or many alumni, James B. Colgate Hall is likely the first building they ever entered on campus. Generations of prospective students and their families have passed through its arched entranceways to the admission lobby. But, the stately structure wasn’t always the gateway to learning about the university’s offerings. Originally, it was the James B. Colgate Library — the gateway to knowledge of all kinds. Constructed of brown and blue stone, it opened in January 1891. The building’s
namesake (a trustee since 1861) had offered to provide a fireproof home for the library. Colgate historian Howard D. Williams ’30 called it “perhaps the most imposing, and certainly
COLGATE’S FRONT By Rebecca Costello
the most durable structure of the Dodge period [President Ebenezer Dodge, 1868-90].” By the early 1930s, the burgeoning collection was outgrowing the library’s capacity. Its replacement structure was dedicated in 1959 and named for President Everett Needham Case in 1962. For a short while after Case Library opened, James B. Colgate Hall served as home to the Romance languages department. But in October 1963, a major fire destroyed another building, the old Colgate Academy, which had housed the university’s administrative offices. An extensive renovation — including the addition of another floor — turned J.B. Colgate Hall into the new “ad building” (as many refer to it today, although it’s up for debate whether “ad” stands for “administration” or “admission”). Another major renovation just this past year has transformed the building’s vaulted spaces. Thanks to the generosity of Dan ’86 and Ellie Hurwitz P’17 and other alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends, the Hurwitz Admission Center fosters a completely reimagined campus visit that honors our history while demonstrating the student experience on campus and around the world — and the power of a Colgate degree. “Colgate has been extraordinary to me,” said Dan Hurwitz at the center’s dedication ceremony. “I thought it was really important that we had a front door to Colgate that showed everyone what a special place this is.”
Photography by Andrew Da
1890
Colgate historian Howard Williams ’30 noted that the “spot ultimately chosen [for James B. Colgate Library] had been the farm of Daniel Hascall, who will be remembered as one of the Thirteen Men and the first teacher.”
James B. Colgate Library cost $140,000 to build.
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scene: Summer Summer 2014