Building on the past: ESF constructs its identity one new building at a time
Buildings symbolize permanence and timeless stability. But they can also transform, adapting to their constantly changing environment. No school illustrates this better than the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The story of its campus is one of practical, organic growth.
‘When I was a student and all these buildings weren’t here, you could look from the third floor of Bray Hall and see all across Syracuse skyline,’ said Hugh Canham, professor of forest and resource economics.
He recalled his days as an ESF graduate as he strolled across the ESF campus. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1960, Master of Science in 1962 and Doctorate of Philosophy in 1971.
When I was a student that building looked like a brick penitentiary,’ he said, pointing to Baker Laboratory. ‘Now it’s a state of the art lab.’
During its 100 years of existence, the ESF campus continuously developed to accommodate its growing community.
It all started in 1911, when 52 students enrolled at the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. The college was hosted by SU, and classes were held in two classrooms in the basement of Lyman Hall of Natural Sciences on the SU campus, Canham said.
ESF got its first home in 1917 with the construction of Bray Hall, built to accommodate its growing student body and faculty. Canham said that at the time, all SU buildings faced north, butHugh Baker, the first dean of the college, wanted the first ESF building to face west and enable the organization of future buildings to circle the Quad.
‘It was all fields back then,’ Canham said. ‘But Dean Baker envisioned the campus as it is now, the buildings encircling an area in the middle.’
Because state funds to pay for the college’s relocation to Bray Hall were unavailable, almost 200 students and faculty members volunteered their help and completed the move of the college’s books, laboratory equipment and furniture in only two days, Canham said.
In 1933, Marshall Hall’s addition to the campus provided necessary, additional teaching space. Named after Louis Marshall, a renowned constitutional lawyer who helped found ESF in 1911, Marshall Hall housed Marshall Auditorium, Canham said.
‘If it weren’t for Louis Marshall, we wouldn’t be sitting here,’ Canham said inside a classroom in Marshall Hall. ‘He had a great love for the outdoors and convinced the governor to have the college in Syracuse.’
And as time went on, the college kept evolving. Students used Bray Hall’s space as a lab where they produced paper. The entire building would smell like hydrogen sulfide, Canham recalled.
In 1957, Baker Laboratory was dedicated in honor of Dean Baker. It currently accommodates three high-tech lecture halls, six new computer labs and even an updated wood engineering test lab, according to the ESF Campus Tour website.
The ESF campus went through a period of exponential growth in the 1960s with the construction of Moon Library, Illick Hall and Walters Hall.
Called ‘the academic living room’ of the campus because of its comfortable reclining chairs, Moon Library is one of the nation’s best collections of books and learning materials dedicated to the environment and natural resources fields. Together with Illick Hall, it created the ESF Quadrangle. The college’s greenhouses are located on Illick Hall’s roof. With its trimmed grass, the Quad offers a gathering place for the ESF community.
‘The Quad is the centerpiece of our campus, it ties everything together,’ said Johannes Helgren, a sophomore environmental sciences major. ‘People go there to study or just hang out.’
Reaching a milestone with the completion of Centennial Hall in 2011, ESF has come full circle in building a self-sufficient campus that continues to satisfy the needs of a growing community. Its most recent investment was a $30 million student housing project. Centennial Hall houses 452 ESF students who previously had to live in Skyhalls on SU’s South Campus or other off-campus housing.
‘We didn’t mind living with SU students, it was a very broadening experience,’ Canham said. ‘But a dorm does build more community spirit and also solves the space issue.’
With the addition of Jahn Laboratory in 1997 and the Gateway Building that is scheduled for completion in 2012, the campus continues to evolve. The Gateway Building will provide even more space for student gatherings, a cafeteria and a fitness center. But it will also pay tribute to ESF’s commitment to sustainability, producing energy for itself and other buildings on the ESF campus and reflecting the vision of an environmentally conscious institution.
Published on September 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm
