Cornelliana After a Temporary Relocation, AAP’s Green Dragon Café Reopens Stories You May Like Dragon Day Marks its 125th Anniversary, in Roaring Style What Building a Dragon Taught Me About Collaboration A Spring Flashback, from Extinct Eateries to Departed Dragons Abstract murals and the famed tin-can ceiling still grace the upgraded Sibley Hall eatery, beloved by generations of Cornellians By Joe Wilensky The Green Dragon has returned to its rightful home. Not the mythical Dragon Day beast, which won’t reappear on campus until spring, but an homage in name and spirit: the Green Dragon Café, which has reopened on the lower level of Sibley Hall. Due to major renovations to Sibley Dome over the past two years, the popular café at the heart of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning had to temporarily relocate. The displaced eatery, dubbed the “Dragon Annex,” had set up operations in an out-of-the-way corner of nearby Milstein Hall. The coffeehouse, then called the Green Dragon Room, in the mid-1970s. Meanwhile, its space in Sibley—famously down a half-flight of outdoor stairs—has gotten its own refresh and some needed updates, while preserving the café’s character, aesthetics, and history. The Green Dragon now boasts updated plumbing fixtures, a new countertop, and upgraded electrical capacity, reportedly to support a truly industrial-grade coffee brewer. Other improvements will make cleaning and maintenance easier and more efficient for the student workers who run it. The café has gotten a refresh and some needed updates while preserving its character, aesthetics, and history. Today, the café offers Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters java and a menu of grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, pastries, and desserts. (Check the Cornell Dining site for hours and info.) Once called the Sibley Lounge or Sibley Cellar, the space has a long history as a student hangout and AAP exhibition space. Caffeine, with Character: The Green Dragon Returns (Story continues below.) The iconic mural still dominates one wall. The café got some electrical and equipment upgrades. Students have long run the coffeehouse. Stories You May Like Dragon Day Marks its 125th Anniversary, in Roaring Style What Building a Dragon Taught Me About Collaboration The space retains its artsy and eclectic vibe. According to the Daily Sun, in spring 1968 it suddenly “metamorphosed into the newest addition to the coffeehouse movement at Cornell,” thanks to a $100 advance from the college dean and several days of students’ round-the-clock efforts to transform it. According to the Daily Sun, in spring 1968 the space suddenly “metamorphosed into the newest addition to the coffeehouse movement at Cornell.” “Where one week ago there were just a few lonely pieces of furniture sitting on a paint-splattered brick floor,” the paper reported, “today there is a café that sells everything from hot chocolate and cigarettes to pistachios and matzohs.” The walls of the new spot, at first called the Green Dragon Room, featured several large, abstract paintings and a mural of the eponymous beast, created by then-art department chair J.O. Mahoney. While the original ceiling remains, the café is no longer home to classical statuary. The café was an immediate hit, becoming a hangout and hub where students and faculty from all AAP disciplines mingled. In addition to the wall art, the space sported a student-designed ceiling made of empty tin cans repurposed from Cornell Dining, through which minimalist lighting added to the coffeehouse vibe. The café was an immediate hit, becoming a hangout and hub where students and faculty from all AAP disciplines mingled. In March 1974, student managers codified the café’s laidback reputation with an honor they dubbed the First Annual Green Dragon Café Champion Lounger Award. The trophy—a bronzed mug sporting a residue of coffee grounds—went to Jeff Clark ’73, BArch ’74, then a fifth-year architecture undergrad. Perhaps befitting an award that celebrates inactivity, there’s no record of the honor ever being bestowed again. (All current images by Sreang Hok / Cornell University; vintage photos courtesy of Rare and Manuscript Collections.) Published October 15, 2026 What are your memories of the Green Dragon Café? 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 Quizzes & Puzzles It’s Your Jam: Test Your Knowledge with a Big Red Music Quiz Cornelliana Remembering Cornell’s Elms, Once the ‘Mighty Monarchs’ of the Hill Alumni This Alum’s Business Is About Overcoming Obstacles—Literally