{"id":53725,"date":"2025-06-20T09:36:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=53725"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:36:27","slug":"collegetown-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/collegetown-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Collegetown 101: How Ezra\u2019s University Shaped a Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A look at the history\u2014complete with photo tour\u2014of how a sleepy 19th-century enclave became the beating heart of off-campus life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask Cornellians from different decades to reminisce about Collegetown, and you\u2019ll quickly discover that it\u2019s not just a neighborhood but a multiverse. For some, the bustling center of off-campus life was populated by landmarks like Jim\u2019s Place, the Squire Shop, and Johnny\u2019s Big Red Grill; for others, it was home to Stella\u2019s, Aladdin\u2019s Natural Eatery, the Chariot, and Pixel Lounge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And of course, many favorite haunts overlap: institutions like Collegetown Bagels, the Triangle Book Shop, the Royal Palm Tavern, Sam Gould\u2019s Collegetown Store, and the Chapter House spanned generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
A lively College Avenue in 1967.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The neighborhood has morphed alongside the University\u2014its growth and development spurring both opportunity and struggles with issues like housing quality, parking, zoning, and noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1971 edition of the Cornell Desk Book<\/em>\u2014a guide published by the New Student Orientation Committee\u2014addressed the neighborhood\u2019s perceived deficits in cheeky fashion, describing Collegetown as the \u201cdistrict directly south of campus containing stores, restaurants, and apartments that would be condemned anywhere else in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
Willow Pond, seen here in the late 1800s, was once a landmark at the north end of Heustis Street (later renamed College Avenue).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And without the University, of course, there would be no Collegetown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Ezra\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a wooden bridge over the gorge connected it to the new campus\u2014whose first entering class of 412 was the largest ever to matriculate at a U.S. university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe institution, and the small village of Ithaca, were unprepared for these numbers,\u201d Kermit Parsons, MRP \u201953, wrote in the 1968 book The Cornell Campus: A History of its Planning and Development<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApparently very few Ithacans anticipated the possibility that renting rooms to students would be profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those early days, some Cornellians lived in the limited number of rooms available in Morrill and White halls.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"pedestrians
rare and manuscript collections<\/figcaption>
Early-20th-century Cornellians cross the bridge to campus as a trolley turns at Sheldon Court in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most students, however, found lodging downtown, regularly hiking up to the new campus by a path through the Ithaca City Cemetery known as the \u201cboneyard cut<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The institution, and the small village of Ithaca, were unprepared for these numbers.<\/p>\nKermit Parsons, MRP \u201953<\/strong>, in The Cornell Campus<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within just a few years, though, Ithaca property owners realized the huge rental income that lodgings closer to campus could generate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the 1870s, multiple large boarding houses were built along Heustis Street (the future College Avenue) and Eddy Street.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Sheldon
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption>
Sheldon Court as it appeared soon after its completion in the early 1900s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As there were not yet dining halls or cafeterias on campus, these houses\u2014which included group meals\u2014quickly became popular. Befitting the more formal times, dinners in the bigger ones were served by white-jacketed student waiters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest of them all, Sheldon Court\u2014built by Ithaca entrepreneur Charles Sheldon Jr. 1901, MA 1902\u2014opened in 1903.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"looking
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption>
Looking south on College Avenue in the early 1970s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The name \u201cCollegetown\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the late 1910s, stores were advertising their convenient addresses near campus in \u201cCollege Town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the late 1910s, stores were advertising their convenient addresses near campus in \u201cCollege Town.\u201d
<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> yearbook featuring the slogan \u201cLose That Frown By Tradin\u2019 Aroun\u2019 In College Town.\u201d And by the end of that decade, \u201cCollegetown\u201d had become the preferred moniker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1936
The cornellian<\/em><\/figcaption>
An ad in the 1936 yearbook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the decades between then and now, Collegetown has been developed and redeveloped numerous times\u2014as modern, higher-rise apartment buildings replaced dated commercial properties and dilapidated frame houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> opened in 2017; and the neighborhood is also home to one of Entrepreneurship at Cornell\u2019s eHubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"aerial
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption>
An aerial view from 1988, shortly after the construction of the Schwartz Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And while Collegetown has lost many of its favorite eateries and bars<\/a> in recent memory\u2014including Rulloff\u2019s, the Nines, the Chapter House, and the Palms\u2014the area continues to evolve and adapt, as it always has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s most exasperating about Collegetown\u2014it\u2019s a culture of quicksilver,\u201d the Ithaca Journal<\/em> observed in 1981. \u201cIt won\u2019t stay still long enough to satisfy those among us who want to savor a certain place or time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scroll down for some little-seen images stretching back generations\u2014and add your own Collegetown memories in the comments!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eddy Street in 1928.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"outdoor
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1979, the prime corner at College and Oak avenues was home to Muggsy\u2019s Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"A
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A World War I-era military parade makes its way up Eddy Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"lettering
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cold treats beckon in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Cornell
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students pick up trash on Community Day in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"a
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Grand View House\u2014a residence at 209 College Ave. built in 1888 and now a designated historic landmark\u2014in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"College
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The view toward campus from the intersection of College Avenue and Dryden Road in 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"A
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A student passes Eddy Gate in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"students
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A hangout with a view in 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"a
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A cobblestoned College Avenue in the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Dryden
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Signs of the times: In the late 1970s, Dryden Road was home to a hi-fi shop and the Royal Palm Tavern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"view
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1984, the current site of the Schwartz Center was mainly a parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"west
History Center in Tompkins County<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A 1970s view of College Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Students
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The in crowd: Students outside Rulloff\u2019s in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"costumed
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Costumed attendees at an event on College Avenue, 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"A
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Collegetown Bagels in its original location\u2014mid-block on College Avenue\u2014in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"pedestrians
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A sidewalk sale outside the Squire Shop, 1967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Top: A horse and buggy from the Student Laundry Agency\u2014the predecessor of Student Agencies\u2014on East Buffalo Street in the late 1800s. (History Center in Tompkins County)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published June 20, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What are your most vivid memories of Collegetown?<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look at the history\u2014complete with photo tour\u2014of how a sleepy 19th-century enclave became the beating heart of off-campus life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":53775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[40625,6692,38905],"footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-53725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cornelliana"],"yoast_head":"\nCollegetown 101: How Ezra\u2019s University Shaped a Neighborhood - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A look at the history\u2014complete with photo tour\u2014of how a sleepy 19th-century enclave became the beating heart of off-campus life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/collegetown-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collegetown 101: How Ezra\u2019s University Shaped a Neighborhood - 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