Buildings of City College

Changes throughout the years

Winning Design

George Post’s Gothic Revival style design was chosen for the original buildings of the new campus

The buildings were constructed with a native rock known as Manhattan Gneiss as well as Terracotta

The First Five Buildings

Shepard HallHarris HallWingate HallBaskerville HallCompton Hall

Shepard Hall – The Main Building

Left: Laying the Cornerstone of Shepard Hall (1903)Right: Shepard Hall Today (View from the top of NAC)

Shepard Hall – The Main Building

Shepard Hall is the largest of the gothic revival buildings on campus. Starting in 1986, massive restorations were made to Shepard Hall, including the rebuilding of the top of the main tower and the restoration of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall is a chapel-like meeting space 185 feet long, 89 feet wide and 63 feet high. Many have made appearance in the Great Hall, including Presidents William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Harris Hall - The Sub-Freshman Building

Townsend Harris Hall, named after the founder of the Free Academy, was home to City College’s preparatory school, which later became Townsend Harris High School. Topographically, this building was built at the highest point of the campus

Currently it is home to the Sophie Davis Biomedical Program

Wingate Hall - GymWingate Hall has always been a

gym for City College. It was named after George Wood Wingate, a graduate of the Free Academy who promoted physical health. Today, Marshak Hall’s gym is the campus’ main gym.

Baskerville Hall - Chemistry Building

At the time it was built, this building was considered one of the most modern chemistry facilities of any college in the nation

The building was named after Charles Baskerville, a renowned chemistry professor.

This building contained the largest lecture hall in the original campus, known as the Doremus Lecture Theater

Today, this building houses the High School for Math, Science and Engineering

Compton Hall – Mechanical Arts Building

This building held mechanical workshops and labs

The long chimney, now dormant, was once the venting for the campus’ power and heating system

Today, this building is used for a variety of different arts

Goethals Hall

Even though it is connected to Compton Hall today, Goethals Hall was not part of the original 5 buildings of the campus and it was a separate building from Compton for a time.

It was home to the School of Technology

The building on the left is Goethals Hall. With close attention, you would notice the slightly ruddy look that distinguishes Goethals from Compton

The Past: Lewisohn Stadium (1915-1973)

New York TimesOctober 8 (left) and November 7 1913 (right)

The Past: Lewisohn Stadium (1915-1973)

With a classical amphitheater design from Arnold W. Brunner and funding from Adolph Lewisohn (whom the stadium is named after), Lewisohn Stadium became a great outdoor public space for sports events, concerts, speeches, performances, etc.

The Past: Lewisohn Stadium

The Past: Klapper HallThe 3-story brick building that housed the

Protestant Episcopal Orphan Asylum now became City College's Klapper Hall. It originally housed the Hygiene Department and 3 years later was home to the School of Education

Today: North Academic Center

In 1973, the decision was made to tear down Lewisohn Stadium in favor of more classroom space. Later, Klapper Hall was demolished to make space for NAC parking lot

Demolition of Lewisohn Stadium (left), Construction of NAC (mid) and Demolition of Klapper Hall (right)

Today: North Academic Center

Now the largest academic building on campus, the NAC has 2,000 classrooms, labs, meeting rooms, and lecture halls

The NAC holds the Cohen Library, which moved out of the Y-Building when the NAC was completed

The Past: Army Hall

Originally The Hebrew Orphan Asylum, this building became Army Hall. During the war, it was used as a classification center and barracks. After the war, it provided accommodations to 500 male students as well as classroom space.

In 1956, Army Hall was torn down. Today, the space is occupied by the Jacob H. Schiff Playground

The Past: Jasper Oval

Originally a vacant lot next to Shepard and across from Lewisohn Stadium, it finally became part of CCNY in 1955, when it was used as a parking lot for visitors to the Lewisohn Stadium summer concert programs.

Today: Administration Building

Due to the need for space, the Administration Building built on north end of Jasper Oval

This building holds the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost, among other important figures in the school administration. Students often use this building for the Bursar and Registrar.

The building was named after Howard E. Wille, a distinguished alumnus and philanthropist.

Today: Marshak HallIn 1972, Marshak Hall, the

science building (also known as the J-Building), was completed on what was Jasper Oval

This 13 story building includes, “a number of computer labs, laser labs, electron microscopes, nuclear magnetic and electron spin resonance systems, medical laboratories, and more than two hundred teaching and research laboratories”

This building also contains the Nat Holman Gymnasium and the Jeremiah Mahoney Pool.

The Past: Bowker Library

The original campus design lacked a library. The Bowker Library was built in 1936 but portions of the Library remained unfinished when it was opened due to the Depression limiting funds

Bowker Library building was demolished to make room for Steinman Hall (Engineering Building) when the Morris Raphael Cohen Library was constructed

Today: Steinman Hall/GSOE

Named after David B. Steinman, a graduate and renowned Civil Engineer, Steinman Hall is the home to the School of Engineering

The building, built in 1962, underwent a $65 million dollar renovation in the early 2000s

This building lies outside the Alexander Hamilton campus gates

In 2006, The School of Engineering was dedicated to Andrew Grove, co-founder and former CEO of Intel Corp. after his donation of $26 million

The Past: Cohen Library/Y-Building

To replace the Bowker Library, The Cohen Library was built on South Campus in 1957.

Once the NAC was completed, the Cohen Library moved into the NAC and the building became known as the Y-Building

Today: Architecture Building

The Y-Building underwent massive renovations, where the building was gutted but the structure was reused. In 2009, the School of Architecture move from Shepard Hall into the Y-Building

Past: South Campus

Before it was owned by City College, the land that constitutes South Campus was originally held by Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart. In the 1950s, that college made the decision to move their campus, leaving the land available for purchase. In 1952, CCNY bought the 18.5 acres land and over three years renovated the buildings. In 1955, this area became CCNY’s South Campus

Past: South Campus

Past: South Campus

John H. Finley Student Center

This building, once the center of the Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, served the CCNY South Campus community since 1955. It was in poor condition, due to aging and a fire that broke out in 1969. It was demolished in 1983

Past: South Campus

Wagner Hall (Top)

Originally, this was the dorm for Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart. It was made into classroom space for CCNY. Demolished: 1991

Eisner Hall (Bottom)

Originally the library for Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, it was converted to become the building for the Arts Department

Today: South Campus

Today, the buildings of South Campus include the Architecture Building, CCNY’s dorms known as The Towers (Bottom right), Aaron Davis Hall (Bottom left) and the future Advanced Science Research Centers (left)