Far Above Cayuga's Waters
Cornell University
McGraw Tower, built as part of Uris Library in 1891, houses the Cornell Chimes, the first chimes housed and rung on an American college campus. They still play three times a day during term.
- 5Buildings
- 3Traditions
- 1866Oldest · Morrill Hall
- 1925Newest · Willard Straight Hall
Campus map and Look Around
Tap a numbered pin to see that building from the street with Apple Look Around.
Planning the visit
- Fly intoIthaca Tompkins International Airport (ITH)
Ithaca's small airport is a few miles north of campus. Many visitors instead fly into Syracuse and drive about an hour south.
- Getting aroundWalking / TCAT buses
Cornell's hilltop campus is spread out and steep in places, so comfortable shoes help. TCAT buses connect campus with downtown Ithaca.
- Colors and teams
Students say 'Libe Slope' for the hillside that Uris Library overlooks.
5 buildings to stamp
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Photo: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Uris Library
160 Ho Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14853
Cornell's oldest library, opened in 1891 with McGraw Tower and its famous chimes rising beside it. Inside is the A. D. White Library, a 'library within a library' named for the university's first president.
- Built
- 1891
- Architect
- William Henry Miller
- Style
- Richardsonian Romanesque
- Today
- University library
-
Photo: Notyourbroom, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Morrill Hall
159 Central Ave, Ithaca, NY 14853
Completed in 1866 and named for Senator Justin Morrill, author of the land-grant act that helped found the university, this hall was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
- Built
- 1866
- Architect
- Harlow Wilcox and Cyrus K. Porter
- Style
- Second Empire
- Today
- Language and linguistics departments
-
Photo: Notyourbroom, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons A. D. White House
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
The richly carved stone mansion that Cornell's first president commissioned in 1871 as a home and a source of artistic inspiration for students. It was later the university art museum and now houses the Society for the Humanities.
- Built
- 1871
- Architect
- William Henry Miller and Charles Babcock
- Style
- High Victorian Gothic
- Today
- Society for the Humanities
-
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Willard Straight Hall
Ho Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14853
Cornell's student union, built of local bluestone and opened in 1925 as a memorial to Willard Straight. Its Gothic halls were the scene of the 1969 student protest that reshaped the university.
- Built
- 1925
- Architect
- Delano & Aldrich
- Style
- Collegiate Gothic
- Today
- Student union
-
Photo: Notyourbroom, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bailey Hall
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Cornell's largest auditorium is a Greek Revival amphitheatre of 1912, wrapped by a colonnaded portico with monumental stairs up to its main doors. Its acoustics were once praised as 'by God', its wooden seats less so.
- Built
- 1912
- Architect
- Edward Brodhead Green (Green & Wicks)
- Style
- Greek Revival
- Today
- Auditorium
3 traditions to check off
Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.
Founders' statues and footprints
Legend says the statues of Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White will walk off their pedestals and shake hands on the Arts Quad under certain impossible conditions, and painted footprints between them mark the legend. Look for the footprints and pose between the two founders.
Cornell Chimes in McGraw Tower
Student chimesmasters play the 21-bell Cornell Chimes in McGraw Tower in three concerts a day during the academic year, and visitors are welcome at all of them. Listen from Ho Plaza or the Arts Quad.
Dragon Day
On the Friday before spring break, first-year architecture students parade a huge handmade dragon past Sibley Hall toward the Arts Quad. Visitors can line the route and watch it go by.
Know Cornell University well?
Students and alumni know the traditions best. Suggest one we're missing, a building worth a stamp, or a fix. Every suggestion is checked against a source before it goes into the app.
Stamp all 5 on your visit.
Tour Cornell University in 3D before you go, add it to a college road trip and earn a passport stamp at every building. Free on iPhone and iPad.
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