A walk through the origins and transformations of what generations in recent history have called the “ad building”
1891
James B. Colgate Library from hill, circa 1900
The many lives of the “ad building”
For many alumni living today, James B. Colgate Hall is likely the first building they ever entered on campus; generations of prospective students and their families have passed through its arched entrance-ways to the admission lobby. But, the stately structure’s first floor wasn’t always the gateway to learning about the university’s offerings. Originally, it was the James B. Colgate Library — the gateway to knowledge of all kinds.
For more than 70 years after the university’s founding, the campus lacked a true library. A small collection existed in one room of Alumni Hall, but few students or faculty found it adequate to support their needs. As early as 1822, the board asserted: “The formation of a good library is deemed of vital importance to the successful progress of any literary institution.”1 Financial circumstances, however, were lean in the school’s early years and it struggled to buy books, yet alone construct a building. In fact, in 1830, students agreed to give up tea and coffee with their meals so that the money saved could be “devoted to the enlargement of the library.”2
Finally, in January 1891, a stately building of brown and blue stone, designed by architect Edwin A. Quick, was opened as the university’s library. James B. Colgate, the building’s namesake (a trustee since 1861), had offered to provide a fireproof home for the institution’s library holdings. Colgate historian Howard D. Williams ’30 called it “perhaps the most imposing, and certainly the most durable structure of the Dodge period [President Ebenezer Dodge, 1868–90].”3 By the early 1930s, the burgeoning collection was outgrowing the library’s capacity. Its replacement structure was dedicated in 1959 and named for President Everett Needham Case in 1962.
Did you know?
Some books in the current library’s collections still bear the special “Anti-Tea” bookplates from the 1830s.
For a short while after Case Library opened, James B. Colgate Hall served as home to the Romance languages department. But in October 1963, a major fire destroyed another building, the old Colgate Academy, which had housed the university’s administrative offices. An extensive renovation — including the addition of another floor — turned J. B. Colgate Hall into the new “ad building,” the workplace for administration and staff members from a variety of departments, including the president’s office.
Another major renovation, in 2014, transformed the building’s vaulted spaces. Thanks to the generosity of Dan ’86 and Ellie Hurwitz P’17 and other alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends, the Hurwitz Admission Center fosters a campus visit that honors Colgate’s history while demonstrating the student experience on campus and around the world — and the power of a Colgate degree.
Colgate’s Cornerstone
James B. Colgate speaks to the crowd at the laying of the cornerstone for the library that bears his name. By Henry Hill, 1889
Under Construction
James B. Colgate Library cost $140,000 to build. By Henry Hill, 1889.
On the farm
Colgate historian Howard Williams ’30 noted that the “spot ultimately chosen [for James B. Colgate Library] had been the farm of Daniel Hascall, who will be remembered as one of the Thirteen Men and the first teacher.”4 By Edward H. Stone, circa 1900.
On the farm
Colgate historian Howard Williams ’30 noted that the “spot ultimately chosen [for James B. Colgate Library] had been the farm of Daniel Hascall, who will be remembered as one of the Thirteen Men and the first teacher.”4 By Edward H. Stone, circa 1900.
Lost in time
Several yellowed handwritten notes in the university archives’ files on the building detail an intriguing list of names, from authors to Greek goddesses, indicating plaster casts from the Caproni Catalog. But what has become of Victor Hugo, St. George, Niobe, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the others? Today, the whereabouts of the statues that graced the reading room and loggia is a mystery. By Edward H. Stone, circa 1900
Circa 1950
Hitting the books on the first floor By Bill Helms
Down and out
Workers built a conveyor track system to transport the tens of thousands of pounds of books from James B. Colgate Library to the new Everett N. Case Library in 1958. By Oran B. Stanley, 1958
From the hill
James B. Colgate library from hill, circa 1900.
“Romanesque-American”
Architect Edwin Quick, who was a neighbor of James B.’s in Yonkers, N.Y., called his design “Romanesque-American” style. By Andrew Daddio, Office of Communications
Editor's note: This article originally published in the Colgate Scene.
Notes & Sources
Endnotes
Annual report, 1822, Baptist Education Society of the State of New York records, A1010, Special Collections and University Archives, Colgate University
Annual report, 1830, Baptist Education Society of the State of New York records, A1010, Special Collections and University Archives, Colgate University
Howard D. Williams, A History of Colgate University 1819–1969. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969
Ibid.
Images in order of appearance
1. Colgate University photograph collection, A0999, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
2–3. Henry Hill photograph collection, A1297, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
4–5. Buildings and Grounds collection, A1000, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
6. Edward H. Stone photograph collection, M2010, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
7. Buildings and Grounds collection, A1000, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
8. Buildings and Grounds collection, A1000, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
9. Colgate University photograph collection, A0999, Colgate University Special Collections and Archives
