Vassar Campus- Poughkeepsie, NY

I do love college campuses. Old college campuses that is; I am not rushing out to photograph a Phoenix or a Stratford. But old college campuses are an architectural wonderland; collections of substantial stone buildings, built to impress. Vassar, founded in 1861, checks all the boxes. Their campus includes a stunning Gothic library, an 1865 Observatory, a magnificent chapel, and the facade of an 1866 Second Empire/Lombard Romanesque Calisthenium, which now fronts a Cesar Pelli designed drama center.

The 1904 Norman Style chapel, with its gorgeous hammerbeam ceiling boasts 15 stained glass windows, including five by Louis Comfort Tiffany, four by Robert L. Dodge and six by John La Farge. Constructed of Cape Ann granite, with sandstone trimmings, the chapel was a joint gift from Vassar alumnae Mary Shaw Thompson and Mary Morris Pratt. Designed by the Boston architectural firm Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, a firm founded by Henry Hobson Richardson, it is a symphony of detail. Above, soaring ceilings with intricate interior trusses and carved angels; in the rear, a Gress-Miles organ with 5710 pipes, illuminated by a twelve foot 1906 Tiffany rose window.

The very first building completed on the campus was the 1865 Maria Mitchell Observatory, named for faculty member and the first known female astronomer in the United States. Designed by Charles S. Farrar, it was built of brick with a pine dome, featuring an octagonal center and three identical wings protruding east, north, and south. The dome and instruments were supported by granite, limestone and marble piers. It once boasted a Henry Fitz telescope, now owned by the Smithsonian. Samuel F.B. Morse, a trustee of the college, ensured a telegraph line was installed, connecting the observatory to others around the country. The school has long since built a new observatory, however the original remains as office space.

The campus’ Thompson Memorial Library is one of the most outstanding examples of Gothic architecture in the United States. Designed by the renowned architectural firm of Allens & Collens, the building was funded by Mary Clark Thompson, as a memorial for her late husband. Completed in 1905, it was constructed in the Perpendicular Gothic style, using Germantown granite with Indiana limstone trim. Three wings are centered around a central tower crowned with battlements and pinnacles. Inside, stone friezes of ivy league school seals, seventeenth century Flemish Gobelin tapestries, and the 1906 Hardman & Co. designed Cornaro stained glass window, depicting the first woman to receive a Ph.D.

Finally, the facade of Avery Hall. Designed by Poughkeepsie architect John A. Wood in 1866, the red brick building was a glorious combination of architectural styles. Second Empire mansard roofed towers and smaller hexagonal towers flank a rounded arched front, containing twenty arches in three scales, in a style known as Lombard Romanesque. Inside, the large gymnasium included a calisthenics hall, a riding arena, a bowling alley, music practice rooms, and a concert hall. The riding academy proved too costly, and the building was repurposed many times. In 2003, the facade was incorporated into the Pelli designed Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film.

An all around magnificent collection of buildings, Vassar should not be missed. You could easily spend all day exploring the architecture, but it also works for a rest stop while out exploring the Hudson River Valley. Some buildings require a student ID, but many are open to the public. For those not accessible, tours are offered several times a year.

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