COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS BUILDING NAMES

 

 

 

Armstrong Hall – Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890 – 1954) was an electrical engineer and inventor. He graduated in 1913 with a degree in electrical engineering from Columbia, where he became a Professor of Electrical Engineering. Frequency modulation was his notable achievement, enabling FM radio.

 

Avery Hall – Art dealer Samuel Putnam Avery (1822 – 1904), was a founder and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who donated funds for the building in his honor and that of his son, Henry Ogden Avery (1852 – 1890).

 

Ferris Booth Hall – Banker Ferris Booth (1903 - 1955) graduated from Columbia in 1924.  His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Willis H. Booth, donated much of $4.5 million to build a student center in honor of their son. Ferris Booth Hall was dedicated in 1959, demolished in 1996, and replaced by Lerner Hall.

 

Buell Center, a.k.a. Maison Francaise, originally Macy Villa – Architect Temple Hoyne Buell (1895 – 1990) did graduate study at Columbia.  He donated $5 million to establish a center for American Architecture at Columbia.

 

Butler Library – Nicholas Murray Butler (1862 – 1947) was President of Columbia University from 1902 to 1945.

 

Butler Hall – See Butler Library.

 

Carman Hall – Harry Carman (1884 – 1964) graduated from Columbia in 1919 and served as the fourth Dean of Columbia College

 

Chandler Hall – Charles Frederick Chandler (1836 – 1925) was Professor of Chemistry at Columbia and a public health and sanitation reformer.

 

Dodge Hall, originally Business Hall – Marcellus Hartley Dodge (1881 – 1963) was part of the Phelps Dodge mining family and was chairman of the board of Remington Arms Company. Business Hall was renamed Dodge Hall in his honor for his extensive generosity to Columbia.

 

Earl Hall - William Earl Dodge, Jr. (1832 – 1903) gave $100,000 for building to be used for social and religious activities. He was a businessman whose wealth came from family mining concern, Phelps Dodge Corporation.

 

Sherman Fairchild Center – Businessman and inventor, Sherman Fairchild (1896-1971) ran Fairchild Aircraft and Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corporation. He was a student at Columbia, but didn’t graduate.

 

Fayerweather Hall – Daniel B. Fayerweather was a wealthy shoemaker who gave $200,000 in 1892, and never attended Columbia.

 

Ford Hall – Roman Catholic priest and champion of civil rights, George Barry Ford (1885 – 1978), was a chaplain at Columbia, and a pastor at the nearby Corpus Christi Church on 121st Street. Columbia awarded him an honorary degree.

 

Furnald Hall – Real estate dealer, Francis Perkins Furnald (1847-1907), donated funds for the building in honor of his son, Royal Blackler Furnald (1880 – 1899), who was a Columbia student, class of 1901.

 

Jerome L. Greene Science Center - Lawyer and real estate investor, Jerome L. Greene (1909 – 1999) graduated from Columbia in 1926 and Columbia’s Law School in 1928. $200 milliondonated in his name will establish the Science Center on the Manhattanville Campus.

 

Jerome Greene Hall, originally Law School – Lawyer and real estate investor, Jerome L. Greene (1909 – 1999) donated $40 million to Columbia’s Law School.

 

Hamilton Hall – A Founding Father of the United States and the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton (1755 – 1804), attended King’s College, which became Columbia in 1784, from 1774 to 1776.

 

Hartley Hall - Marcellus Hartley Dodge (1881 - 1963), from Columbia class of 1903, donated $350,000 upon his graduation for the building. His maternal grandfather founded Remington Arms Company.

 

Havemeyer Hall – Frederick Christian Havemeyer (1807 - 1891) graduated from Columbia class of 1825 and ran the family sugar-refining business, which became the largest in the country.

 

Hogan Hall – Frank Smithwick Hogan (1902 – 1994) was the District Attorney for the County of New York. He studied journalism at Columbia, graduated from its Law School, and served on its board of trustees.

 

John Jay Hall – John Jay (1745 – 1829) was a Founding Father of the United States and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

 

Johnson Hall, today Wein Hall – Samuel Johnson (1696 – 1772) was the first President of King’s College, which was renamed Columbia in 1784. 

 

Brander Matthews Academic Theater – Brander Matthews (1852 – 1929) was a perennial Columbia student, earning more degrees there than anyone. He was a professor of literature at Columbia, as well as the Chair of Dramatic Literature.

 

Kent Hall – Jurist and legal scholar, James Kent (1763 – 1847), was the first professor of law in Columbia from 1793 to 1798, Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1804 to 1814, and the second Chancellor of New York from 1814 to 1823, after Robert R. Livingston.

 

Lerner Hall – Businessman Alfred “Al” Lerner (1933 – 2002), was the chairman of the board of the large banking and credit card company, MBNA Corporation, and the owner of the Cleveland Browns football team. He graduated from Columbia in 1955.

 

Lewisohn Hall, originally School of Mines – Mining investor Adolph Lewisohn (1849 – 1938) invested in mines, notably copper and zinc, and endowed Columbia’s former School of Mines building which was renamed in his honor.

 

Livingston Hall, late Wallach Hall – Robert R. Livingston (1746 – 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, having been one of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Known as “the Chancellor” because he held the highest judicial office in New York State, he was Minister to France that handled the Louisiana Purchase, and he supported Robert Fulton’s famous steamboat endeavor. In 1765, he graduated from King’s College, which was renamed Columbia in 1784.

 

Schermerhorn Hall – Williamm Colford Schermerhorn (1821 - 1903) was a lawyer from an old Dutch family in Brooklyn whose wealth derived from extensive real estate holdings. Graduating from Columbia class of 1840, he was a trustee from 1860, chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1893. His $300,000 gift funded the building.

 

Low Memorial Library – Seth Low (1850 – 1916) was the 11th president of Columbia University, Mayor of Brooklyn, and Mayor of New York City. Seth Low named the library in honor of his father Abiel Abbot Low (1811 – 1893) who made his fortune in the China trade.

 

Macy Villa – Trustee and donor, William Hussey Macy (1805 – 1887), funded it for use by wealthy male patients.  made his fortune via whale oil processing becoming part of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. 

 

McBain Hall – Howard Lee McBain (1880 – 1936) was a professor of constitutional law and dean of the faculty at Columbia.  ???

 

Kathryn Bache Miller Theater, originally the McMillan Theater – Art collector and socialite, Kathryn Bache Miller (1896 – 1979) was the daughter of the investment banker Jules S. Bache.

 

Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Hall – Named after Mining Engineer, Seeley Wintersmith Mudd (1861 – 1926), by his physician and professor son, Seeley Greenleaf Mudd (1895 – 1968), who received his undergraduate degree in mining engineering at Columbia.

 

Pulitzer Hall – Joseph Pulitzer (1847 – 1911) was a publisher of the St Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World. He endowed Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Pulitzer Prizes. 

 

Pupin Hall – Michael I. Pupin (1858 – 1935) was a physicist and inventor who taught at Columbia. He is best remembered for his work with electricity and X-rays.

 

Ruggles Hall – Lawyer and real estate developer, Samuel B. Ruggles (1799 – 1881), built Gramercy Park and was instrumental in getting Union Square Park established. He was a Columbia trustee from 1854.

 

Schapiro Hall– Investment banker and chess master, Morris A Schapiro (1903 - 1996), graduated from Columbia with an advanced degree in engineering.

 

Morris A. Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research – see Schapiro Hall.

 

Uris Hall – Named after Real estate developers and brothers, Harold Uris (1905 – 1982), and  Percy Uris (1899 – 1971) who graduated from the Columbia Business School in 1920. 

Van Amringe Memorial – John Howard Van Amringe (1835-1915) was Dean of Columbia from 1896 to 1915.

 

Wallach Hall, previously Livingston Hall – Ira D. Wallach was head of the largest privately-held paper and pulp products company, Central National-Gottesman. He donated $2 million in 1979 to renovate Livingston Hall. He graduated from Columbia in 1929, and from Columbia’s Law School in 1931. Wallach and his wife also endowed the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery on Columbia’s campus.

 

Warren Hall – Lawyer William C. Warren (1909 – 2000) was taught at Columbia’s Law School from 1948, and was dean there from 1952 to 1970.

 

Watson House – Thomas John Watson, Jr. (1914 – 1993) was head of International Business Machines, after his father and founder of the company. He was also the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union.  He gave tens of millions of dollars to Columbia,and served as a trustee.

 

Watt Hall - Robert W. Watt (1893) - 1976) graduated from Columbia in 1916, was a Columbia trustee from 1929 to 1947, and made a lifetime trustee in 1956. He was chairman and president of Seaboard Surety Company.

 

Wien Hall, originally Johnson Hall – Lawyer and real estate developer, Lawrence A. Wein (1905 - 1988), graduated from Columbia College in 1925, from Columbia’s Law School in 1927, and was a trustee from 1964 to 1970.

 

Woodbridge Hall – Frederick J. Woodbridge (1867 – 1940) was a Dean and Philosophy professor at Columbia.