Columbia Oval

The Columbia Oval (also known as the Williamsbridge Property) was a 17 acre piece of property located on both sides of Gun Hill Road east of Bainbridge Avenue in what is now the Norwood section of the Bronx (and once upon a time the Williamsbridge neighborhood). Columbia's one time presence in the neighborhood is still indicated by the presence of "King's College Place" within the footprint of the property. The property had served at times as Columbia's athletics facility before the adoption of South Field as an athletic field, and was sold after acquisition of the land that would become the Baker Athletic Complex in the Inwood neighborhood at the northern tip of Manhattan.

History of the site

The Williamsbridge property was originally acquired by the Association of the Alumni of Columbia College after it was determined that the Wheelock property was unsuitable for athletics use. The Association planned on using income from the property to pay the mortgage and interest on bonds purchased by alumni, but the income never met expenses. After a few years of getting the trustees to cover the costs, the Association deeded over to the University in October 1896. It's not clear when precisely the Alumni Association originally acquired the property, but the property appears to have opened for athletic use in the fall of 1891. According to a report by the "Director of the Gymnasium," in 1902 the Oval was in use by the track, lacrosse, and class baseball teams. A number of outside organizations also leased the grounds, including a "Columbia Oval Cricket Club," a number of local private schools, and the firm baseball team of Columbia campus architects McKim, Mead, and White.

Problems with the site and its conditions

Students and alumni generally supported improvements to the oval, though they were rarely carried out. Strangely, one of the reasons they expressed so much interest in the construction of bleachers and other amenities was so that they could lure the Princeton-Yale football game. Opprobrium came from the outside world as well; among the issues complained of was the lack of adequate separation between the running track and the spectator area, causing The Illustrated American to emote that "there is nothing to hinder the entire audience from roaming all over the field if they are so disposed...This is a difficulty that should be remedied before any more games are held on Columbia Oval."

Its condition notwithstanding, it was considered too far from the university (the trip was called "devious" and said to require "three changes of cars") to serve as an appropriate facility, and, along with South Field being too crowded, forced the university to lease Manhattan Field (the former Polo Grounds).

Hospital use, football proposal, and sale

For a period during the First World War, the site was home to the Columbia War Hospital.

The Oval was considered as an alternative site for the construction of a football stadium in place of the planned (but never built) Riverside Park Stadium. But once the land that Baker is located on was acquired by the University, the Trustees ordered the sale of the Oval property, which was subdivided and sold off.

Trivia

The United States' first marathon ended there, after a run from Stamford, Connecticut, in 1896.

The Williamsbridge Oval, a New York City public park with recreation facilities located immediately to the south of where the Columbia Oval was located, is completely unrelated. The Williamsbridge Oval had previously been a reservoir. When it was drained in the 1930s, it was eventually converted into a park.

External links

• 1921 Map of the area The location of the Oval was the upper left; the unfilled-in streets were being planned at that time. Columbia also owned some property on the side of Gun Hill Rd. closer to the Williamsbridge Reservoir, which it sold along with the Oval properties.