Glorious to View

During the Season of Dazzling Color, It’s Big Red—and Yellow and Orange

Take a photographic tour of autumn on the Hill, as the academic year gets into high gear and the foliage blazes with vivid hues

By Joe Wilensky

The 1918 edition of the guidebook Concerning Cornell offered a poetic description of fall on the Hill—one both familiar and beloved to generations of alumni before and since.

“In autumn,” wrote geology professor O.D. von Engeln, “October days are marked by the rustle and scurry of fallen leaves which the breezes hurry across the broad lawns, myriad spots of vivid red and yellow color, dancing farewell to summer, on a carpet still velvet green.”

More than a century later, a more fully landscaped campus is arguably even more gorgeous.

McGraw Tower, framed by red maple leaves in the autumn — McGraw Tower, framed in autumn’s splendor.

Notable stars of the season now include the maples (a variety dubbed Autumn Blaze) near Bailey and Roberts halls; the Kentucky coffee and honey locust trees on the Ag Quad; and the birches and maples that surround Beebe Lake.

As the University’s longtime landscape architect, David Cutter ’84, BS ’85, notes, maple trees provide “some of the best and most consistent fall colors on campus.”

Dogwoods, sumac, and viburnums are among the trees and large shrubs that boast bold red foliage; vivid yellows come from the likes of birch, ash, linden, and willow—as well as the ginkgo biloba, which Cutter says “will suddenly drop nearly all their leaves in one day, creating a yellow carpet.”

Scroll down for a photographic tour of the spectacular foliage seen on campus in recent years!

The foliage around Bailey Plaza start to show its true Big Red colors in the fall

Contrasting shades on Bailey Plaza.

Student walks up Libe Slope in autumn with Uris Library and McGraw Tower in the background

Hiking up the Slope amid a blaze of color.

Autumn foliage on Uris Library with the McGraw tower renovation in the background

The tower (currently under restoration) rises above Uris ivy.

People take autumn foliage photos at the bottom of Libe Slope

A “golden hour” photo session at the bottom of the Slope.

Students slacklining on the Ag Quad amid trees displaying fall foliage

In balance on the Ag Quad.

The columns of Schoellkopf Stadium catch the afternoon light in fall

Scarlet scenery highlights pillars of the Schoellkopf Crescent.

Students walk back from class at "golden hour" in the fall

Commuting from class as the sun dips toward the horizon.

an aerial view of trees on Libe Slope making the gradual transition from fall to winter foliage

An aerial view of the Slope.

A goose floats on Beebe Lake on an autumn afternoon

Bold reflections on Beebe.

The Sibley Hall dome framed by autumn foliage

The white of Sibley Dome sets off framing foliage.

A student works on the sunny slope near Uris Hall in autumn

Autumnal angles near Uris Hall.

The Ezra Cornell statue on the Arts Quad during an autumn sunset

The sun sets behind the Ezra statue.

Two people walk through a Myron Taylor Hall archway with fall foliage in the background on an October evening

A view through the Myron Taylor Hall arch.

Aerial fall color scene from around campus

A campus vista, fit for a postcard.

Students stroll through the Ag Quad on a sunny autumn day

Strolling the Ag Quad.

A warm fall color palette is lit by the evening sun outside the Physical Sciences Building

A bronze-hued view of Klarman Hall and the clock tower.

Golden leaves are reflected in Uris Hall's windows

Reflections in Uris Hall.

Students work, hang out, and take in the sunset from the top of Libe Slope in autumn

Awaiting sunset on the Slope.

Afternoon light catches the War Memorial tower as fall colors have begun to appear on the trees

The War Memorial in afternoon light, with Cayuga Lake beyond.

a student crosses the Arts Quad amid fall foliage and fallen leaves near Lincoln Hall

A leafy view of the Arts Quad’s Lincoln Hall.

a dog walker along a yellow leaf-strewn Cascadilla Gorge trail near campus

Two feet (and four paws) on a bucolic path to Collegetown.

People taking autumn foliage photos at the bottom of Libe Slope

Outside the Straight, portraits under a multicolored canopy.

a student climbs the steps of McGraw Hall just before the start of classes with fall foliage, the Arts Quad, and McGraw Tower visible in the background

The McGraw Hall steps on a perfect fall day.

Top: A bird’s-eye view of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail near campus. All images in this story by Cornell University photographers Noël Heaney, Sreang Hok, Jason Koski, and Ryan Young.

Published September 24, 2024

Comments

Betty Oshman Stratton, Class of 1956
1 Oct, 2024

Beautiful!

Reply
- Linda Kelsey, Class of 1960
  1 Oct, 2024
  
  As two Cornell grads, we were married there in 1961 and have returned many times but never to see these wonderful pictures of Fall around the campus. Thanks for the Joy of looking at them.
  
  Reply
Sigrid Hummel, Class of 1981
1 Oct, 2024

Yes, absolutely beautiful the campus in fall colors. Here again for a visit after many years in between!

Reply
Robert Fabbricatore, Class of 1966
1 Oct, 2024

These pictures bring back a lot of memories. I was born and raised on Dryden Road and as a kid spent a lot of time playing in Cascadilla Gorge. The saying in our house was not, “What did the cat drag in?” It was “What did Bobby drag in from the gorge?” The only difference I see is that students have backpacks which makes a lot of sense. Lugging four or five textbooks was cumbersome.

Reply
Leslie Nigel Colborn, Class of 1968
2 Oct, 2024

What a delghtful selection of pictures. Seeing the campus in full autumn glory brought a tear to my eye. Sitting in my soggy, drizzly native England where, after a rainy, cloudy summer and now an equally soggy autumn, your photos gave me a delightful morning boost today. Thank you and greetings to all on campus.

Reply
R, Class of 2019
3 Oct, 2024

These pictures are so ridiculously beautiful and make me so nostalgic for my time at Cornell… I really miss it there

Reply