Morningside Heights campus gates
The Morningside Heights campus gates protect the Morningside Heights campus from the outside world. The 116th Street Gates in particular are a strong architectural symbol of the University, on par with Low Library, The Sundial, and Alma Mater.
Ironically, the iconic 116th Street Gates on Broadway, are not even the campus' oldest gates, and are in fact a relatively recent addition, a gift of George Delacorte along with its mirror twin on Amsterdam Avenue in 1970.[1][2]Each bears a small plaque that reads "May All Who Enter Find Peace And Welcome". The memorial pylons that are integrated into the gates were once freestanding on the sidewalk of 116th street before the construction of College Walk.
Although today gates are an important icon of life at Columbia, in 1942 the Spectator called for ripping them all down and donating them as scrap metal to the war effort.[3]
Contents
Existing external gates
Gates are found at the following locations and are open 24-hours, unless otherwise noted:
| Gate name | Location | Hours |
| Lerner gate | Broadway, between Lerner Hall and Furnald | Always open |
| Class of 1929 (John Jay) gate | 114th St, between John Jay Hall and Butler Library | Always open |
| Class of 1929 (Carman) gate | 114th St, between Carman Hall and Butler Library | Always open |
| Main gate, east | Amsterdam Avenue at 116th St | Always open |
| Main gate, west | Broadway at 116th St | Always open |
| Wien gate | 116th St, between Jerome Greene Hall and Wien Hall | Always open |
| Class of 1906 (St. Paul's Chapel) gate | Amsterdam Avenue at what would be 117th St | Limited hours (closes around 6pm) |
| Class of 1891 (Earl Hall) gate | Broadway at what would be 117th St | Limited hours (closes around 6pm) |
| Class of 1882 Gate | 120th St | Limited hours (closes around 6pm) |
| Taint Gate | Amsterdam Avenue between Hartley and Wallach | Rarely used except during move-in and move-out |
The university sometimes closes select gates during inclement weather, though the 116th Street gates are virtually always open, closing once a year during University Commencement. The gates also close during citywide emergencies such as September 11th.
The pair of gates donated by the Class of 1929 that flank Butler Library on 114th Street were erected in June of 1954, a gift of the Class of 1929 on its 25th anniversary in honor of Columbia's Bicentennial.
Internal historical gates
The North Dutch Church Gates
The oldest gates on Columbia's campus flank the courtyard in front of St. Paul's Chapel and stand on steps leading from St. Paul's to Fayerweather Hall. The three sets of gates originally stood outside the North Dutch Church on the corner of Fulton and William Streets. The church stood from 1769 until its demolition in 1875, and had served as the site of Columbia's Commencement in 1809. The gates, along with the Midtown Campus gate were donated and erected in memory of Abram S. Hewitt CC 1842.
The Midtown Campus Gate
Standing innocuously between Butler Library and John Jay Hall is one of the few relics of Columbia's Midtown campus. The solid looking free standing gates that open onto Weston Plaza once stood on a 49th Street entrance onto campus, just east of Madison Avenue. Like the North Dutch Church Gates, the Midtown campus gate was erected in memory of Abram S. Hewitt.[4]
Former gates
The Grove Gates
Long before the 116th Street gates were erected, the 'gates' on Columbia's campus referred to the three gates that stood around the Grove on the northern part of campus. The only one remaining today is the Class of 1882 gate on 120th Street, hidden behind CEPSR, and designed by Charles McKim. The other 2 gates, among the most ornate gates to grace Columbia's Morningside Heights campus are a distant memory.
The Mapes Memorial Gate, erected by the Classes of 1890-1892 in memory of Henry Mapes, who drowned trying to save a woman's life,[5] stood at roughly 119th Street and Broadway, where the shuttered service entrance between Levien Gymnasium and Chandler Hall is currently located. It suffered serious damage in 1950 when a coal truck drove through it by accident.[6] It was probably demolished in the course of the construction of Levien and Dodge Fitness Center in the Grove.
At the opposite end of the service driveway, which used to be a scenic path through the now-vanished Grove, stood the Class of 1888 Gate, an elaborate gate with separate side gates dedicated to the Arts and Sciences. It too has been replaced by a less than inspiring service entrance between Schermerhorn Extension and Mudd Hall.
External links
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ It's not clear how long those gates have been standing there this[4] CCT article seems to suggest they were installed sometime around 2001, while the plaque on the gate dedicating it to Mr. Hewitt suggests otherwise. Perhaps its been moved or was pulled out of storage like the Hartley Hall stained glass windows that were installed in Hamilton in 2004ish after spending over a half century in storage
- ↑ Pgs. 189-190, Columbia, by Frederick Paul Keppel. In two separate articles the Spectator reports that the gates are named after Herbert Mapes, and John Mapes.
- ↑ [5]
