Founder's Hall was the first building built on the campus of

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

at 66th Street and York Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City. Built between 1903 and 1906, it represents an instance of one of John D. Rockefeller's largest scale efforts at

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and housed the nation's first major biomedical research laboratory. Construction costs for Founders, which included an Animal housing facility and a powerhouse were $276,000. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. The building is now mainly used for school offices.

Description and history

Founder's Hall is located near the center of the campus of Rockefeller University on Manhattan's Upper East Side, between the end of 66th Street and

FDR Drive The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park ...

. It is a steel-framed five story building, its exterior finished in gray brick with limestone trim. It has Classical Revival styling, with broad pilasters separating groups of window bays, and an entrance with a portico supported by Ionic columns. It was built in 1903 to a design by the architectural form Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) amassed one of the greatest fortunes of the late 19th century in the oil business, from which he retired in 1897. His efforts at philanthropy were formally guided from 1891 by

Frederick T. Gates Frederick Taylor Gates (July 22, 1853, Maine, Broome County, New York – February 6, 1929, Phoenix, Arizona) was an American Baptist clergyman, educator, and the principal business and philanthropic advisor to the major oil industrialist John D. ...

, a Baptist minister who had previously (1889) recommended to Rockefeller that he establish the University of Chicago. Much of Rockefeller's early philanthropy was on a comparatively small scale, and it was soon clear that larger-scale endeavors needed to be organized to properly guide his charitable giving. Gates suggested to Rockefeller that he establish a medical research institute that would be on a par with major European institutions of the period. In June 1902, Rockefeller made a commitment of $1 million to establish such an institute. In 1903 he purchased the former Schermerhorn estate, which is now the university's core campus. Founder's Hall was one of the first three buildings on the campus, housing its principal research laboratories.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in New York National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan School buildings completed in 1906 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Rockefeller University Upper East Side 1906 establishments in New York City

Description and history

See also

References