Glorious to View Something Old, Something New: East Hill, Then & Now Check out our ‘sliding’ photo feature—where you can compare campus past and present, side by side As the saying goes: the more Cornell changes, the more it stays the same. At Cornellians, we wanted to celebrate both the similarities and the differences of East Hill over the decades. So we dug up a collection of vintage images and teamed up with our photography colleagues to produce a series of “then and now” shots. This story is the first in an occasional series in which readers can segue from past to present and back again—simply by sliding the arrow at the center of the image to the left or right. Note: If you’re reading on mobile, hold your phone horizontally for the most slider-friendly view! McGraw Tower (now under scaffolding) and the southern edge of the Arts Quad, viewed from the driveway of A.D. White House. This block of College Avenue—once home to Rulloff’s, Oliver’s, and Collegetown Bagels—now hosts an Ithaca Beer brewpub. Did you know that the north wing of Goldwin Smith Hall was originally a standalone building that housed Dairy Science? Aerial views show the many changes of a growing campus. In 1891, the tower gazed down upon cows grazing at the bottom of the Slope. Phillips Hall once stood alone on the north edge of the Engineering Quad; today, it’s joined by Duffield. Vintage images by Rare and Manuscript Collections; current photos by Jason Koski and Ryan Young / Cornell University. Published August 19, 2024 Comments Elizabeth Cowles, Class of 1982 21 Aug, 2024 Thank you for posting these pictures. My paternal grandmother (1927) and maternal grandfather (1924) and father (1956) would recognize the older pictures. Reply David, Class of 2018 21 Aug, 2024 It’s so fun to see how many buildings have just been attached to existing halls, and just using wildly different styles. I don’t even mind it, I think it’s a fun effect! Reply James Morey, Class of 1990 27 Aug, 2024 Am I the only one who finds the older pictures (especially the one of Collegetown) more happy and appealing? Sic transit gloria mundi. Reply Michael Tannenbaum, Class of 1975 27 Aug, 2024 I strongly agree, although the 1970s-era Engineering Quad buildings were pretty ugly! I rue two trends that I feel have dimished the campus’ beauty: filling in open spaces and too many different architectural styles. Reply Toni Naeser, Class of 1985 29 Aug, 2024 Yes. We went back this summer. We did not like Collegetown at all. ☹️It lost the charm that it had with the quirky buildings, bars and restaurants. You can tell from the older photo. That brick building with the brewpub? 😖 Reply John McCarthy 15 Sep, 2024 Couldn’t agree more all the development in Collegetown has come at the cost of its quirky, hedonistic vibe. Reply Gary Horowitz, Class of 1978 15 Oct, 2024 Agree. Collegetown was fun and charming and now it is depressing. Reply Duane Sherman, Class of 1983 16 Sep, 2024 Totally agree. Change is inevitable I suppose, and all change it not bad, but not all change is good either. Reply James, Class of 1974 18 Sep, 2024 That brewpub in Collegetown has been abandoned already. Ithaca Beer Co ran it a few years, never very well, and has decided to quit the site already. So much for “something new.” . . . Reply John Kaprielian, Class of 1986 17 Sep, 2024 Totally agree. Collegetown now seems quite sterile, and frankly, I wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time there. The older Collegetown shot in that photo looks very much like my time at Cornell (80s) but I think the image is quite a bit older. Reply Gary Stell, Class of 1975 27 Aug, 2024 I remember the Elm trees in the early ’70s. But they were already diseased then. Reply Sara Poor, Class of 1985 27 Aug, 2024 I feel a little sad that oliver’s, ruloff’s, and college town bagels are all gone… :-(( Reply L.Wicks, Class of 1990 27 Aug, 2024 Agree; the current picture in collegetown looked so sad and empty! Reply Brinda Govindan, Class of 1989 27 Aug, 2024 Me too! Reply Caroline Hecht, Class of 1976 27 Aug, 2024 And before it was Oliver’s, it was Pop’s Place – if I’m remembering right. Reply Paula Amols, Class of 1975 16 Sep, 2024 Collegetown Bagels isn’t really gone, its morphed into a local mini-empire, and there’s a new, much larger one across the street from where the old one was on College Ave. And before it moved across the street, it had moved into the space that used to be Pop’s Place, on the corner. Reply Lindsay Forness, Class of 1984 29 Aug, 2024 College Town Bagels isn’t gone, it just moved across the street. No worries 🙂 Reply Liz H 15 Sep, 2024 Same. CTB was an institution and daily stop when I was there. Sad I can’t ever take my girls. Reply Rosalea Postma-Carttar 27 Aug, 2024 If the dates of the past photos were given, I missed them. I think that’s important information. Thanks for the feature, in any case. Reply David Harding, Class of 1972 27 Aug, 2024 I totally agree that dates would be very interesting. I was looking for them. It would also have been nice to see not-quite-current photos of Libe Tower without the scaffolding, though the closer the match to the early camera position and angle the better. Reply John Kaprielian, Class of 1986 17 Sep, 2024 Agree 100% – need dates! Reply John [Jack] Dwyer, Class of 1964 27 Aug, 2024 Collegetown is a special place to me. Lived in Sheldon Court[emergency housing] my freshman year. Zinks was across the street a short walk to Johnnies Big Red and the iconic Palms where I had my first beer, not quite 18 legal drinking age back when the earth’s crust was cooling.All 3 children,all Cornellians, also de stressed at the Palms.Long walk to ag quad for those 8 o’clocks. How about a picture of Quonset huts on eng. quad.Seems like a million years ago yesterday. Reply Diane Bishop Hanson, Class of 1959 27 Aug, 2024 I loved these! Perhaps you could do more! But my memories will always be from 1955-1960. And I now understand why I feel so disoriented when I come bcak to campus. Reply Charles Montagna, Class of 1968 13 Sep, 2024 I agree – I was also there when there were still dinosaurs – from 1964 to 1971, there were profound changes – it went from fraternities and 3 piece suits and pipes to to protests and khakis and long hair. Reply Sharon Holland Loucks, Class of 1987 28 Aug, 2024 Love these ‘then and now’ photos–so fascinating to see the changes. And I agree photo dates would be much appreciated. Thanks for putting this together. Look forward to more. Reply Jackie Male Greenwalt, Class of 1970 15 Sep, 2024 Wonderful photos of “then” and “now”…almost a little scary for me. I was there from 1966-1970 and I haven’t been back since my 25th(?) reunion. My sister, who entered Cornell 6 years after me, in 1972, laughs when she sees the picture of me headed off to college in a suit! Everything changed pretty quickly for those of us there in the late 60s. But I think I would miss all the trees and lawn that we walked through to get to class. Reply Howard Rakov, Class of 1965 15 Sep, 2024 Back the 1970’s the “powers” were using “silting in” as an excuse to fill in Beebe Lake to make a place for more buildings🤡…. My letter to the Alumni News stirred up a hornets nest of angry Alumni /Donors .., and thankfully killed that brilliant idea. Open Space was always the beauty of Cornell ( compared to all other Ivy Leagues … except Dartmouth . ). Each decade that becomes more nostalgia as it further goes missing forever !! SAD !! Reply Rich Saltz, Class of 1973 16 Sep, 2024 While I miss the Cornell that I knew (1969-1974), I am glad to see the University is developing, changing and growing in Ithaca. Yes, I miss the open spaces but there are still hidden spaces students find to relax. Collegetown is a huge disappointment. But if students and locals don’t support the businesses, they have to change too. I miss Triangle book store, Discount Records, the IGA, Pops (and there was another eating place across the street) and the bars – all the stuff that made it a “college town”. At least Fontanas and Souvlaki House are still on Eddy Street. Reply John Kaprielian, Class of 1986 17 Sep, 2024 So much has disappeared from C-Town. For me the loss of The Nines, with good food and live music, was huge (it survived for so long!), but the loss of the IGA, lousy as it was, means it is harder to live and shop in C-town (and making having a car more necessary in an already crowded area). There was so much more nightlife in C-town that seems to have moved down the hill to Restaurant Row, which used to be a pretty quiet part of town. But what student on West campus, or, God forbid, a Freshman on N. Campus is going to drag himself downtown for a few hours? Collegetown used to be a mini Downtown with everything you needed. Sad. Reply Harvey Montaguec 16 Sep, 2024 A beautiful campus with old and new architecture joining hands, the open spaces and landscape make it truly a wonderful combined with spectacular views. I enjoyed my 6.5 years on campus and became part of the Ithaca polis working on TG Millers and the Junior High schools with Anton Egber AIA Architect, Love to see my Ithaca Inlet Point Urban Design become part of the City of Ithaca urban fabric, GOOD MEMORIES Harvey Montague B Arch’68 MArch ‘71 Reply Nathan Weiss, Class of 1980 16 Sep, 2024 My father, Charley Weiss, A&S ’44, told me that he used to run from Day Hall through the woods to Barton Hall and Schoellkopf for practice. As he and my wife, Shelley Goldstein Weiss, A&S ’79 shared reunion years, we last went with him 20 years ago for his 60th. Even those intervening 20 years to today have wrought major changes on the landscape. Reply Steve Schmal, Class of 1962 17 Nov, 2024 As both a townie and a Cornellian, I remember the campus and Collegetown as they were and am somewhat saddened. That Cornell has grown was probably inevitable. But I’m not enamored with the style of many of the newer buildings, basically a mishmash, nor with the diminished open and green space. I think we can be thankful that most of the iconic buildings on campus remain. As for Collegetown, I never spent much time there but the older, funkier version was better. And lots of changes in the rest of Ithaca have been similar. 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. 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