owns University Avenue, since the current design doesn’t fly with city guidelines. After much arguing, the city decided to sell Cornell the portion of University from Chi Psi up to the intersection with Thurston for the price of $2 million, provided that much needed repairs were completed. Also, Milstein would be cantilevered over the street, to avoid building on both sides. Hopefully, now all the obstacles have been cleared.

So here we are, eight years later and nothing done but a lot of hot air being blown around nevertheless. While I would hope that something is done eventually, I can’t say I’m holding out much hope (especially for a design that I like, but I guess I just don’t understand architecture).

[1]http://cornellsun.com/node/18396

[2]http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/01/4.26.01/Holl_Architects.html

[3]http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Nov02/Milstein.Hall.arch.html

[4]http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept06/Milstein_design.dea.html

[5] http://cornellsun.com/node/27051

[6]http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/00/2.3.00/Milstein_gift.html

Cayuga Heights Photo Tour, 7/12

The house of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. The house has been occupied by the fraternity  since 1927. TKE was originally Kappa Psi, which became the Sigma Chapter of TKE in 1923. During this same time period, the local fraternity Scorpion was founded. The first TKE disbanded due to the hard times caused by the Great Depression, but Scorpion became the new affiliate of TKE (hence Scorpion chapter, which in my opinion is a really cool chapter name) in 1940. The fraternity Sigma Phi Sigma also merged with TKE in 1941 [1].

Farther up Highland we have the fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi. Um, their house could look better. I felt a little bad taking a photo of it and knowing I’d be putting it up, because it really was in shabby condition. The house was actually once the wing of the old house; they leased the property in 1949, and the wind was built in 1961. However, a fire “of unknown origin” destroyed the original house, so a new house was built connected to the relatively new wing in the mid 1960s. The building was last renovated in 1977 [2].

Speaking of which, this is the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity house. The house was built as an experiment by the architecture school in 1909 to teast the viability for poured cement for all the outside walls. KDR first occupied this property in 1952, and the new wing (the part on the left) was added in 1964 [3]. At least KDR is raising funds to repair the roof, it looks like it might need it.

So this was a treat to find. Today, this is the Westbourne Apartments building. Back in the day, it used to belong to a fraternity called Beta Sigma Rho. Beta Sigma Rho, or Beta Samach as it was originally called, was founded in 1910 by four Cornell students who were excluded from the current system because of their Jewish religion. By 1950, there were thirteen chapters. However, all good things come ot an end. Beta Sigma Rho’s Alpha Chapter, suffering from dwindling interest, merged with Pi Lamda Phi in 1972. The Pi Lams moved in to Beta’s house, and the organization adopted the name Pi Lambda Phi. The original Pi Lambda Phi house was closed (today, it’s the undergraduate admissions office). Then the Beta’s house was closed in 1978, and that ended their run at Cornell. One chapter survives; the Beta chapter at Penn state felt it would be better to go independent in 1975, so they did. Today, they have survived there as Beta Sigma Beta fraternity [4].

The house of Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) fraternity. Originally known as Caduceus chapter,  (now Zeta- for those of you wondering, a caduceus is the double helix with the snakes [5]), Alpha Gamma Rho has occupied this property since 1916, with the current house being constructed in 1961 [6]. Alpha Gamma Rho is the other agricultural fraternity (AGR = agriculture…like we couldn’t figure that out.)

 

[1]http://www.scorpiontke.org/content/section/6/30/

[2]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=3271

[3]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=3251

[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Sigma_Beta

[5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus

[6]http://www.dos.cornell.edu/dos/greek/chapter_details.cfm?id=4669

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

Random Photo Tour 7/6/08, continued

The house of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, known locally as Rockledge (which is the name of the house). The name fits because the house is built on the cliff overlooking Ithaca Falls. The house was built around 1900, with the fraternity moving in during 1913, four years after the chapter was founded. Cornell’s first president, A.D. White (1832-1918 ) was a member of the Yale Chapter during his college days [1].

The house of Omega Tau Sigma, a professional fraternity for veterinarians. I didn’t realize professional fraternities did this sort of thing. The house has been in their name since the 1920s. And in my opinion, for a small house, I really like the uncluttered appearance from the outside. It vaguely reminded me of Scandinavian houses. Until I looked it up just now, I honestly thought the house was a regular house that kept the letters as a throwback to history.

The former Redbud Woods site. I really don’t want to try and explain this, but a former patch of forest that was part of the old Treman Estate was bulldozed for a parking lot in 2005. The whole idea did not go over well. Student occupations of Day Hall, protestors from the college and city (including former mayor Ben Nichols), and a little backstabbing along the way. I’m not one for drama, I prefer my history untainted; and as you can see from the plaque that the city okayed but Cornell protested, the history is still a little too emotional for the local powers-that-be. for those who want to read the full story, here’s a wikilink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redbud_Woods_controversy

Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. The house was built in 1900 and has been continually in ATO’s posession. Major renovations were completed in 1989, and once again in the past year [2]. The house was originally designed by an alum of the house, although it used to have a mansard roof, judging from old photos. Due to renovation and structural issues, the chapter has not had a house in the past two years. Judging from this photo and the state of the grounds as I walked by, it looks like it will be reoccupied fairly soon.

The house of Phi Sigma Kappa. So, thankk you Phi Sig for making it such a pain in my arse to find information about your house. I can say this house was built ca. 1900, and has always been in the posession of Phi Sig. I only know that because I had to ask someone who’s in the house. It is in need of some repair, but at least the front side, with its columns, is still imposing.

722 University Avenue, built in the Colonial Revival Style around 1900. This house most recently served as a home to Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. Alpha Chi Rho was on campus from 1908-1978 (it was next door at 736 for some of that time), and when they tried to recharter in 1991-92, they lived here. I believe the chapter closed once again in 1997-98.

EDIT: Thanks to a tip from JB, I was able to find that the house was occupied by Lambda Upsilon Lambda, the Latino fraternity, as recently as 2004. The house is currently unoccupied.

 

 

 

[1]http://www.alphasig-rockledge.com/history.php

[2]https://www.atocornell.org/public1.asp

[3]http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Cornell_West_Campus