Ithaca College: A Walking Tour of Its Downtown Roots Preview

1

Gossman House

Many of the DeWitt Park buildings once associated with the Ithaca Conservatory are no longer standing. The Gossman House, which housed the Ithaca Institution of Public School Music (1931-1932) and later the Ithaca College Department of Music (1933-1964), once stood at 314 N. Cayuga Street. LISTEN HERE

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2

Conservatory Hall / "The Little Theater" and Administrative Annex

Bordering DeWitt Park to the north of the Boardman House used to be Conservatory Hall/"The Little Theater," a concert hall built in 1913, and an Administrative Annex built in 1917. Both were demolished in 1972. LISTEN HERE

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3

DeWitt Park

DeWitt Park served as Ithaca College's unofficial quadrangle for much of the last century. The park was laid out by early Ithacan Simeon DeWitt and is owned by the First Presbyterian Church. LISTEN HERE

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4

The Boardman House

The Boardman House, at 120 E. Buffalo Street, was associated with the College for more than sixty years. Built as a residence in 1866, it served as the Music Conservatory (1911-1931), College administrative offices, studios, classrooms (1932-1965), and museum (1965-1971). LISTEN HERE

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5

Library/Annex

At 128 East Buffalo Street is the Library/Annex ("County Building C"), built in 1953. Second-story studios for radio and TV were added in 1958 and used until the move to South Hill in 1969. In this aerial-view photo, one can see the Library/Annex--the one-story building to the right of the Boardman House.LISTEN HERE

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6

Ithaca Institution of Public School Music

Across from the Library/Annex, the building at 123 E. Buffalo Street housed the Ithaca Institution of Public School Music before its move into the Gossman House.LISTEN HERE

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7

Williams Hall

At 130 E. Buffalo Street stood Williams Hall, which served at various times as a dormitory, dining hall, and infirmary.LISTEN HERE

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8

The Westminster Block

The Westminster Block, at 321-325 N. Tioga Street, was the dormitory of the Westminster Choir School (temporarily an affiliate) from 1928 to 1931, and thereafter a dormitory for the College until the move to South Hill. LISTEN HERE

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9

Martin Institute for Speech Correction

The Martin Institute for Speech Correction, formely at 311 N. Tioga Street, housed boarding rooms and classrooms for a school of elocution, one of the Conservatory's first affiliates (1921-1936). The building was later a dormitory (1930-1953) for the College. It was demolished in 1976.LISTEN HERE

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10

Unitarian Church

On September 19, 1892, known as Founder's Day, faculty of the Ithaca Conservatory of Music gave a concert in the old Unitarian Church at the corner of Aurora and Buffalo streets. Today, IC students frequently perform in the building's successor, built in 1893. LISTEN HERE

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11

Crescent Theater

The Crescent Theater (215-217 N. Aurora Street), built as a movie palace in 1916, served as one of the College's gyms from 1946 to 1965.LISTEN HERE

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12

Division of Physiotherapy

An apartment complex at Buffalo Street and Terrace Place has replaced the old Division of Physiotherapy, located here in 1946 in a surplus U.S. Army building.LISTEN HERE

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13

Egbert Hall

Next door to the Division of Physiotherapy, at 404 E. Buffalo Street, was Egbert Hall, the residence for many years of the College's founder, William Grant Egbert. Later, it was also a women's dormitory at various points. Both buildings were demolished in the 1970s. A young William Grant Egbert appears in one of the attached photos; he was president of the Ithaca Conservatory of Music from 1892 to 1924.LISTEN HERE

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14

Fountain Place

The President's Home, at 2 Fountain Place, was the residence of Ithaca College presidents from 1938 to 2017. LISTEN HERE

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15

2 Willets Place

The Fountain Place carriage house, at 2 Willets Place, served as the nursing school (1943) and College infirmary (1946) and has most recently been used as an Ithaca College guest house.LISTEN HERE

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16

Griffis Hall

Griffis Hall at 504 E. Buffalo Street served as a women's dormitory from about 1926 to 1965. LISTEN HERE

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17

Newman Hall

Newman Hall, at 503 E. Buffalo Street, was a women's dormitory from about 1926 to 1965.LISTEN HERE

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18

Banks Hall

Banks Hall, at 111 Osmun Place, housed the Westminster Choir School studios in the early 1930s and was later a dormitory. LISTEN HERE

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19

Stewart House

Stewart House, at 204 Stewart Avenue, was once an Ithaca College dormitory. LISTEN HERE

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20

Ithaca City Hospital/Quarry Dormitory/Ithacare

In the 1950s, Ithaca College seriously considered making the building at 115 S. Quarry the cornerstone of a new campus perched above Six Mile Creek. Variously known as the Ithaca City Hospital/Quarry Dormitory/Ithacare Building, the structure was used by Ithaca College as a clasroom, office, and dormitory from 1959 to 1975. It is now the Quarry Arms apartments. LISTEN HERE

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21

Valentine Dormitory

Farther up East Hill on Valentine Place is the former Valentine Dormitory, used by the College from 1959 to 1981. The Valentine Dormitory is top right on the photo. LISTEN HERE

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22

Ithaca College's Infirmary

The building at 603 East Seneca Street was the College's infirmary from 1930 to 1931. LISTEN HERE

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23

Day House

Two blocks down the hill from the College's infirmary is what may be said to be the true birthplace of Ithaca College, the Day House, at 403 E. Seneca Street. The Ithaca Conservatory's first classes were taught here in 1892.LISTEN HERE

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24

Star Theater

Behind the Ithaca Institurion of Public School Music, on East Seneca Street, was the Star Theater, home of the "Seneca Streeters," the Ithaca College basketball players who struggled on the theater's tiny court from 1921 to 1965.LISTEN HERE

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25

Tompkins Trust Company

The Conservatory and College also rented space in the Tompkins Trust Company building at 106 N. Tioga Street. LISTEN HERE

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26

Wilgus Opera House

Many buildings on or near the Ithaca Commons are associated with Ithaca College. The Wilgus Opera House, 155-159 E. State Street (now the site of Center Ithaca) was the headquarters of the Conservatory from 1894 to 1905. Conservatory classes and concerts were also held here at various times during the 1890s and early 1900s. LISTEN HERE

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27

The West Block

The West Block, at 136 E. State Street, housed Conservatory offices in 1893 and from 1905 to 1908. LISTEN HERE

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28

Colonial Building

The Conservatory and College also rented space in the Colonial Building at 109 E. Sate Street.LISTEN HERE

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29

The Lyceum Theater

The Lyceum Theater, whose entrance was located at 113 S. Cayuga Street, was the Conservatory's main performing hall until 1913. The building was L-shaped, and the auditorium was on the site of the current City Hall building at 108 E. Green Street. LISTEN HERE

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30

St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church

St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church, at 120 W. Seneca Street, housed parts of the Department of Music from 1959 to 1966.LISTEN HERE

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31

Conservatory Home for Lady Students

The tour ends at 312 N. Geneva Street, the Conservatory Home for Lady Students, one of the first Conservatory buildings. It served as the Egbert's home, a classroom building, and a dormitory for music students (room and board charges were $5 to $7 a week) during the first decade of the twentieth century.LISTEN HERE

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