Although I’ve lived on West for over a year, there is not much that I really knew about it. During the Rose Café, Professor Blalock provided a lot of information about the history of Cornell and West Campus. In particular, I found the early history of West Campus very interesting.

West Campus was initially envisioned to be a ‘terrace’ that overlooked Cayuga Lake. The original plan included a large number of buildings, to form a sizable community for students who lived on campus. The first building to be constructed on West was Founders, in 1914. Unfortunately, the plan was abandoned after the construction of the dorms that we now refer to as the gothics. Although subtle, the early intention for West is visible in the placement of the gothics. They form an incomplete ‘ring’ that stretches from Boldt (Near Cook) to McFaddin (Near Bethe). There were also other buildings called U-Halls, but they were later demolished to make space for newer dorms that could house more people.

The new dorms on West were built from 2004 to 2008. Cook House was the first to be built, while Rose House was the last. An interesting fact about these houses was that they were named after remarkable members of Cornell’s faculty. Additionally, there are underground tunnels connecting some of them to each other. With the construction of these new houses, West also got five new dining halls. Prior to this, there was a single, large dining hall called Jansen’s approximately where Bethe House is located (The dining hall in Bethe is still called Jansen’s, while other four are named after the houses they’re in).

Overall, it was fascinating to learn about the history of West campus. Specifically, how most significant decisions in its construction and development left subtle marks (Like the arrangement of the gothics). It will be interesting to see how West changes in the future, in terms of adding more houses or renovating the current infrastructure.