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. Morningside ...

campus of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 The Bloomingdale Insane Asylum (1821–1889) was an American private hospital for the care of the mentally ill, founded by New York Hospital. It was located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, where Columbia U ...

, 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.

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, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

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, Columbia University (GS) is a liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such c ...

. 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 Temple Hoyne Buell (September 9, 1895 – January 5, 1990) was an American architect, real estate developer and entrepreneur namesake of the Buell Theatre in Denver Center Complex, Buell & Company, and the Temple Buell Foundation. Buell was bor ...

, 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