Summary Information
Abstract
This collection includes floor plans, maps, correspondence, reports and press clippings pertaining
to Columbia University campuses and buildings. The bulk of the collection is divided by building
name; general maps, reports and correspondence relating to the Morningside Heights campus are
filed separately.
At a Glance
| Call No.: | UA#125 |
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| Bib ID: | 7201471 View CLIO record |
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| Creator(s): | Columbia University. Archives. |
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| Title: | Buildings
and grounds collection,
1755-2012
[Bulk Dates: 1880-2000].
|
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| Physical description: | 14.7 linear ft. (35 document boxes).
|
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| Language(s): | In English
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| Access: |
This collection has no restrictions.
This collection is located on-site.
More information » |
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Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in four series
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Description
Scope and Content
This collection contains materials relating to Columbia University's buildings and
grounds on its three main campuses (Park Place, 49th Street & Madison Avenue and
Morningside Heights) as well as other real estate used by the University, such as the
Medical Center at 168th Street, Lamont-Doherty, and Baker Field in upper Manhattan. It
contains floor plans and correspondence relating to the construction and maintenance of
buildings. It also contains information about Columbia University's grounds: gates,
walkways, outdoor sculpture, and landscaping. The collection includes maps, press
clippings, photographs, and administrative reports. The bulk of the materials consist of
specific files of information for buildings on the Morningside Heights campus.
Series I: Park Place Campus
The series includes press clippings, maps, floor plans, pamphlets, correspondence, press releases
and drawings/sketches relating to Columbia’s first campus location in downtown New York City
at Park Place. The Park Place campus is sometimes referred to as the Lower Estate or The
Queen’s Farm.
Series II: Madison Avenue Campus
Columbia’s second campus, located at 49th Street and Madison Avenue, is documented by press
clippings, maps and publications.
Series III: Morningside Heights Campus
This series contains information concerning Columbia’s third (and current) campus located in
Morningside Heights and is divided into four sub-series.
Subseries 1: Buildings
is comprised of maps, floor plans, press clippings, press releases,
correspondence, reports, pamphlets, memoranda, notes, proposals, and brochures relating
primarily to the buildings (past, present and proposed but never built) located on the Morningside
Heights campus. This series also has files of information concerning campus planning and
development, as well as files detailing specific features found on the Morningside Heights
campus – such as artwork, sculpture, gates, landscaping, and walkways.
Subseries 2: Correspondence
is primarily photocopies of correspondence to and from
university president Seth Low discussing the planning and development of Columbia’s
Morningside Heights campus. Correspondence is mainly with the architectural firm of McKim,
Mead and White, who designed this campus, but also includes some letters between President
Low, Columbia administrators and architecture professors. There is also one file of
correspondence, again primarily photocopied, from President Low’s successors discussing
aspects of continued campus development.
Subseries 3: Maps and Floorplans
consists of photocopied maps of Columbia University’s
various campuses and real estate holdings (e.g. Reid Hall in Paris, France and Camp Columbia in
Connecticut) as collected by the Facilities Department. Also include maps detailing the
surrounding neighborhood in Morningside Heights. Floor plans are original and arranged by
building name for a particular year. Both maps and floor plans were removed from the binders in
which they were originally kept.
Subseries 4: Reports
was created by assorted university officials regarding buildings and
campus planning, as well as reports created by Daniel Feuchtwanger for his Facilities project.
Many of these reports contain specific information about various buildings owned by Columbia
and there is a very useful report detailing the names and inscriptions found throughout campus
buildings.
Series IV: Other Real Estate
Series V contains press clippings, pamphlets, brochures, press releases, maps, correspondence,
and floor plans relating to properties (past and present) held by Columbia University but not
located at the Park Place, Madison Avenue or Morningside Heights campuses. Properties
included in this series include the Medical School complex in Washington Heights, Baker Field,
Arden House, Nevis Laboratories, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Campus, and Rockefeller
Center. This series also includes files regarding general facilities topics such as rent, energy,
recycling, and facilities management.
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Using the Collection
Access Restrictions
This collection has no restrictions.
This collection is located on-site.
Restrictions on Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material
from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts/University
Archivist, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to
publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission
rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Name of Collection; Box and Folder;
University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Finding aid in repository; folder level control.
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About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Archives; machine readable
finding aid created by Columbia University Libraries Digital Library Program
Division
Processing Information
Papers processed by Darragh Martin (GSAS 2011) in July 2007.
Addition to the papers processed by Shelley Hayreh (BC 2008) in July 2008.
Finding aid written by Darragh Martin in July 2007.
Additions to the finding aid written by Jocelyn Wilk in July 2008.
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion
October 29, 2009
Finding aid written in English.
2009-10-06
xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
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Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Genre/Form
Subjects
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History / Biographical Note
Historican Note
Classes were first held at King's College (now Columbia
University) in 1754 inside the vestry room of the Trinity Church schoolhouse on lower
Broadway. This room housed classes until 1760 when the school moved to a building on
Park Place in downtown Manhattan, near the present site of City Hall. Founded by royal
charter of King George II of England, King's College was the only institution of
collegiate rank in New York at the time. Classes were suspended during the American
Revolution in 1776 and the building was used as a barrack and hospital for both British
and American troops. When instruction resumed eight years later, King's College changed
its name to Columbia, in keeping with the contemporary political climate.
Classes continued in the Park Place campus until 1857, when,
to accommodate its continuing expansion, the campus moved to 49th Street and Madison
Avenue, occupying a tract of land previously owned by The New York Deaf and Dumb
Institution. Surrounded by vacant lots and underdeveloped land, this campus was
virtually rural. This location was favored to the alternative: relocating to the remote
Botanic Gardens, three miles outside of New York. The forty years at this Madison Avenue
campus saw the foundation of the School of Mines and School of Political Science and the
inclusion of the College of Physicians and Surgeons as part of Columbia. In 1897,
Columbia left the Madison Avenue campus; the following year the Berkeley School bought
the land and destroyed most of the buildings.
The University made a third move in 1897, occupying four
blocks in the area now known as Morningside Heights, between 116th and 120th Streets and
Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway (then known as The Boulevard). This land belonged to the
Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, which was owned by the New York City Hospital. Under the
leadership of President Seth Low, the architecture firm of McKim, Mead & White
was commissioned to design an urban academic village on this site and the asylum's land
was forever transformed with the domed Low Memorial Library overlooking a stately
collection of Renaissance influenced buildings. The initial phase of construction
between 1895 and 1897 saw the erection of Low Library, Schermerhorn Hall, Fayerweather
Hall, and University Hall (later demolished).
The expansion of the Morningside Heights campus continued
steadily throughout the twentieth century with St. Paul's Chapel, the School of Mines
(now Lewisohn Hall) and Hamilton Hall, all constructed between 1903 and 1907. Kent Hall,
Philosophy Hall and Avery Hall were constructed between 1909 and 1911; the early 1920s
saw the completion of Dodge Hall, John Jay Hall and Pupin Hall. Expansion continued
throughout the ensuing decades, with the School of International Affairs completed in
1970 and a large East Campus Housing project developed between 1977 and 1981. The most
recent major addition to Morningside Heights' campus is Alfred Lerner Hall, a modern
glass structure that replaced Ferris Booth Hall as the student center in 2000.
The University began expansion plans in 2004 in the
Manhattanville area, also named "West Harlem," bordered by 129th to 133rd Streets and
between Broadway and 12th Avenue. The proposed construction is expected to provide a
total of 6.8 million square feet of space above- and below-grade for teaching, academic
research, and civic and commercial activity, as well as below-grade parking and
facilities support. This is a multi-phased project with completion expected in 2030.
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