Cornelliana Gothic Castle on the Hill: Fascinating Facts about Risley Hall Stories You May Like Feast Your Eyes: The Campus Eateries Visual Quiz The A.D. White House: Andrew’s Abode Is a Campus Gem Which Big Red Ghost Are You? A detail-driven history tour of the beloved campus landmark—from its Hogwarts-style great room to its (rumored) resident ghost By Joe Wilensky It was Cornell’s first expansion across Fall Creek Gorge: Risley Hall opened in 1913 as a residence for women, built in a stately Tudor style within steps of the Thurston Avenue Bridge. More than a century later, the building still has the look of a castle, its gracefully curved driveway marked by slender brick pillars. One of East Hill’s most iconic dwellings, Risley has housed generations of students—and for more than half a century, has served as Cornell’s arts-themed program house. Read on for 14 fascinating facts about Risley Hall! It was named for its benefactor’s mother-in-law! Philanthropist Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, widow of industrialist Russell Sage, enabled construction of the hall via a $300,000 gift. She named it in memory of her late husband’s mother. While Prudence Risley’s portrait is prominently displayed in her eponymous hall, little is known about her life. She was born in Connecticut in 1778, married Elisha Sage Jr. at age 23, and had eight children. She died in 1865, one year after her husband. Sreang Hok / cornell universityPrudence’s portrait overlooks the Great Hall. It helped ensure University housing for women! In the years just before Risley opened, about 400 female students were enrolled at Cornell. But Sage College and Sage Cottage—then the other women’s dorms—only had room for about half that number. The rest lived in small groups in off-campus houses, or locally with their families. “How to bring the ‘outside’ women, as they are called, into closer touch with the life of the University and give them a real share in its many activities, has indeed been a somewhat difficult problem,” a 1911 report by the Advisor of Women noted, “and will doubtless continue to be so, so long as any considerable proportion of them are scattered over the town in very small groups.” By 1914, the addition of Risley’s 150 rooms had brought the vast majority of enrolled women students into campus residences. No two rooms are exactly alike! The building was designed by famed Ithaca-based architect William Henry Miller 1872, who had already created the A.D. White House, Uris Library and its McGraw Tower, Barnes Hall, and dozens of other projects on and off campus. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityThe building contains myriad architectural surprises. For Risley, Miller created a floor plan that ensured that no two bedrooms would be the same; many rooms contained fireplaces, balconies, turrets, and small recesses known as embrasures—in addition to dumbwaiter shafts and even secret stairwells. When the hall first opened, the décor included artwork and numerous common-area furnishings donated by Cornell’s first president, Andrew Dickson White. It satisfied the president’s yen for a ‘Gothic castle’! Having taken several trips to Oxford and Cambridge around the turn of the 20th century, A.D. White was inspired to build more residence halls at Cornell, particularly those in the English Collegiate-Gothic style. Luke Nicolaides / FlickrHampton Court: Architectural inspiration from across the pond. (His views had also been informed by the Gothic quads at Princeton and Penn, as Kermit Parsons, MRP ’53, noted in his 1968 book The Cornell Campus: A History of its Planning and Development.) Risley was modeled after the royal Hampton Court Palace in Middlesex, England, built circa 1699—though it was reportedly scaled back somewhat from early plans that were even grander. Its dining hall has strong Hogwarts vibes! Rare and Manuscript Collections The Great Hall in 1927. The facility, opened as the Risley Great Hall in 1913, was modeled as a scaled-down version of Oxford’s famed Christ Church Refectory—which also inspired the dining hall in the Harry Potter films. It’s home to one of the University’s legendary ghosts! Fondly known as “Auntie Pru,” the specter has long been reported to flit around the building’s hallways and stairwells, flickering the lights and blowing cold drafts. It was the genesis of North Campus! When Risley’s site was being decided, University planners had begun looking at long-range facility needs—and realized that the campus would have to expand beyond Cascadilla and Fall Creek gorges. Rare and Manuscript Collections For its first decade and a half, Risley was the only building on North Campus. A trustee gave Cornell $20,000 to purchase a five-acre parcel just north of Fall Creek Gorge, with Risley ultimately built on its north rim. That marked the first chapter of what would develop into the North Campus residential community over the following century. Stories You May Like Feast Your Eyes: The Campus Eateries Visual Quiz The A.D. White House: Andrew’s Abode Is a Campus Gem It was the University’s first program house! In 1970, Risley became home to the Prudence Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts. It was immediately in demand: its first year, more than 1,000 students applied for fewer than 200 spaces. The co-ed, arts-themed hall remains Cornell’s largest program house—home to dancers, musicians, thespians, and myriad visual artists (though an arts-related major is not a prerequisite for residence there). It features studios and a theater! Risley houses an 80-seat, student-run black box theater and—in a space fondly known as the “dungeon”—there are a dozen artist workshops and studios. ProvidedTake a bow: A show in the black box theater. They include a stained-glass shop; a multimedia studio; a recording studio; a print shop; wood, metal, and scene shops; music practice rooms; a darkroom; a video-editing studio; a sewing shop; and a pottery studio. It has been home to notable alumni! Early residents include photographer Margaret Bourke-White 1927; Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barbara McClintock 1923, PhD 1927; and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ’60. Notable former “Risleyites” from its program house days have included actors Mia Korf ’87 and Christopher Reeve ’74; game designer Andrew Greenberg ’79; writer Matt Ruff ’87; and Olympic ice dancer Jamie Silverstein ’07, BA ’08. It is a magnet for festivals! Risley’s Gothic lines and ample front lawn—along with the artistic bent of its residents—have made it the perfect setting for a plethora of themed events over the years. Rare and Manuscript Collections A pitched battle during a 1974 Medieval fair. Through the ’70s and ’80s, it hosted dozens of Medieval feasts and festivals, Renaissance Fairs, and Oktoberfest celebrations. It welcomes wee witches and wizards! In the early 2000s, Risley became home to a popular annual “Night at Hogwarts,” drawing both Cornell students and local Harry Potter fans. joe wilensky / cornell universityHogwarts night in 2016. It has since become a more generic “Wizard’s Feast”—though Quidditch matches and butterbeer remain. It hosts arts events, from pop culture to classical! Another popular Risley tradition is its twice-annual screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Great Hall, with live accompaniment. (Number 90 on the Daily Sun’s “161 Things Every Cornell Student Should Do” list: dress up and do the “Time Warp” at the show.) Cornell UniversityThe Great Hall provided a classic setting for a production of Don Giovanni. Other events include the Halloween-themed MasqueRave bash, a seasonal performance of Handel’s Messiah, and one-off programs like the Mozart opera Don Giovanni, mounted in period costume in 2008. And … its menu is famous—for what it lacks! In 2017, Risley’s “all you care to eat” dining hall was certified gluten-, peanut-, and tree nut-free. Noël Heaney / cornell universityService with a smile. The allergy-friendly options comprise a wide array of traditional hot entrées along with a stir-fry station, a salad bar, a breakfast and fruit bar, and a dessert station that’s a campus favorite. Top: Risley in 1920. (Rare and Manuscript Collections) Published July 30, 2025 What are your favorite Risley memories? Comments Shelley Page, Class of 1976 1 Aug, 2025 I loved living at Risley. Hands down my favorite dorm! In the 70s, any student could invite professors to eat for free in our iconic dining hall. It was understood that anyone could join the table. So my most memorable was lunch at the table with Carl Sagan. Swoon! I also fondly remember the hilarious Monty Python show including its famous Spam sketch. And the early adopters of Dungeons and Dragons who hung out in the Risley dungeons! Reply Marie Curry, Class of 1980 2 Aug, 2025 I have fond memories of spending Friday and Saturday nights in Risley’s Tammany Hall Coffee House (with live music and mocha chip ice cream). And I wonder what Prudence Risley’s ghost thought of the “Primal Scream” contests that we held in the rotunda outside the “Great Hall” in the late ’70s? (Final exams could be stressful!) Thanks for the article! Reply Judi Friedman Babcock, Class of 1974 5 Aug, 2025 We had a Medieval Fair in the spring of 1974, I think it was an annual tradition at that time. Reply Scott A Sutcliffe, Class of 1975 5 Aug, 2025 CowCliffe’s Coffee is the place for me. Cowcliffe’s Coffee is the place to meet. Cowcliffe’s Coffee is really neat. Cowcliffe’s Coffee can’t be beat! I am 1/2 of CowCliffe’ — I live in Trumansburg The other is Bill Cowdery — He lives in Ithaca We served coffee, donuts, and more every morning for several years and greeted the morning with our theme song. We also read poetry (Winnie the Pooh our favorite), enjoyed daily banter, and laughed a lot. Then we headed off to class. There are two watercolor paintings in CowCliffe’s. They picture a cow and a cliff, drawn by Karen Sandness, also a Risleyite. Reply Lydia Kernitsky, Class of 1972 5 Aug, 2025 Moved from Donlon where I lived freshman year (curfew, no men allowed) to Risley when it first opened for coed living. We had a medieval themed fair and tried roasting a pig in the Risley ovens (obviously, no idea why pigs usually roasted in a pit, outside). After the fair, spent hours trying to clean out the oven where the pig had been roasted. An experience not to be forgotten! I had a small room with bunk beds. Dining was fun with excellent food, no particular carve outs then for allergies, food intolerance. Reply Nancy McKeever, Class of 1961 5 Aug, 2025 Wow…..the dining room reminds me of formal dining in 1957 when I was a freshman. With nine people to a table, no one could leave until everyone was done. I was a slow eater and lost 10 pounds not wanting to keep people sitting there watching me. But, I loved dinner and the conversations. Sometimes I subbed as a waitress, taking orders from nine people, carrying a very large tray on my shoulder, and somehow pushing open the swinging door from the kitchen to the dining room. I had a single room on a long hall with one telephone in the hall that probably 12 people shared. Risley was elegant. I believe there was a grand piano in the living room where people sat down and played. Super fun to recall all this. I too remember the faculty that joined us for dinner. Reply Stuart Lipton, Class of 1972 5 Aug, 2025 So many memories of Risley. I was in the first year of residents when Risley became a program house in 1970. As an elected member of the University Senate and Chair of the University-wide dining committee, I was tapped to run Risley dining those first few years. I was present (but not responsible) for the burnt suckling pig fiasco at the first Renaissance Fair that Lydia Kernitsky mentions in her message, above. We scrambled to order 250 chickens from the main dining service to save the fair dinner that year. The next year, I ran a banquet with 200 live lobsters flown in from Boston – but someone removed the lid, and the lobsters all crawled out of the basement cooler below that epic Hogwarts dining hall. We were finding lobsters all over Risley for days. Coincidentally (or perhaps causally), I later became a neuroscientist/neurologist initially working on lobsters. Who would have known, but years later while on the Harvard faculty, I would be invited to Julia Child’s home for dinner in Cambridge. My wife, Lisa, an attorney by training but chef and sommelier by passion, became the National Chair of Julia’s eating and educational society, the American Institute of Wine and Food. Turns out Risley was a really good training ground for me and our culinary/enology avocation that has followed. Reply Jay Cantor, Class of 1964 6 Aug, 2025 I worked in the dining room my freshman year. I lived in Founders Hall and the only bridge that was open was the suspension bridge. I worked 3 meals, leaving for Risley at 6:30 a.m. and returning to my dorm at 7:30 p.m. I had classes at 8,9,11,12 and a lab from 2 to 4:30.The dining room was presided over by a massive dietician who sternly oversaw the service, with arms folded tightly across her chest. Her diminutive assistant we called Tinkerbell and the robust one, Buddha. When I told her I couldn’t work the weekend before finals, she said I would never work for Cornell again (not true). There was no reading period and finals began on Monday. By chance, all of my exams were on the first day of finals. (one was at night) I fell asleep. But I survived and still remember that the second serving of anything was with a smaller scoop and we couldn’t serve the bacon without the liver! But I did love Risley. Reply Jacqueline Preziose Bower, Class of 1973 7 Aug, 2025 My memory is quite unlike everyone else. I lived in Dickson and then Balch with a view of Risley. While not mentioned in the article, the dormitory was built by Driscoll Brothers, a prominent construction company, not just in Ithaca but also on the Cornell Campus. Their first project was to build the foundation for a poultry barn on the Ag campus. Later projects included Stimson, the original Dairy building, Eddy Gate Arch, the old Ithaca High School now the Dewitt Mall and many others. Risley however was considered the crown jewel of their construction legacy. The company was founded by my great grandfather, Patrick Driscoll and his younger brother, John. Reply Cynthia McDonald, Class of 1976 19 Aug, 2025 I think you will agree that we have much in common. I too lived in Balch my first year at Cornell and am Class of 76. I was disappointed that this article neglected to mention the local builders of Risley. Thanks for providing that information. I am intimately familiar with the details that you shared about them. Wait…it gets better. My great grandfather was John Driscoll of Driscoll Bros. Construction, younger brother to Patrick Driscoll. Hi Cuz!!!! Reply Jacqui Bower, Class of 1973 19 Aug, 2025 Please contact me! Reply John Sieverts, Class of 1984 7 Aug, 2025 I was a Riseyite back in 80-82, and the memories still support me to this day…poker in Cowcliffes,.pizza bagels in Tammany…creating unlikely things.in the theater, so many great people, so many great meals, so much great music played, so many oddities and unexpected little things…Mac building armor in the basement, Andy Greenberg and the first sub-woofer I ever heard, jam sessions with multiple differing styles somehow creating esthetically pleasing sounds…and so much ultimate frisbee…it was a great place to live and study… Reply Barbara (Bonnie) Outwater Phillips, Class of 1964 12 Aug, 2025 I lived in Risley for both my sophomore and junior years at Cornell and have so many wonderful memories of my years there. We had a dorm-mother who lived on the first floor and she locked the door at curfew time which was 10 pm Sunday through Thursday and 12 pm Friday and Saturday. After curfew the front door was locked and you had to ring a bell for the house-mother to let you in (and administer whatever penalty she imposed). When we went to breakfast in the morning a temperature would be posted. Women were not allowed to wear slacks to classes unless the temperature was below a certain degree. Otherwise we had to wear dresses or skirts, and of course always to dinner in the dining room no matter what the temperature. I lived in one of the top towers my junior year. As an English major I had many papers to write which I did at a desk in my tower with my old manual typewriter. In the basement was a dance studio where I studied modern dance with May Atherton who had been a student of Martha Graham. Oh so many wonderful Risley memories!! Reply Jim Hober, Class of 1981 13 Aug, 2025 Risley was the home of our rock band: Better Music Thru Science. We rehearsed there, wrote music there, played our first gig in the theater there. Most of all we had tremendous support from many of our friends / residents there. From that home base we spread out to gigs in downtown Ithaca, Binghamton, Rochester… So grateful! Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni On a Festive Weekend, Homecoming Was Back—and Better than Ever Chime In We Need Anthropologists Everywhere—Especially in AI Quizzes & Puzzles What’s Your Ideal Cornell Date?