List of RPI buildings

Last updated

This is a list of notable buildings of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Contents

Academy Hall

History

Academy Hall used to be the location of Troy Public School 14, which was built in 1923. [1] RPI first tried to buy the building from the Troy City School District in 1986 but they turned down the offer from the school district. In 1990 a second, more favorable offer for RPI was given and this time RPI accepted the deal. [1] The building was renamed Academy Hall in 1998. [1]

Present day

Academy Hall houses the dean of students, office of the First Year Experience and the F.E. Gallagher Memorial Student Health Center. [1]

Amos Eaton Hall

Amos Eaton Hall AmosEaton.JPG
Amos Eaton Hall

Amos Eaton Hall was built in 1928. It is the current home of RPI's mathematics department.

Armory/Alumni Sports and Recreation Center

History

The Alumni Sports and Recreation Center, also known as the Armory, was originally built as the Troy armory in 1920 and served as a headquarters for the New York Guard and National Guard for many years. [2] In 1944, Rensselaer made their first attempt to purchase the Armory, so that they would be able to meet the demand for training space for the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, or Naval ROTC, although this deal ultimately fell through with RPI, and instead renting space until 1951. [2] A second attempt to acquire the armory was made in 1955, as it became a key part of RPI's expansion plans, and hinged on the federal appropriations for new armories and a provision for building a new armory. [2] However without federal appropriation coming, the purchase of the armory was tabled in 1957. In 1970 RPI was able to finalize an agreement with New York State to purchase the Armory, and later with alumni funding was able to covert the armory into a sports and recreation facility. [2]

Present Day

The Armory has a gymnasium with a synthetic rubber floor and a pool, along with multiple centers for the various ROTC programs.

Carnegie Building

The Carnegie Building is a four-story building named after Andrew Carnegie and completed in 1906. It currently houses RPI's Cognitive Science Department.

Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies

Chapel + Cultural Center

Darrin Communications Center

The Darrin Communications Center, or DCC, is one of the primary lecture buildings at RPI, with a total of 4 major lecture halls and a semi-circular case study classroom with several televisions, and a broadcast studio for WRPI, the campus radio broadcasting club. [3] Additionally, the DCC is also host to a small café, and a variety of other classrooms and offices in the basement, and is directly connected to the Low Center for Industrial Innovation.

History

Originally planned to be built southwest of the Science Center, in the location of the Cogswell Laboratory, the location was moved in March 1966 to be on the east end of '86 field and postponed in 1968 due to a lack of federal funding for the building. [3] But after being able to secure the funding, the project was resumed in 1970 with construction of the DCC expecting to conclude in fall 1972, but was delayed to fall 1973 due to a combination field conditions and design issues. [3] The Darrin Communication Centered was officially named that in 1987 "in recognition of a lifetime of dedication, loyalty and support to Rensselaer" by trustee David M. Darrin. [3]

Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center is known as EMPAC.

Folsom Library

Greene Building

The Greene Building, north side GreeneBuildingRPI.JPG
The Greene Building, north side

The Greene Building is home of the Rensselaer School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). [4]

Named for Benjamin Franklin Greene, it has its own library for use by the architecture students. [5] The second floor contains a gallery for students’ work. The basement, third, and fourth floors contain multiple studios; which open 24 hours a day for students and faculty to complete projects. The architecture library contains 30,000 books and 100,000-plus slides.

The majority of the first basement level houses the wood shop. This state-of-the-art shop includes a milling machine, two laser cutters, many wood working machines, and space for students to construct models. The remainder of the first basement level contains a few more class spaces while the second basement level and mezzanine contain offices.

History

The building was completed in 1931 at a cost of $400,000, shortly after the School of Architecture was founded. The building was named in memory of Benjamin Franklin Greene, Director of Rensselaer from 1847 to 1859, who first proposed a school of architecture at the institute. The names of fifteen of the most renowned deceased American architects were cut in stone above the second-story windows: Bulfinch, Burnham, Goodhue, Hooker, Hunt, Jefferson, Latrobe, McComb, McIntyre, McKim, Mills, Renwick, Richardson, Sullivan, and Upjohn.

Gurley Building

Hirsch Observatory

Houston Field House

Jonsson Engineering Center

Low Center

Pittsburgh Building

The Pittsburgh building was erected in February 1912, as the institute's new administrative building. The building was funded by a donation of $125,000 from the Alumni Association of Pittsburgh, which is what the building is named for. The building was designed by W. G. Wilkins, a Pittsburgh alumnus, who donated his services to this project. In 1998 Thelma P. and Kenneth T. Lally donated a $15 million gift to the institute. This donation made renovating the Pittsburgh building into a technology-intensive center for teaching and research possible. The building's renovation cost $7.5 million to transform it into the Lally School of Management and Technology, and was completed by Lee Harris Pomeroy (Class of 1954) Associates.

Rensselaer Student Union

In March 1958, a referendum was presented to the student body to increase the student activity fee by $5 to fund a student union. The referendum, which was voted on during the Grand Marshal election in April and passed with 79% of students supporting the measure, was a huge success and raised over $250,000. Ernest J. Kump Associates was chosen to design the $3 million building and construction began in early 1965, and opened to students in May 1967. The Union, placed on the 15th Street campus corridor, was designed to be a true center of student activity with recreation areas, a snack bar, bookstore, meeting rooms, offices for student organizations and student services, etc. It still remains a hub of student activity today and a popular destination for a range of activities. The Union's main dining hall was named the McNeil Room in honor of Frank McNeil, director of the Union from 1929 to 1968. In 1985, the Union's basement was expanded giving more room to the bookstore, and added storage space on the south side. [6]

Ricketts Building

In 1933, Palmer Ricketts initiated the construction of a building for the newly established aeronautical and metallurgical engineering courses. The building, tentatively named Van Rensselaer Hall, was built of Harvard brick and Indiana limestone, with steel and concrete floors and heavy tile interior walls. It is 184 feet long and 59 feet wide with four stories and a basement housing three laboratories. The laboratory building, opened in 1935, was officially named the Ricketts Building in memory of Palmer C. Ricketts, who died December 10, 1934, and had been the Institutes first president since 1901 when his role of director expanded to encompass more duties subsequently creating the role. The building became the center for the newly established Chemical engineering department, which up until that point had been teaching out of the Walker Laboratory, since 1922 when the department was officially formed. Today, many core chemical engineering lectures and laboratories are still held there, and the first floor contains a student lounge named for Lewis Selrick Coonley, one of the original three chemical engineering faculty members the Institute had in the early 1930s. [7]

Russell Sage Laboratory

Russell Risley Sage (August 4, 1816 – July 22, 1906) was a trustee of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for 10 years and is Russell Sage Laboratory's namesake. After his death in 1907, his wife, Olivia Slocum Sage, donated $1,000,000 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a memorial to her late husband. The Russell Sage Laboratory, built and equipped at a cost of $405,000, was designed by Lawlor & Haase and constructed of Harvard brick with limestone trimmings. The building was finished in 1909. An addition was added in 1923 at a cost of $235,000. Russell Sage Laboratory was completely renovated in 1985 and currently houses the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. There were three principal sections of the building: the west wing devoted to Mechanical Engineering, the east wing for the Electrical department and the central section used by both departments. The central portion contained a lecture room seating 400 persons, a large drawing room and a laboratory for a 600,000 pound machine for testing materials of construction.

Troy Building

The Troy Building was built with funds raised by the citizens of Troy to commemorate the centennial of the Institute in 1924. The brick and limestone building was designed by Frederick Marcus Cummings, Class of 1886, and was completed in 1925. It initially housed the civil engineering department, and later grew to become home to several other functions including the Dean of Students Office, the offices of the president, provost and members of the cabinet. The second floor includes three interactive classrooms, one of which is a classroom in the round known as the Collaborative Classroom. [8]

Voorhees Computing Center

History

Voorhees Computing Center VorheesComputingCenter.JPG
Voorhees Computing Center

The chapel was originally constructed as a part of the St. Joseph's Seminary in 1933, adjoining to the main seminary building, which was demolished in 1970 to make way for the Folsom Library. The building was acquired by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1958 and renovated to serve as the campus library in 1960. It served as the campus library until the completion of the Folsom Library across the way in 1976, at which point the building was left unused. [9] In 1977, it was decided by RPI administration to replace the old computing center at Amos Eaton, and eventually settled on renovating the old chapel. And, in 1979, the Alan M. Voorhees Computing Center was dedicated in honor of Alan Voorhees who contributed $3.4 million, which was the largest single contribution made to RPI by an individual at the time. [10] During the dedication ceremony, then president of RPI George Low described the Voorhees Computing Center as "the most unique computing center in the world." [9] The center initially housed an IBM 3033 computing system, which allowed for RPI to become one of the most technologically advanced institutions at the time, and provided access for both students and faculty to work on assignments and research projects from different terminals both in the building and around the campus. [10] When the chapel was originally renovated, to save on costs the heat generated from the IBM computer was originally used to heat the building in the winter, but with the advent of computers that generated less heat, the chapel later had a more conventional heating system installed.

Present Day

Today, the Voorhees Computing Center has a multitude of computers that are used by students to work on projects and multiple printers. The building is also host to the campus help center, which is able to provide students with help on technical problems or other related issues.

Walker Laboratory

The Walker Laboratory serves as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's predominant chemistry lab. The building was erected in 1907 and made possible by a $200,000 donation from Mrs. R. J. Walker in memory of her son Dr. William Weightman Walker, Class of 1886. After its completion, an addition was constructed in 1919, and the building was renovated in 1996 to modernize it.

West Hall

Winslow Building

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</span> Private research university in Troy, New York, US

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut, closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton for the "application of science to the common purposes of life" and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere.

There are several songs about Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute traditionally sung at special events.

WRPI is a non-commercial free-format college radio station run entirely by students attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and staffed by community members and students. WRPI broadcasts every day with an effective radiated power of 10,000 watts, serving listeners in Albany, eastern New York, western Massachusetts, Vermont, and online via live streaming. The studios are located in the basement of the Darrin Communications Center and the FM signal is broadcast from North Greenbush. Programming includes a wide range of music, cultural and public affairs programs, live bands, special events, and sports simulcasts, particularly of RPI hockey, football, and baseball. WRPI has a large record library dating to the origins of the station, estimated at 43,800 albums, and a large CD library, dating to the start of the medium.

The main campus of Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia; the central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Road to the west, Main Street to the east, and U.S. Route 460 bypass to the south, although it also has several thousand acres beyond the central campus. The Virginia Tech campus consists of 130 buildings on approximately 2,600 acres (11 km2). It was the site of the Draper's Meadow massacre in 1755 during the French and Indian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies</span> Research facility at RPI

The Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is a research facility at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The 218,000-square-foot (20,300 m2) building is located on 15th street between RPI’s Playhouse and Academy Hall, next to the Center for Industrial Innovation. The institute hopes the new facility will help to encourage collaboration between experts in different fields, allowing them to solve problems that they would be unable to solve alone. As of 2008, the director of the center is Jonathan Dordick. The building cost $100M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folsom Library</span>

The Richard G. Folsom Library is a research library in the Rensselaer Libraries system constructed in the Brutalist style located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. It is named after Richard Gilman Folsom, the President of the Institute from 1958–1971. The Folsom Library offers a variety of services to students and patrons of the library. In addition to loans, these services include class reserves, general writing and presentation assistance through the Center for Communication Practices, cultural and educational events, inter-library loans through ConnectNY, individual and group room reservations, computer labs, and wireless internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnegie Building (Troy, New York)</span> Building in Troy, New York, United States

The Carnegie Building is the current home of the Cognitive Science Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. It is one of the westernmost buildings on the campus and as such provides scenic views overlooking the city of Troy and the Hudson River. The four-story building is named for Andrew Carnegie who donated $125,000 for its construction, which was completed in 1906.

Amos Eaton Hall is the current home of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. It is named for Amos Eaton, the co-founder and first senior professor of Rensselaer. Amos Eaton Hall is the only building on the campus referred to by both first and last name. The building opened in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rensselaer at Work</span> Online division of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer at Work is the online division of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, operating administratively from facilities in Hartford, Connecticut, since 1955. Until 1997, it was known as the Hartford Graduate Center. The primary focus of the division is to offer graduate-level professional education to learners across the country via its digital delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonsson Engineering Center</span>

The Jonsson Engineering Center, is home to the School of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. It is named for J. Erik Jonsson and was dedicated on 7 October 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rensselaer Society of Engineers</span> Fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The Rensselaer Society of Engineers (RSE) is a social fraternity founded in 1866 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Originally named The Pi Eta Scientific Society, the organization was incorporated in 1873 in the state of New York. Arriving on campus at about the same time as some of the first fraternities, it has remained one of the oldest "local" organizations in the U.S. RSE is the only independent fraternity at Rensselaer. They have chosen to remain independent to maintain the freedom to set their own policies and make their own managerial decisions. Contrary to what their name may imply, members major not only in engineering, but also in such disciplines as science, management, architecture, and the arts. Society members are active in not only campus and local activities, but are also in many national organizations.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic is the student-run news organization of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to 2018, it was published in print every Wednesday during the Institute's fall and spring academic calendars, but now publishes online at poly.rpi.edu, following the same schedule.

Palmer Chamberlain Ricketts was the ninth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He served as president for 33 years and oversaw a period of major expansion and development of the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proctor's Theater (Troy, New York)</span> United States historic place

Proctor's Theater is located on Fourth Street in Troy, New York, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and is a contributing property to the Central Troy Historic District, added to the Register in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hall (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)</span> United States historic place

West Hall is a building on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy, New York, United States. It is currently home to the Arts Department at RPI. It was previously a hospital, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Old Troy Hospital.

The history of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) spans nearly two hundred years beginning with its founding in 1824. RPI is the oldest continuously operating technological university in both the English-speaking world and the Americas. The Institute was the first to grant a civil engineering degree in the United States, in 1835. More recently, RPI also offered the first environmental engineering degree in the United States in 1961, and possibly the first ever undergraduate degree in video game design, in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricketts Building</span>

Ricketts Building is a building that is home to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. It is named for Palmer C. Ricketts, the ninth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The building opened in 1935. It is currently used for labs, lectures, and some clubs.

The Jonsson-Rowland Science Center , is home to the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. It is named for J. Erik Jonsson and Henry A. Rowland. The building was dedicated on 21 October 1961.

The Alumni Sports and Recreation Center is a building owned by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It is host to sports facilities and to many clubs in the institute's community. It was purchased by the institute in 1971 from the State of New York, where it had previously served as the city armory for Troy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Academy Hall | Institute Archives and Special Collections". archives.rpi.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Armory / Alumni Sport and Recreation Center". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Darrin Communication Center". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  4. RPI's Architecture Department
  5. Architecture Library
  6. "Union/ Rensselaer Student Union". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  7. "Ricketts/ Ricketts-building". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  8. "Ricketts/ Troy-building". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  9. 1 2 "Chapel/Voorhees Computing Center". RPI Building Histories. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  10. 1 2 "at Rensselaer, March 1980". RPI Office of External Affairs. Retrieved 2022-02-12.