Buell Hall is an academic building on the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsi ...

campus of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Built in 1885 as Macy Villa, it is the oldest building on Columbia's campus, and the last remaining building at Columbia which dates back to the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, on whose grounds the university is now located. It now houses La Maison Française, the oldest French cultural center on an American university campus, as well as the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture of the

Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) is the architecture school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. It is also home to the Masters of Science program in Advanced Architect ...

History

Buell Hall was constructed in 1885 on a plot between 116th and 120th streets to serve as a home for the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum's wealthy, male patients. Designed by Ralph Townsend, it was originally named Macy Villa, after businessman William H. Macy. In 1892, the hospital sold the building and the land on which it sat to Columbia University, which was in the process of relocating from its

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

campus to its current location in Morningside Heights. It was renamed College Hall, and was used for a short period of time by the Columbia men's crew team beginning in 1895, after which it housed Columbia College until the completion of Hamilton Hall in 1907. Upon the completion of Hamilton Hall, College Hall was physically moved back in order to make room for Kent Hall, and was renamed East Hall. Over the next half century it would house various parts of the university administration, as well as the Alumni Council. In 1956 it became the main building for the

Columbia University School of General Studies The School of General Studies (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, Borough (New York City), New York City. GS is known prima ...

. The Maison Française, its current occupant, moved in during 1977. It was finally renamed Buell Hall in 1983 after architect and alumnus Temple Hoyne Buell, who donated $5 million towards the creation of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture; the center moved into Buell Hall in 1990, following an extensive renovation of the building.

References

{{Columbia University Columbia University campus University and college buildings completed in 1885 Relocated buildings and structures in New York City