By Adnaan Elahi
Located in the heart of New York City, Columbia University is an historic, educational landmark. The university offers a vibrant and beautiful campus where students from all over the country plus a broad range of international locations, come to study and make a small place for themselves in the Big Apple. The diversity of the campus exemplifies the fact that New York City is one of the most culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse metropolitan areas in the world. The campus, located in Morningside Heights, was designed by “McKim, Mead & White,” a once prominent architectural firm that also designed the Boston Public Library and the National Museum of Natural History. Columbia University has established itself as an elite icon of New York culture, due to its immense contributions towards making the city a center for education and research alongside other educational institutions.
Walking in late December along the main entrance connecting the campus from Amsterdam Avenue to Broadway, I saw the first thing noticeable, which were the lights adorning trees in honor of the Christmas season.
The Butler Library is the university’s largest and perhaps most highly esteemed book collection. It becomes the highlight of any tour of the institution, due to its campus-wide popularity and stunning architecture. It was designed in a Neoclassical style by James Gamble Rogers, and is replete with Ionic columns and inscriptions citing the names of famous philosophers, writers, and intellectual thinkers including Shakespeare, Homer, Cicero, Plato, and Aristotle. This massive library contains over two million volumes, and has many ornamental details that emphasize the historical relevance of the college, such as famous murals, mottos, and even a figure of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. The Butler Library serves as a favorite location for students who want to complete homework, study, write papers, and even caters to a rare minority of those who just want to read a decent book.
Another interesting feature of the school’s landscape is Buell Hall, home to Columbia University’s “La Maison Français” (or French house). Nestled in a quiet and peaceful part of the university complex, La Maison Français serves as the main center for French culture present on campus. This cultural house is a gathering place for a small community of students from ethnically French backgrounds and students studying French. It also maintains a small library dedicated to the preservation of classic works of French Literature. Moreover, it hosts events in coordination with the college administration, making it the perfect place for people interested in getting to know more about the Francophone world.
This college has a rich history as the oldest educational institution for higher learning in New York. It was founded in 1754 by a royal charter declared by King George II in England, and was originally called “King’s College.” Reverend Samuel Johnson, a colonial scholar excelling in research and an Anglican minister, was appointed as its first president.
For eating on the run, the college is bordered by chains of fast food restaurants lined up along Broadway. A notable study-spot for students is the “Pret a Manger ” on 116th street and Broadway. This coffee shop chain sells delicious baked goods, cakes, pastries, tarts, and sandwiches. The large selection of food is freshly prepared on a daily basis and is made with natural ingredients. It even has an organic coffee bar, a step taken by the company to introduce a healthier fashion of drinking coffee.
Students coming from both international and out-of-state locations have the option to rent their own apartment or be housed in a dorm. Many of the dorms and residence halls for students or professors can be found in nearby neighborhoods. Claremont Avenue, a beautiful area located near Columbia University next to Riverside Park, is where many school faculty and infrastructural staff members live, and features buildings with fancy architecture complimenting the classical style of the surrounding neighborhood. This is the elegant scene which will conclude our photographic tour of Columbia’s memorable campus!
