Cornell North Campus
North Campus is a mostly residential section of Cornell University's main campus in Ithaca, New York. It includes the neighborhoods located north of Fall Creek. All freshmen are housed on North Campus as part of Cornell's common first-year experience and residential initiatives.
North Campus is principally connected to Central Campus via the Thurston Avenue Bridge over Fall Creek, commonly called the Triphammer Bridge owing to its location above Triphammer Falls, formed by the Beebe Lake Dam. Two pedestrian-only bridges cross to the east: the Triphammer Footbridge connects to Forest Home Drive north of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, and on the far side of Beebe Lake, the Sackett Footbridge to Forest Home Drive on the north end of the Cornell Botanic Gardens. To the west, the pedestrian-only Suspension Bridge connects the Cornell Heights neighborhood to University Avenue just north of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, and the Stewart Avenue Bridge conveys Stewart Avenue across the gorge directly above Ithaca Falls.
History
20th century
From 1913 to 1970, the area north of Fall Creek held Cornell University's women-only dormitories. Risley, Comstock, Balch, Dickson and Donlon were referred to as the "women's dorms." Visitation by men was strictly regimented. The original master plan for the area called for the pattern of Balch-type courtyards to be extended northward. All of these buildings were designed for women and included self-contained dining facilities as well as parlors for receiving male visitors. While Dickson was built consistent with the spirit of the plan, it was abandoned in the 1960s due to cost, with Donlon and Hasbrouck both employing modern architecture and lacking integrated dining halls.In 1970, a new set of red brick dormitories called "North Campus" opened, consisting of the Low Rise and High Rise complexes. A North Campus Union, later named after financier and Board of Trustees chair Robert Purcell, opened the following year. Although three more Low Rise dorms were planned, funding was not available, and the area between High Rises 1 and 5 was left undeveloped. Also in 1970, Cornell started experimenting with coed dorms, and all buildings except Balch Hall gradually became coed. With coeducation, the name of the entire area north of the creek became "North Campus."
In 1972, to compensate the Athletics Department for the loss of the Lower Alumni Fields to biology buildings, intramural playing fields were developed on North Campus at Jessup Fields.
The need for additional dorms became pressing, and the Trustees commissioned Richard Meier to design new dorm buildings which followed the contours of the fairways of the abandoned golf course site. Again, economics prevented this striking design from being built. The townhouses now occupy a portion of this site.
The present programmatic layout of North Campus was initially proposed in 1997, by then-Cornell President Hunter R. Rawlings III. It was designed to promote the unification of the freshman living areas. North Campus was brought about to bring together Cornell's disjointed first-year programs. This North Campus Initiative, as the proposal was called, united the vision of Charles Dagit and Alan Chimacoff with the Hillier Group and Dagit-Saylor Associates chosen to implement the plan which led to the construction of Mews Hall, Court Hall, and Appel Commons. Both Mews and Court are considered to be temporary names, to be replaced by the names of donors.
21st century
On October 14, 2005, the southern wing of Court Hall was re-dedicated as Bauer Hall, marking the generosity of the Bauer family, and the B Wing of Court was renamed Kay, making the hall's full name Court-Kay-Bauer.North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE)
The North Campus Residential Expansion, announced in 2018, added six buildings with about 2,000 beds and a dining hall to North Campus. The project was led by Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects. The five new residence halls are named for alumni Toni Morrison, M.A. ’55, Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54, Barbara McClintock, Hu Shih, and to honor the Cayuga Nation. Morrison and Ganędagǫ opened in fall 2021, and Shih, McClintock and Ginsburg opened in fall 2022. While McClintock, Hu Shih, and RBG exclusively house freshmen, Morrison and Ganedago only house upper-level students.Risley Hall
is a residential college for the creative and performing arts. Commonly known as Risley Hall, Risley Residential College, or just Risley, it is a themed residence hall at Cornell University. Unlike most other traditional dormitories on campus, Risley is a residential college, meaning that the house members, "Risleyites", are encouraged to eat together at the in-house dining hall, can live as house members for all four or five years they spend enrolled at Cornell, and participate in educational activities, such as guest lectures, within their dormitory.The building houses 190 students who are admitted by applications that are reviewed by current Risleyites and two Guest Suite Artists, who live in the building and organize regular programs in which the house members participate. As a dormitory, Risley offers a unique living experience. The Tudor Gothic building itself is shaped like a large, red castle. When constructed, the architect, William Henry Miller, was requested to design the floor plan such that no two rooms would be identical. Consequently, the rooms vary greatly. Sizes range from a single room that is 93 square feet, a former maid's room, to a double room that is 273 square feet, the largest double on campus. Various room features include balconies, fireplaces, dumbwaiter shafts, secret stairwells, bay windows, embrasures, and turrets.
Traditional residences
Balch Hall
On North Campus, Balch Hall stands out for its English Renaissance style. Originally, each of the four halls were decorated differently in "Early American, Georgian, English Jacobean, and modern Gramercy Park". Balch Hall and Barbara McClintock Hall are the only all-female dormitories left on North Campus. Balch is undergoing a "full-gut renovation" from 2021-2024. With North Balch Hall reopening for the 2024-25 academic year, McClintock will no longer be an all-female residence hall.Court-Kay-Bauer Community
Court, Kay and Bauer Halls are joined by an enclosed bridge on the second and third floor and an open air walkway on the fourth floor. The residence hall opened in the fall of 2001 as Court Hall; in the fall of 2005, the south section was renamed Bauer Hall to honor Robert and Virginia Bauer's donation to the university. In autumn 2006, the former B wing of the building was renamed Kay Hall, in honor of Cornell alumnus Bill Kay's donation. Court-Kay-Bauer houses 270 first-year students, 9 Resident Advisors, 1 Residence Hall Director and a Faculty in Residence.Clara Dickson Hall
Clara Dickson Hall or just "Dickson" is a Georgian-style building located on North Campus, built in 1946. With a gross area of 168,791 sq ft and a net area of 139,899 sq ft, it is the largest dormitory in the Ivy League. It houses 575 first-year students in a variety of singles, doubles, and triples. Clara Dickson Hall also is home to the Multicultural Living Learning Unit, one of Cornell's residential program houses. When Dickson was an all-female residence hall, it had a dining hall.Mary Donlon Hall
Donlon Hall, named after Judge Mary H. Donlon Class of 1920, is located north of Court and Mews Halls and houses 472 first-year students arranged in double rooms, typically sized 12' x 18'. It has 6 floors with facilities including a TV/social lounge, piano, laundry, elevators, kitchen, computer networking, study lounge, lofting furniture, and library.Donlon was designed by Beardsley & Beardsley of Auburn and Von Storch and Barkavage of Waverly, Pennsylvania in a unique triangular layout designed to maximize outside exposure. Cottages on Circle and Wait Avenues were demolished for its construction, with a gross area of and net area of. When it opened in 1961 it housed 430 women, 3 floors for freshmen and two for upper-level students. It was the first women's dorm without its own dining hall, cut due to expense. After the gender integration of dorms in 1970, it housed a mix of frosh and upperclassmen until the 1998 residential initiative, after which it housed only first-year students.