A horse and buggy from the Student Laundry Agency—the predecessor of Student Agencies—on East Buffalo Street in the late 1800s. (History Center in Tompkins County) Cornelliana Collegetown 101: How Ezra’s University Shaped a Neighborhood Stories You May Like Johnny’s Big Red Grill Sign Is All Aglow—in Ohio For Half a Century, the U-Halls Shaped the Campus Experience Collegetown Eateries and Watering Holes: A Celebration A look at the history—complete with photo tour—of how a sleepy 19th-century enclave became the beating heart of off-campus life By Joe Wilensky Ask Cornellians from different decades to reminisce about Collegetown, and you’ll quickly discover that it’s not just a neighborhood but a multiverse. For some, the bustling center of off-campus life was populated by landmarks like Jim’s Place, the Squire Shop, and Johnny’s Big Red Grill; for others, it was home to Stella’s, Aladdin’s Natural Eatery, the Chariot, and Pixel Lounge. And of course, many favorite haunts overlap: institutions like Collegetown Bagels, the Triangle Book Shop, the Royal Palm Tavern, Sam Gould’s Collegetown Store, and the Chapter House spanned generations. Rare and Manuscript CollectionsA lively College Avenue in 1967. The neighborhood has morphed alongside the University—its growth and development spurring both opportunity and struggles with issues like housing quality, parking, zoning, and noise. The 1971 edition of the Cornell Desk Book—a guide published by the New Student Orientation Committee—addressed the neighborhood’s perceived deficits in cheeky fashion, describing Collegetown as the “district directly south of campus containing stores, restaurants, and apartments that would be condemned anywhere else in the country.” But as its apartment buildings, shops, restaurants, and watering holes have come and gone over the generations, Collegetown has remained an indelible part of the Cornell experience. Rare and Manuscript CollectionsWillow Pond, seen here in the late 1800s, was once a landmark at the north end of Heustis Street (later renamed College Avenue). And without the University, of course, there would be no Collegetown. When Ezra’s institution opened to students in 1868, the area was a quiet neighborhood of just over a dozen houses, up the steep hill from downtown Ithaca. But a wooden bridge over the gorge connected it to the new campus—whose first entering class of 412 was the largest ever to matriculate at a U.S. university. “The institution, and the small village of Ithaca, were unprepared for these numbers,” Kermit Parsons, MRP ’53, wrote in the 1968 book The Cornell Campus: A History of its Planning and Development. “Apparently very few Ithacans anticipated the possibility that renting rooms to students would be profitable.” In those early days, some Cornellians lived in the limited number of rooms available in Morrill and White halls. rare and manuscript collectionsEarly-20th-century Cornellians cross the bridge to campus as a trolley turns at Sheldon Court in the background. Others lived in Cascadilla Place (now Cascadilla Hall), the stocky building near Eddy Gate in present-day Collegetown that Ezra had built as a water-cure sanitorium, but which was pressed into service as University housing. Most students, however, found lodging downtown, regularly hiking up to the new campus by a path through the Ithaca City Cemetery known as the “boneyard cut.” The institution, and the small village of Ithaca, were unprepared for these numbers. Kermit Parsons, MRP ’53, in The Cornell Campus (Female students would be housed in Sage Hall, which opened in 1875 as Sage College for Women; for many decades, they could only live off-campus by special permission.) Within just a few years, though, Ithaca property owners realized the huge rental income that lodgings closer to campus could generate. Throughout the 1870s, multiple large boarding houses were built along Heustis Street (the future College Avenue) and Eddy Street. History Center in Tompkins CountySheldon Court as it appeared soon after its completion in the early 1900s. As there were not yet dining halls or cafeterias on campus, these houses—which included group meals—quickly became popular. Befitting the more formal times, dinners in the bigger ones were served by white-jacketed student waiters. The largest of them all, Sheldon Court—built by Ithaca entrepreneur Charles Sheldon Jr. 1901, MA 1902—opened in 1903. (Sheldon also was the original owner of the Triangle Bookshop, which occupied part of the ground-floor retail space until it moved across the street when the University purchased the building in the 1950s.) History Center in Tompkins CountyLooking south on College Avenue in the early 1970s. The name “Collegetown” likely came about soon after Heustis Street was renamed College Avenue in spring 1908; the former Hazen Street was renamed Linden Avenue at the same time. By the late 1910s, stores were advertising their convenient addresses near campus in “College Town.” By the late 1910s, stores were advertising their convenient addresses near campus in “College Town.” In an early promotion of the neighborhood as a business district, more than a dozen merchants took out a full-page ad in the 1920 Cornellian yearbook featuring the slogan “Lose That Frown By Tradin’ Aroun’ In College Town.” And by the end of that decade, “Collegetown” had become the preferred moniker. Jump ahead to the mid-20th century: Collegetown had grown into a bustling, diverse community, including an elementary school, shops, restaurants, bars, a church, and some light industry. The cornellianAn ad in the 1936 yearbook. In the decades between then and now, Collegetown has been developed and redeveloped numerous times—as modern, higher-rise apartment buildings replaced dated commercial properties and dilapidated frame houses. The campus itself extended over the bridge with the creation of the Schwartz Center in the late 1980s; the Breazzano Family Center for Business Education opened in 2017; and the neighborhood is also home to one of Entrepreneurship at Cornell’s eHubs. History Center in Tompkins CountyAn aerial view from 1988, shortly after the construction of the Schwartz Center. And while Collegetown has lost many of its favorite eateries and bars in recent memory—including Rulloff’s, the Nines, the Chapter House, and the Palms—the area continues to evolve and adapt, as it always has. “That’s what’s most exasperating about Collegetown—it’s a culture of quicksilver,” the Ithaca Journal observed in 1981. “It won’t stay still long enough to satisfy those among us who want to savor a certain place or time.” Scroll down for some little-seen images stretching back generations—and add your own Collegetown memories in the comments! History Center in Tompkins County Eddy Street in 1928. Rare and Manuscript Collections In 1979, the prime corner at College and Oak avenues was home to Muggsy’s Café. Stories You May Like Johnny’s Big Red Grill Sign Is All Aglow—in Ohio For Half a Century, the U-Halls Shaped the Campus Experience History Center in Tompkins County A World War I-era military parade makes its way up Eddy Street. Rare and Manuscript Collections Cold treats beckon in the 1970s. Rare and Manuscript Collections Students pick up trash on Community Day in 1993. History Center in Tompkins County Grand View House—a residence at 209 College Ave. built in 1888 and now a designated historic landmark—in the 1970s. Rare and Manuscript Collections The view toward campus from the intersection of College Avenue and Dryden Road in 1980. Rare and Manuscript Collections A student passes Eddy Gate in the 1970s. Rare and Manuscript Collections A hangout with a view in 1982. History Center in Tompkins County A cobblestoned College Avenue in the 1930s. History Center in Tompkins County Signs of the times: In the late 1970s, Dryden Road was home to a hi-fi shop and the Royal Palm Tavern. Rare and Manuscript Collections In 1984, the current site of the Schwartz Center was mainly a parking lot. History Center in Tompkins County A 1970s view of College Avenue. Rare and Manuscript Collections The in crowd: Students outside Rulloff’s in the early 1980s. Rare and Manuscript Collections Costumed attendees at an event on College Avenue, 1974. Rare and Manuscript Collections Collegetown Bagels in its original location—mid-block on College Avenue—in the early 1980s. Rare and Manuscript Collections A sidewalk sale outside the Squire Shop, 1967. Top: A horse and buggy from the Student Laundry Agency—the predecessor of Student Agencies—on East Buffalo Street in the late 1800s. (History Center in Tompkins County) Published June 20, 2025 What are your most vivid memories of Collegetown? Comments Elizabeth (Hoare) Cowles, Class of 1982 24 Jun, 2025 One professor held office hours in the Connection; this was when the drinking age was 18. Reply Karen (Pisetzner) Fried, Class of 1990 24 Jun, 2025 I loved Cabbagetown Cafe! That was a special place. Reply John Sanders, Class of 1984 24 Jun, 2025 I lived above Cabbagetown Cafe in my senior year! The photo labeled as Williams Street in 1928 is that very corner (Williams and Eddy streets). Reply Michaline Bruyninckx, Class of 1979 24 Jun, 2025 Oh, yes!! One of my favorite places to meet friends for dinner. Creative burritos with cashews in the filling. Haven’t been able to find a meal that compares! Reply Paul Robbins 24 Jun, 2025 Yes! Julie Jordan, the cafe and her cookbook….. Reply Dr. Jeffrey Berman, Class of 1984 24 Jun, 2025 The Nines had the greatest deep dish pizza I have had in my entire life. Went back in 2004 during my 20th Reunion. I loved that your pizza was delivered on a metal tray from above, probably heaven! Reply John McCarthy 24 Jun, 2025 I spent my undergraduate and graduate years working at Student Agencies. Collegetown dominated my Cornell experience. Favorite spots included Old No 9, Palms, Ruloff’s, Cosmopolitan Diner, pinball at Student Agencies Laundromat, Elba’s, and Pops Place (preceded Mugsys, Olivers and CT Bagels at 415 College Ave). Reply John Hupcey, Class of 1974 24 Jun, 2025 The building pictured as “Eddy Street in 1928” which at that time was “College Book Shop” was, back in the 70s, a store selling natural herbs. I can still picture the woman who ran it. Also, it was interesting to hear that Cascadilla Hall was originally a water cure. During my graduate year I lived on the fourth floor overlooking the creek and the sound of the babbling water was always so soothing that I kept my window open a bit even in the winter! Reply Michaline Bruyninckx, Class of 1979 24 Jun, 2025 Loved the pizza at The Chariot! Reply Harry Petchesky, Class of 1959 24 Jun, 2025 I believe that in our Junior year Steve Friedman, Mike Simonhoff, Neil Janovic, and I lived in 402 Eddy Street, the building shown in the WWI Military Parade. Bo Roberson and Phil Taylor lived on the floor below us. The ground floor was occupied by Leonardo’s a bar with tables, a juke box, and a large dance floor and was a popular hangout for Friday and Saturday night dates. the building which was a fire trap during our occupancy is still there! I hope it has been updated over the past 67 years. Reply Clarence (Larry ) V. La Bonte Jr., Class of 1958 24 Jun, 2025 Hi Harry, You bring up names of teammates and acquaintances I hold dear in my memory…wing tip shoes…regimental ties with buttoned-down shirts and a blue blazer for formal occasions. Clarence V. (Larry)La Bonte Jr. 58′ Reply Jonah Klein, Class of 1990 24 Jun, 2025 The Nines, the Chapter House, Ruloffs, the Palms, and Johnny’s are all lost to history, but, like the Parthenon and the Acropolis, the Souvlaki House endures. Reply Philip Schwartz, Class of 1970 24 Jun, 2025 Wait….! No mention of the Alt Heidelberg, one of my favorite watering holes in the late ’60s. I believe it was on Eddy St. Reply Jennifer Robbins, Class of 1986 24 Jun, 2025 Growing up in Ithaca and attending Cornell in the mid-80s, my favorite Collegetown spots were The Chariot, The Nines, Oliver’s, C’town Bagels, Cravings ice cream shop, Souvlaki House, Discount Records, Rebop Records. Sophomore and Junior years I lived at 407 College Ave. above Discount Records where we had a front row seat to the Phi Psi 500! Reply John Alic, Class of 1963 24 Jun, 2025 Where’s a photo of Jim’s Place, prime 1960s hangout? 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