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)

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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.

A sidewalk scene in Collegetown, 1967 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

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.

the wooden Willow Creek Bridge crosses Willow Pond, then located at "Pop's Corner" at the north end of Heustis Street (later renamed College Avenue) at it appeared in the late 1800s — Rare and Manuscript Collections

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.

pedestrians cross the bridge in Collegetown to campus, with a trolley car and Sheldon Court in the background, early 1900s — rare and manuscript collections

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.

Sheldon Court soon after its construction in the early 1900s with trolley tracks visible in front — History Center in Tompkins County

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.)

looking south on College Avenue, with a view of the Collegetown Motor Lodge, early 1970s — History Center in Tompkins County

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.

1936 ad in the Cornellian yearbook says "You'll enjoy shopping in Collegetown: Collegtown is the front door to the campus and is the logical shopping center for Cornellians. Your every need can be economically supplied by Collegetown merchants." — The *cornellian*

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.

aerial photo of Collegetown shortly after the construction of the Schwartz Center, 1988 — History Center in Tompkins County

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!

The College Book Shop and adjacent storefronts as they appeared along the west side of Eddy Street, 1928 — History Center in Tompkins County

Eddy Street in 1928.

outdoor dining patio at Muggsy's Café at College and Oak avenues, 1979 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

In 1979, the prime corner at College and Oak avenues was home to Muggsy’s Café.

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A military parade during World War I on Eddy Street — History Center in Tompkins County

A World War I-era military parade makes its way up Eddy Street.

lettering on a bus stop shelter "Ice cream made fresh daily on the premises" along College Avenue in the 1970s — Rare and Manuscript Collections

Cold treats beckon in the 1970s.

Cornell students pick up trash in Collegetown during Community Day in 1993 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

Students pick up trash on Community Day in 1993.

a longtime Collegetown landmark, the five-story, 19th- century Grand View House at 209 College Ave. and known as "the White Elepant," as it appeared in the 1970s — 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.

College Avenue, looking north at Dryden Road, with views of Sam Gould's Collegetown Store and the Triangle Book Shop, 1980 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

The view toward campus from the intersection of College Avenue and Dryden Road in 1980.

A student runs across Eddy Street with Eddy Gate visible in the background, 1970s — Rare and Manuscript Collections

A student passes Eddy Gate in the 1970s.

students sit outside on the roof of the Vineyard at the Student Agencies building, 1982 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

A hangout with a view in 1982.

a cobblestoned College Avenue just south of the intersection with Dryden Road, 1930s — History Center in Tompkins County

A cobblestoned College Avenue in the 1930s.

Dryden Road, with the Royal Palm Tavern and Tech Hifi storefronts, late 1970s — 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.

view of the parking lot and empty lot at College and Oak avenues several years before the construction of the Schwartz Center, 1984 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

In 1984, the current site of the Schwartz Center was mainly a parking lot.

west side of College Avenue just south of Sheldon Court, early 1970s — History Center in Tompkins County

A 1970s view of College Avenue.

Students gather on a bench on College Avenue outside Rulloff’s in the early 1980s — Rare and Manuscript Collections

The in crowd: Students outside Rulloff’s in the early 1980s.

costumed attendees enjoy an event along College Avenue with the Triangle Book Shop in the background, 1974 — Rare and Manuscript Collections

Costumed attendees at an event on College Avenue, 1974.

A streetside view of Collegetown Bagels in its original location on College Avenue in the early 1980s — Rare and Manuscript Collections

Collegetown Bagels in its original location—mid-block on College Avenue—in the early 1980s.

pedestrians browse merchandise during a sidewalk sale on College Avenue outside the Squire Shop, 1967 — 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